A long goodbye

Gueuze

I recently changed day jobs, I wouldn't want you to be fooled into thinking this is my day job.  As is tradition I went out with a handful of guys from the office for beers.

There is a bar in the centre of Birmingham I enjoy called The Post Office Vaults and as it was my choice I dragged them all there.

As the evening wore on more and more drinks were consumed and one of the bad idea bears suggested a drinking game with a punishment drink.

So we ended up with a lambic by the name of Gueuze.  The bar staff even checked we were sure with a "You want a proper lambic?!"  The general consensus is that this smelt like a stale urinal.

You can't see clearly but the label shows a statue pissing the same colour as the drink he's holding.

It's definitely a real lambic, fermented from the yeast in the environment, and sour.  Incredibly sour.  It definitely taste better than it smells but I'm not going to be in a rush to repeat the experience.

And there in the background is a forlorn former co-worked missing me already.

The 24th February Beer

Cuvée van de Keizer Blauw - 11%

I recently found myself wanting something a little more special.  Something I would not normally buy just for myself.

Asking at the friendly local off license I was directed to Cuvée van de Keizer Blauw. It might have been purely for it's cost, an impressive £8.75, but he did claim it to be a beer with a little something more.

This is the special edition, brewed only on the 24th of February to celebrate the birth of Charles Quint who supposedly preferred beer to wine.

You can't see from the picture but it's a deep red and what you can see it's a lively fizzy drink.  Not so filled with bubble that you will be burping or bloated for the rest of the night, just a nice fizz.

The flavour is rich and sweet.  You will notice eventually the warmth coming through from the alcohol content, a surprising 11%, which doesn't blow your head off and is somewhat reminiscent of a red wine.

Grab it while you can and remember to share the bottle or be prepared to be knocked flat.

More research required

Straffe Hendrik - 11%

A few weeks ago I threw out a blanket statement.  A sweeping and crass generalisation about Belgian brewers, and their habit over overloading the visual senses with beer bottle labels.

I then found the exception that proved the rule.

And another.

And now this one.

Fine I was wrong I accept it.  So bring on the beer.

Here's a Quadrupel from De Halve Maan Brewery.  It appears you wont find it on their website now as it's not on this years plan.

Firstly you wont notice this is an 11% beer from the taste.  That comes a little later as it sinks in and you are trying to type.  Hold it in your mouth for a little while before you swallow and when you do you will realise that it does have quite a kick.

It's a rather complex and malty flavour.  And while it is complex it's also delicious.  If I could survive more than one of these a night I would definitely enjoy it right up till the alcohol poisoning.

Isn't that a smelly kind of cheese?

Trappistes Rochefort 6 -  7.5%

Ahhh something of a classic here.  This is a real Trappist beer from an actual monastery crewed by real monks.  But lets not hold that against them.

Trappistes Rochefort 6 is a relatively rare beast.  It's the least produced of the 3 different variants produced at the Abbey who, being a monastery only make the beer in sufficient quantity to pay for the upkeep of the Abbey.  So defiantly worth picking up when you see it.

This is a spicy dark beer with hints of something like caramel.  Not surprisingly when I asked for something sweet I was handed this.  Simple and uncompromising for flavour and after taste.

From the mind of Willy De Lobel

Viven Porter - 7.0%

I have finally found it.  The missing label.  The Belgian brewery that can print a beer bottle label without festooning it with pictures and lurid colours.

Viven Porter smells and tastes like it has just come out of a smoke house.  I wouldn't be surprised to hear they burn entire forests in the vicinity of the brewery to get the scent right.  Also, go take a look at the web page, I'll wait for you.  Seen it?  That's right the picture of their beer looks nothing like mine.  It's far far darker and lacks the brilliant bleached white head.

So what do you get other than smoke and misleading pictures?

It's a bitter and thin beer not very surprising, or especially daring, rather than a thicker more substantial porter I was expecting.  For something similar in terms of price and beer I would have to recommend something more like Old Engine Oil instead.

A Belgian Flagship

I've been drinking this for a while now as a drink that I expect to be pretty consistent.  Leffe Blond is the flagship beer of Leffe, which is the European face of the global brewery Anheuser-Busch InBev, the people who bring you Budweiser and Becks.

Leffe Blonde - 6.6%

So what do you get for your money?  Well for starters you aren't paying a premium, with big business come big discounts.  And you have a pleasant generic Belgian beer.  It's smooth and easy to drink with a slight bitter after-taste which isn't so powerful as to bother me.

The head is foamy and not dense not rich.  It remains for quite some time as does the carbonation in the beer, you aren't going to find this go flat on you as you enjoy it.

While I'm not disgusted by this beer I bought it from a generic local off licence and this was all I could find that wasn't the same as you would see in any bar in the land.  I spent quite a while hunting in case there was something interesting and this, a mass produced beer, was as close as I could get.

Ostriches out of Flanders

From West Flanders is a new brewery called de Struise Brouwers.  Apparently named after the ostrich farm managed by the brewers.  Rather and odd combination but then who am I to judge.  The link to their website is currently down, and I would easily believe that is because they are proving too popular to keep it up with demand.  Feel free to go take a look and let me know if you get more than an error page.

Pannepot 2010 - 10%

A Pannepot is a fishing boat and this ale is a tribute to the dark ales that they would enjoy.  Unpasteurised, unfiltered and bottle conditioned this dark rich ale has a hint of spice about it and is another of the collection of somewhat chocolate flavoured.

It is especially strong at 10% and you can just about taste it, to let you know it has some bite.  At the same time you aren't just tasting alcohol.

It seems supplies of this beer are limited so if you see it I recommend snapping one up to sample.

If there is one thing the Belgians can do...

It's brew some delicious beers.

Brasseries des Rocs is from Belgium and I recommend giving the video on their website a watch and the beer itself will tell you how it is made.

Abbay Des Rocs Brune - 9%

I have the Brune (Brown Ale), a rich chestnut colour and a short lived head.  Triple fermented, with the last stage in the bottle, it is slightly gassy but the flavour is so full and fruity so I can forgive a little fizz.

Remember what I said about Belgium beer labels?  Picture of an abbey cellar, coat of arms, big red script lettering.  Yes much like Delirium they are going all out, to stand out.

Pace yourselves with one of these it's dangerously drinkable and, at a surprisingly well disguised 9%, it would be all to easy to have one too many.

Pink Elephants on Parade

Brewed by the Belgian Family Brewery in Brouwerij Huyghe, which I wouldn't know where to begin pronouncing, this exciting and complex beer has a rich caramel scent, and boy can you taste the alcohol.

Delirium Nocturnum - 8.5% 

Triple fermented with live yeast added to the bottle to perform final fermentation there the flavour will change depending now how long it has been left.

I love the bottle this comes in. Under the grey paint with blue flecks is a normal brown glass bottle but the colours are so distinctive. They go especially well with the pink elephants that dance around the bottle.

Poured out this is a dark ale with a tan head with light carbonation. Thankfully the bubbles are not intrusive nor excessive and the overall taste is smooth. If it weren't for the high alcohol content I could drink this all evening.