My Belgian Wit is coming to boil soon, and hoping to bottle the IPA tomorrow night. mmmmmmm it smells good in here.
OK...I've let them sit for a bit after adding the corn sugar solution to each bottle to improve carbonation, noticeably different and improved. Chilled, out of the fidge, the head is very reminiscent of a poured Guiness, a multitude of very fine bubbles forming a creamy white head. This is what I was hoping for. The original clarity of the beer is no longer there either (that's part chill factor), but with a wheat it's not supposed to be clear. Overall, very dark in the glass, and the taste is worthy of the effort I put into it. It was a risk going for the added priming sugar, but luckily one that paid off. I'll have some chilled at BG4 for tasting.
My Belgian Wit is coming to boil soon, and hoping to bottle the IPA tomorrow night. mmmmmmm it smells good in here.
Holiday beers and special editions are starting to come out..Tonight I tried Corsendonk's Christmas Ale. Dark Belgium ale...lots of malt and caramel..very smooth. Fairly high ABV and I'm glad I picked up the 4 pack of 11oz rather than the big bottle..highly recommend. I also managed to find a 6 pack sampler of St. Bernardus which includes a few that I haven't tried...Prior 8 and Watou Tripel. Lastly I snagged a dogfish head world wide stout based on devildeac's post a few weeks back..planning on trying that one tomorrow
More from the New Belgium Brewery - 1554, "Enlightened Black Ale." Good from the first taste! Very malty, only the slightest bitter aftertaste. Almost caramel-ish at first. It's getting better as it warms up.
Even Mr. DA is enjoying this one (he didn't care for the 2 Below), so we're going to go through this sixer quickly!
As I mentioned in another thread (and in SnrubChat), I was in Dublin a few weeks ago on business and stretched the trip over a weekend to do some sightseeing. I had never been to Ireland and a good part of my mutt lineage (including my name) are Irish, so I decided to see some pubs and have some pints.
I had heard that Guiness in Ireland is a much better, and I would tend to agree. Perhaps it's just the presentation and pour; the little ritual of presentation just makes it feel like a more complete experience.
For those who haven't done it, ordering a pint in an Irish pub is a bit different. You ask for your drink (typically no need to specify brand, just ask for 'a pint', Guiness is usually assumed). The bartender will pour the glass half full and then walk away. If you grab it and drink at this point, you're marked as an American. After a minute or so, the bartender will come over and pour the glass full. If you grab it and drink at this point, you're marked as a dork. The appropriate response is to stare longingly at the glass for a minute or two until there is a clear separation of light and dark layers of the drink. At that point, dig in.
I had 5 or 6 pints over a couple of nights. If I hadn't had a morning flight home, it would have been more. A highly recommended experience for any beer lover.
Kasteel Rouge-part of a sampler from Tyler's Taproom in the ATC "warehouse district" adjacent to the Derm Bulls park. A brune ale and 25% Moncheri brandy infused with Piemont cherries and aged > 1 year. This was my dessert for the evening. Kinda like a tart cherry pie with a brown sugar base (or a dark cherry pie goo for lack of a better term to describe the rest of a cherry pie filling that is not the cherries. does that make sense and explain it?). I'm not sure Lavabe and/or RMD would enjoy it but it did not resemble cough syrup. ABV was 8.5%.
Delirium Tremens-a Belgian triple and a classic one. 3 yeasts and 5 malts. Medium to dark brown with wonderful tastes of raisins, figs and dark chocolate (but no additives or flavorings). They described it as anise-like but I did not taste this. Draft sample. Go look at the 330 ml or 750 ml bottles in your favorite beer/wine store some time. Entertaining/artsy. ABV was 9% so it can be a butt kicker.
OK, closing out my sampler from Tyler's from a week or so ago, the final entry:
Brooklyn Grand Cru-What you say? A Belgian ale? From Brooklyn? I don't think this is or ever will be available in bottles. A golden ale but also a witbier, a triple style to be exact. Slightly cloudy and pale with some aroma and citrus notes like a wheat beer, which it is also as it is brewed with wheat, too. Very smooth. I thought coriander, cloves and orange peel when I drank it and was partially right. Their description said TWO types of orange peels, lemon peel, chamomile, coriander and honey. No peppery taste and the honey accounts for the smoothness. ABV was 8.5%. Glad I had small samples.
Well, that's what I'm saying. I never really liked Guiness, but I loved the pints I had there. It tasted smoother and creamier. Some of that may be power of suggestion, some might be a better pour allowed to settle, and some might be that it's a better product closer to the source.
In 1996, I spent a week+ travelling across Ireland, and 4 months in Scotland; as I recall, the Guinness there was different, and DID taste better. It's served slightly warmer there than here, was much smoother (not less carbonation, just... different.)
I used to be able to drink 4-5 pints a night with very little repercussion in the morning. (That was a function of age, no doubt, as now I'm hungover after anything more than 2 bottles worth. )
Ymm, beer.
We also were in Ireland last month. We toured the Guiness factory at St. James Gate. The Gravity Bar on top of the factory was packed with us tourists and even a few locals. We drank our "free" pint and enjoyed the view. During the tour I learned that the beer shipped here is not the same as the beer kept at home and even different than shipped elsewhere. I do not remember the details, but ABV enters into it. I actually liked the Murphy's better and ended up drinking it more than Guiness during our two weeks there. BTW, if you want to avoid the tourist rep, when you order a smaller beer (some do!) you get a "half" not a "half pint".
Just had another Aprihop. I agree with the aroma and citrus hoppiness, but I do not get the apricot flavor/sweetness. In fact, there's a little sourness early in the taste of this brew.
Kind of an odd brew. Was looking forward to the subtle apricot, but never got it.
Cheers,
Lavabe
Dogfish Head Punkin Ale
Well, coming from Dogfish I had hopes, but bleah! Was tempted to put this on the Yccch, Beer thread, but I'll reserve that spot for the truly to be avoided. The Punkin Ale should at least be tried, I can tell it's one that is going to have it's supporters as well as detractors. I'm trying to figure out which of the spices in this brew is the one that gets on my bad side, it most likely is it's just too much of everything. But being picky, I'm going to say too much nutmeg. It really stands out past the others, and is the last flavor on your tongue. I've had some spiced fall ales I liked, unfortunately this is not one of them. As I told DevilDeac, I'm not a big fan of flavored (extraneously) beers anyways, in fact the only one I buy with any regularity is sammy's Cherry Wheat. But, I'm always willing to try.