IPA is Dead - Single Hop IPAs - BrewDog

BrewDog... Why  are we not getting any of your beers in Ontario?  The Punk IPA comes in for a lousy couple of months and thats it?  I get it, you have a ton of orders coming in from around the world... but for for real, toss a Commonwealth brother a goddamn bone.

I really like BrewDog's ales.  The Hardcore IPA and I Hardcore You (Mikkeller collaboration) are hoppy-ass beers that I drank regularly while I was jiving in Europe over the Winter / Spring.  The Tokyo is equally pretty awesome.  I will be writing up reviews for several BrewDog beers, including those mentioned, when I do my feature on the Beer Temple American Beer Bar in Amsterdam.

This review however, is all about the single hop IPAs.  Re-fined and de-fined.  These ales let you zero in on a particular varietal's contribution in terms of flavor and aroma.  IPA is Dead; good name.  

The IPA is Dead 4 pack includes 4 different single hop IPAs made with Sorachi Ace, Citra, Bramling Cross and Nelson Sauvin.  I regrettably consumed the Sorachi Ace in a somewhat confused and dissociated state during a random night in a hotel room in Haarlem.  I can't really recall what it tasted or looked like but if it was anything like the other 3, it must have been really tasty.   These sort of confused situations are common for Canadians visiting the Netherlands.  

Once back home and in the safe and controlled confines of my home Groningen, I was able to pull off a proper tasting of the other 3.

First down the hatch was the Citra.  Why Citra first?  Well, because I absolutely love this hop.  I like drinking beer made with it and I use it in my home brew all the time.  Having experimented with this variety a fair bit, I cannot imagine it would be easy pulling off a single hop with it.  My personal preference is to use Citra almost exclusively for dry-hopping and generally avoid putting any in the boil unless at flame out.

The appearance was perfect.  Bright white, soapy head that sprung-up strong and never faded.  Body was nearly a bright orange with a tinge of copper.  My home-brewed IPAs envy this color.  Only a slight haze with moderate to low carbonation.  

Smell is straight up fruity goodness; mango, melon, grapefruit, peaches.  A touch of pine resign rounds it out nicely and the biscuity malts creep through to add some balance.  Taste follows suit with a strong but clean bitterness hitting the palate up front.  Not harsh or astringent at all but instead really pleasant while still being pronounced.  Mid way through all the fruitiness comes out.  Very tropical with a shade of herbal grassiness.  Finish is a lingering bitterness which is dry.  The malts have a graham cracker character to them, somewhat bready and not really that sweet.  Awesome IPA.

Next up was the Bramling Cross.  I am not really all that familiar with this hop.  Never used it and do not recall any beer in specific that was made with it.  I do know that it is an English varietal that is similar to EKG or fuggles.   

This one was way better than I expected.  Definitely different than the Citra in terms of aroma and taste.  Appearance is almost identical to the Citra, which makes me suspect they used that same wort for all the beers.  Smell is pretty hard to pin-down but it is not at all like other English / Nobel hops.  Smell is somewhat grapeish maybe raspberry or blackberry with a little bit of spice.  Taste is a lemon rind bitterness with a touch of the grape/berry flavor.  Finish is lingering, herbal / floral bitterness.  Malt shines through nicely, the same profile as noted above.  Quite stellar and enlightening.

Nelson Sauvin.  Some say it smells a bit like cat piss and the name is apparently derived from its taste profile being similar to sauvignon grapes.  Not sure about the grapes but I've noticed other beers using this hop have a unique aroma to say the least.  

Appearance is the same as the others, although the above picture makes me wonder if it wasn't a tad hazier.  Smell is really nice and somewhat unique, although there was no cat piss.  A little citrus rind and a little pine.  Very refined and straightforward smell.  Taste is quite nice. Similarly simple with grapefruit and orange rind dominating over pine resin.  Malts seem more pronounced in this one and lend a slight candy-like flavor rather than bready.  Plenty of bitterness to satisfy the fear when jones'n for alpha acids.  

Overall an awesome 4 pack definitely worth buying.  These guys are getting better every year.   Now if only I could get some of their product without moving back to Europe..... fucking hell.

ZG

Revelation Cat / Brasserie 4:20 / Mikkeller Single Hop Festival - Rome

ITALY!!!!   As promised this is part 2 of 3 of my Italian beer escapades.  In much contrast to the elegant and expectedly fashionable vibe of the Milan beer scene, Rome presented a host of weirdness, language barriers and a somewhat grimy but visceral experience.  

I feel truly lucky to have had the opportunity to visit Brasserie 4:20 / Revelation Cat and particularly so during their Mikkeller Single Hop Festival.  Did someone say mad hops?....I'm there, big time.

This joint from the outside looks like a grade A, top choice, dive bar.  The stoner name does not help rectify any first impressions.  Walking up to the place I really questioned the advice I had received that this was the locale to hit up for hops when in Rome.

Fortunately enough, I was greeted with a massive and colorful sign proudly pronouncing that that no less than 19 different single hop beers were available on tap inside; all fresh and recently shipped from Mikkeller in Copenhagen.   Damn Son, I'm game.

Walking into this place was a bit of a shock.  The grimy, low key exterior does not do the sharply designed and beer-geeky-perfect interior justice.  Really nice lighting, if you are into that kind of thing; and I am.  A decent amount of seating and lots of hops strung up everywhere.  Big chalk boards display the daily beer choices and the pretty killer food options.  The staff were super helpful and really knew their beer well.  

This bar is well known for its cask ales and overhead dispensing system.  Zack Avery recently did a video regarding this bar and even confessed to drinking Brit cask beer when in Rome.  When in Rome...but I totally understand.  4:20 has a certain lack of compromise that makes something local seem exotic.

The obvious first choice once seated at the bar was the house brew.  Revelation Cat, the company that owns 4:20, is well known to craft some really amazing ales.  My better-half and I decided to spit 2 glasses of beer; a Revelation Cat IPA and a DIPA (double IPA).  

As you can probably see from the photo above, these beers looked awesome and perfect to style.  Both were an absolutely perfect IPA copper orange with eggshell white, soapy head that stuck around the whole glass.  The DIPA (right) had quite a bit of haze to it, but I almost prefer that in a double...Visual verification of serious alpha acid content.

Smell-wise these beers were similarly phenomenal.  The single presented big grapefruit and orange with a really dank piney / herbally smell.....very 4:20 indeed.  The double was all tropical and pit fruits.  Big time pineapple, mango, peach, apricot and even a little hit of cherry.  Fucking amazing.

The taste of the single was very citrus forward with a nice mix of lemon and pine bitterness that hit the tongue hard but cleared off swiftly and left a clean somewhat fruity but also herbally finish.

The double was ultra rich.  Tropical fruit dominant with a super juicy mouthfeel.  Tastes like drinking mango nectar mixed with sour red grapefruit and a touch on pine soaked in gasoline...but in a good way.

The double has to be one of the best, if not THE best, DIPA I have every tried.  Right up there with Hopslam and Pliny the Elder.  Awesome beer.

I also indulged in some Cantillon Iris (one of my favorite lambics) that they just happen to have on tap.   I'm not going to review it now because I have a large write-up pending about my experience at Cantillon which includes this beer.  However, it should be noted that having this beer on draft in Rome is simply amazing.   

Next step was to head upstairs for the single hop beers.   

The menu was really overboard.  Every hop from ordinary Cascade to "you made a single hop with that?" Super Galena.

I decided to try the Challenger, Simcoe, Nugget and Super Galena just for the contrast.  I had already enjoyed several of the other Mikkeller single hop beers in their bottled form (namely Warrior, Cascade, Centennial, Amarillo and Nelson Sauvin), so these ones were new to me.

The fellow serving up the samples could speak very little english but managed to give me a good laugh when he insisted on making a spectacle every time someone order the Super Galena (see above).  

I'm not going to go through a review of each, but it likely goes without saying that they were all very hoppy and also quite tasty.  I will say that my favorite of the night was hands down the Simcoe (pictured below).  Each beer was very well balanced and I thought the simple, yet flavorful, malt base provided a nice canvas to display each particular hop.

In short all I can do is reiterate what I have said before.  Italy is quickly becoming a haven for awesome craft beer and the people and food there are amazing.  Well worth the trip for any hardcore beer geek.

ZG

Hel & Verdoemenis Wild Turkey Barrel Aged - De Molen

De Molen is a Dutch brewer who really pushes the envelope (at least in NL) in terms brewing big, aggressive IPAs and stouts.  One particular offering that I enjoyed somewhat frequently during my stay in the Netherlands was the Hel & Verdoemenis Imperial Stout.  It is a great beer with lots of roasty malts and little compromise.

During my last few days abroad I stumbled across a couple bottles of the special barrel-aged versions of this already fantastic beer.  In particular, the Wild Turkey version really caught my eye.  So I ended up buying one bottle to consume immediately and one to cellar for a few years.  

This little gem comes in an 18cl bottle (which is clear glass although you really can't tell when its full) with a bright red wax seal.  Typical De Molen label with all the specs.  This one weighs in at 10.2% ABV and was brewed in October 2010 and bottled in February 2011.  This is bottle #063

Poured into a snifter this beer is pitch black with little to no head.  What it does manage to conger-up is tan and fleeting.  Smell is very big.  Lots of roasty malts, coffee, vanilla, oak, leather, fresh tobacco and of course a large dollop of bourdon.  Taste follows the same profile with the coffee edging towards espresso and a little licorice making an appearance.  Damn this is pretty good already.  

A few years on the other bottle should tone down some of the hot alcohol in the mouthfeel and finish.  It will be hard to keep my hands off of bottle #004.

MMMMMMM.....good.  

ZG  

Weisses Brauhaus - Munich - Beer Bar

Summer is almost here and it is near time to start cracking caps on some refreshing and thirst quenching wheat beers.  Of course nobody makes a finer wheat beer than the Germans.   This past spring I was lucky to find the time to make the trip to Munich in order to taste some of those awesome hefeweisse.  

The location I enjoyed the most while in Bavaria was Weisses Brauhaus.  Located just off Munich's main square, Weisses is owned by G. Schneider and Sohn, makers of the prolific Schneider Weisse.  Schneider no longer brews beer actually in Munich, but you sure can drink a ficken ton of it at Weisses.

The atmosphere at this beer hall is awesome.  Not touristy at all.  Lots of real Germans; eating, laughing, drinking and talking with random strangers.  The decor is straightforward.  Plenty of old and rustic looking items, long beer hall style tables and plenty of seating room.  The waitstaff are all decked out in the traditional Bavarian garb.

The food menu looks equally as amazing and authentic.  How many beer geeks wouldn't want to try suckling pig braised in Aventinus?  Not really any health conscious choices, but seriously, its a beer hall in Munich....not a tofu type of place.

The beer list is as you would expect.  Plenty of wheat beers with some pilsners and some bigger / darker offerings.   I made an effort to try a couple of beers I don't usually see at home (or do I????).

First up was the Hopfenweisse (below left).  I'm not entirely sure how similar in terms of recipe this is with the other Hopfenweisse, which is a collaboration between Schneider and Brooklyn Brewery.  The collaboration was all about tons of Hallertauer hops  bringing their pungent bite to the wheat beer style in an American way, but I think this one is a little less aggressive.  Nevertheless, all the right smells and flavors are there.  The nose is a perfect mix between fresh citrus hops with a touch of herbally pine and a clean yeasty wave of wheaty goodness.  Taste follows suit with bright citrus upfront followed by clove and banana.  Just a tad bit of bitterness.  Really nice. 

Next round I tried the Grunes (above right).  I had never heard of this beer before but apparently it is also known as the Schneider Edel-Weisse which is seasonally available back home in Ontario.   This beer tasted pretty much exactly as the Edel-Weisse I have tried; just like the standard Schneider Weisse but with a little more hoppy flavor and a cleaner mouth feel and taste.  Not quite as yeasty as other examples of the style.  Ultra refreshing.  

To finish off the tasting I decided to go out with a bang.  My last order consisted of an Aventinus Weisen-Eisbock (a 12.5% monster of a beer) and a shot each of the Aventinus Schnapps and the Aventinus Beer Brandy.  I'm not sure what possessed me to order this much in one sitting (especially after 2 beers) but I guess I got a little too into the Bavarian spirit.  

The Eisbock was stellar as I expected.  Its a huge beer with tons of fig, dark fruits, rum and a very strong almost burnt yeastiness.  Taste matches the smell.  This beer is overwhelmingly flavorful, almost stifling but in a good way.  Just a trace of warm alcohol on the finish.  The head stuck around forever and that is really a sight to see on a big alcohol beer like this.  Beer Geeks:  Please note the glass is not chilled, it is simply frosted glass.

I was really impressed by the beer brandy.  The beer flavors actually came through quite well and were complimented by a subtle sweetness.  The schnapps were pretty good too but seemed rather vodka like to me.

All in all, I think Wiesses Brauhaus is the place to go in Munich.  Awesome beer, awesome food and lots of atmosphere.

Mad Tom IPA - Muskoka Brewery

I wanted to get my review for Mad Tom IPA up as soon as possible considering how much I was looking forward to having a legit Ontario brewed IPA readily available.  Muskoka has made some really stellar products in the past.  I've always enjoyed their seasonals and recommend their lager to every macro drinker I meet.  In short, I think this brewery has accomplished a ton already and if it keeps heading in the same direction will become a star of the Ontario and Canadian beer scene.

So last weekend I tried their Cabin Fever cask IPA and was super impressed with the flavour.  Lots of citrus and pit fruits.  I wasn't sure what to expect from the Mad Tom given that some of their previously released hoppy beers (think Harvest Ale) tended to be more akin to a strong British IPA as opposed to the American / West Coast style that everyone loves so much.

I can safely say that this beer pulls off the American style with flying colors.  The box lists three hop varieties (Chinook, Centennial and Sorachi Ace) and a standard pale ale malt base (2-row pale and crystal).  I was really surprised to see the Sorachi Ace in the mix given that I have yet to see many Canadian brewers wandering into that territory; although it seems to be a popular hop elsewhere this year.  

The nose isn't quite as strong as I expected given the dry-hopping but it does present some very nice fruity and citrus hop aromas along with a clean but complex pine resin note.  The body is a bright and clear, light golden colour.  The head is bright white and sticks around and also to the sides of the glass nicely.   

The flavour of this beer is AWESOME.  I think this is exactly what the Ontario market needed. Plenty of upfront grapefruit, tangerine and pine flavour with a subtle but present herbally undertone.  Finishes bitter but clean.  Mad Tom IPA is a real success for this brewery.  Hopefully there is a DIPA coming down the road in the future.

The packaging of this beer is slightly more edgy and unique compared to other Muskoka products.  I personally like the six-pack format.  The price is equally stellar given what you are getting.

I personally recommend that every Ontario beer geek and cottager give this one a try.  Kudos to Muskoka for raising the bar.

ZG

Crazy Canuck Pale Ale - Great Lakes Brewery - Toronto

Great Lakes Brewery makes some really great ales.  Last weekend their Karma Citra cask IPA won the 3rd annual Bar Volo IPA Cask Challenge.  I tried many of the competitors and they were all pretty good beers (a massive improvement over the last two years), so it is quite an accomplishment.  With their newly released in-a-can Crazy Canuck Pale Ale, I believe they have another winner on their hands.

I tried a version of this beer in a bomber when it was first released a while ago during the Vancouver Winter Olympics.  It was pretty tasty at the time but did have some consistency issues, particularly with respect to a slight diacetyl smell and taste (think the smell and taste of butter).  I also thought that the beer could use a little more hop flavor and bitterness.

The current version that was just released at the LCBO this week appears to have rectified these two complaints of mine and really turned out to be an awesome beer.

Crazy Canuck poured very clear and somewhat lighter in color than what I expected.  A golden beer with moderate carbonation and a foamy, turning almost rocky, white head.  The smell is straight on juicy citrus hops with a tinge of pit fruits.  Once sipped, Canuck hits you with a blast of really fresh hop citrus with both grapefruit and tangerine notes.  The bitterness is really clean and not too imposing.  Overall this beer is super sessionable and really does satisfy the craving for some hoppy bitterness.

I highly recommend trying this one out.  I guarantee that both beer geeks looking for a hop fix and casual drinkers looking for a nice brew for the summer will love this one.

Augusta Ale - Kensington Brewing Company - Toronto

While I was in Europe I generally kept-up with the Ontario beer news.  One new development that really caught my eye was the establishment of the Kensington Brewing Company named after Toronto's infamous Kensington Market.  In addition to their proximity to my place of residence, their flagship beer was being touted as a "west coast style ale"; a style that I think is sparsely (or maybe just somewhat poorly) represented in Ontario. 

So last Saturday I took a trip up to the market and had a burger and a beer...the anti-European beer experience...and it was damn worth it.

Augusta Ale, KBC's flagship pale ale, is not yet available in bottles.  Although I presume from their Facebook page that it will be in the near future.  Don't fear however, there are a few spots in Toronto where this beer can be tried on draft.  Click HERE for locations.

Given that I haven't had a decent burger in half a year, I decided to hit up Burger Bar with a few friends.  Its a low key spot, casual and comfortable.  I was really impressed with their beer menu.  Lots of Canadian crafts, most of them not your usual offerings, such as a 100 IBU IPA from the Taps brewery.  On top of that they had some Italian beers in bottles...how strange.  I leave Canada, travel around Europe, discover Italian craft beer kicks ass only to return to Italian beer on a local joint's menu; I'll go along with it, strange but a good sign.

Before my friends even had a chance to arrive I jumped into the Augusta Ale.  BANG ON.  I mean I really enjoyed this beer.  Augusta could easily fill the void created by the departure of DFH 60 Min from the Ontario market; a really clean, hoppy session brew.

Apologies for the lack of photo...I forgot my camera.

Color was a gorgeous and perfectly clear, light copper.  Head was bracingly white and stayed around until the glass was drained.  The smell was a spot-on blend of citrus and pine notes.  A nice clean bitterness hit the tongue up front and faded quickly to a quenching bitter aftertaste that did not linger too long.  It the background, an appropriately sweet, biscuity, malt backbone carried the flavor into perfect balance.  Awesome.

Hopefully this hits LCBO shelves as soon as possible.  In the meantime, check out this beer on draft.

Back to Reality....and the LCBO

So my four month long beer drinking spree in Europe has now come to an end.  There is still so much to post, including:

- Gorging on gueuze and straight lambic at the Cantillon brewery

-  Another extended trip to Italy with tons of awesome Italian beers as well at the Mikkeller Single Hop Festival at Revelation Cat Brewery in Rome.

-  Binge drinking in Germany including weizen-eisbock in Munich, alt beer in Dusseldorf and doppelbocks in Berlin.

- A review of the relatively new Beer Temple American Beer Bar in Amsterdam along with some Queen's Day debauchery.

- More Scandinavian fun at Ørsted Ølbar Og Café in Copenhagen

- Drinking beer at 11,500 ft in Switzerland

-  More beer reviews including a couple additional style features

I am now in the blood curdling process of studying for the Ontario Bar Exam; so I appologise in advance if my posts are fewer over the next month or two.  However, this summer looks to be shaping up as an excellent time for the Ontario beer scene.

ZG

Mikkeller - Copenhagen - Beer Bar

I would leave all my possessions behind and move to Copenhagen if I only had the balls to do it.  Are there jobs for a guy like me in this absolute gem of a town?  What about the immigration policies?  Do they take rabble that cannot speak a word of Danish other than Øl?  

I may be outta luck, but at least I have the one weekend I spent there.  I would say that my favorite place in Copenhagen was the Mikkeller beer bar.  Beer-geek-a-licous. 

So I walked for what seemed like an hour from my hotel into the Vesterbro district.  This part of the city was originally a slum of sorts.  Prostitutes, poverty and violence; the Hamburg special.  These days Vesterbro is a hipster Mecca with lots of trendy hangouts and a somewhat unwashed (but in an intentional way) sort of vibe.  I secretly dig it.

The Mikkeller beer bar fits into this neighborhood perfectly.  Literally a hole in the wall.  I actually walked past it on my way there.  Below ground, very little signage.  If you are coming to this place you are coming with purpose.  No fucking pop-ins. 

Inside is like no other beer bar I have ever seen.  Where are the signs?  The derelict old couch?  The damn place looks like it was designed by Sara “lets use barn board” Richardson. OK.  I’m game.  Nice big chalkboard with all the on-tap offerings.  Very nice contraband; less than half Mikkeller beers and some really nice random stuff.  Even a couple DDC beers from Montreal.  Should I feel proud to be Canadian?

The bottle menu is simply ridiculous.  It’s not really a serious effort to make money.  Simply a “hey, can’t buy this hooch everywhere” selection.  It was my birthday so I went for what I would want to drink on my birthday as 30 is approaching way too quick.  

First up, I go for one of Mikkeller’s “yeast series”.  The concept is that the exactly same wort was fermented by several different yeast strains separately so that the effect of the particular yeast could be isolated and compared with the others.  I believe they did one with hefeweissen, Brettanomyces, US Ale, Belgian Ale and a lager yeast strains (correct me if I am wrong).  I’m into funk, so I hit the Brett.

Tastes / smells almost exactly the same as the It’s Alive I had a year or so ago.  Nice and funky but the malts are coming through on the nose.  Nice mix of funk and residual sweetness.  Could be drier but perhaps it’s a bit young still.  The beer looks, tastes and smells like a perfect all Brett beer.  I like this very much.  

           

Next up was a beer that is for all purposes impossible to get your hands on.  Cantillon’s Blåbær Lambik.  Basically, these crazy Danes send a truckload of blueberries to Brussels where Cantillon brew an authentic lambic fruit beer and then ship 100% of the bottles back to Copenhagen.  As far as I know, it is only sold at Ølbutikken  (a seriously kick-ass beer store just a block or two from Mikkeller) and at the Mikkeller beer bar.  

Wow.  Blueberries are really hard to pull off in a beer and I think this one does it.  Mad funk and sour citrus on the nose.  Not much blueberry.  The taste is tart and sour but the berry comes through quite strong.  Head is pretty good for a sour and the color is very deep.  I felt like I was betraying my girlfriend for drinking this without her but I have subsequently been assured that there is no resentment.

Lastly, I chose something that I would only really indulge in on my B-Day.  Dark Lord.  It is a bit weird drinking a beer from Indiana when in Copenhagen but the price was less than the black market price in my much closer home of Ontario.  WTF, EH?  

It poured black as night and quite thick.  Smell was very tar-like with a serious snap of vanilla.  Flavor is intense.  Dark fruits, light fruits, rum, whiskey, chocolate, coffee, molasses, marmite, oak and vanilla. Yeah, it’s pretty good.  Appearance was a little less fantastic but the head had a really nice color.  I shared the bottle with the two guys working the bar.  It was good consideration for the very excellent conversation about beer and the beer scene.  [For those of you who don't know, this is probably the most or second most hard to get beer in the world.  It sold for only one day of the year at the brewery and you must by a ticket to even have the chance to purchase a couple bottles.]

After consuming the above offerings I was pretty intoxicated.  So of course I asked to photograph the one remaining bottle of The End of History stashed behind the bar.  If you have a spare $3,000 you can drink this offering directly from the stuffed stoat it comes in.   Fair enough.  

I’m not sure the experience would be worth the money…but its cool.  If you don’t think it’s at least cool and peg it as a marketing ploy then you need to lighten-up.  55% beer that comes in a stuffed squirrel and is named after a Fukuyama book is at least cool….period.    Plus I like the tux.

After getting messed up at Mikkeller I met up with my better half for dinner at Kong Hans.  It has been awarded a Michelin Star for more than a decade.  The food was awesome.  I particularly enjoyed the cheese plate.   I have a thing for cheese plates and this one was really stellar.  Not just on an offering-by-offering basis.  The plate as a whole had a well thought out balance.  Unfortunately the beer sucked.  But hey, what can you expect from a Michelin Star rated restaurant?

Go to Mikkeller and drink beer.

A Few Saison - Beer Review

Saison, also known as french farmhouse ale, has become a very popular and dare I say a "hep" style as of late.  I understand the interest and some of the hype.  They are very versatile beers in the sense that I can enjoy them year-round.  I also think that they have a certain quality that appeals to a larger section of the public than do other idiosyncratic styles; namely they are refreshing and light-bodied.  

This is also my favorite style to brew at home.  I usually use Pilsner malt with a little bit of Vienna and a touch of wheat for body and a fluffy head.  As for hops, I like to mix things up with the usual European noble varieties and sometimes late-edition or dry-hop with something different and more aggressive; I recently threw in a bit of Citra and it worked out well.  I've also used spices / orange peel but the jury is still out on those kind of additions; at least for me.  In the yeast department I've been consistently loyal to Wyeast's French Saison strain (3711).  This coming spring / summer I plan to experiment with the Saison Dupont strain mixed with some Brett; posts of the experimentation will be included in the "Brewing" section.

Over the last two months a have tried approximately 12(+) different Saison.  Here are a few that I managed to take notes of. 

I picked up a bottle of Brasserie Fantôme's Pissenlit while I was visiting Brussels.  Now that the brewery is closed (apparently, can anyone verify this????) anything from them is nearly impossible to find.  I think those in the US may have a different experience due to remaining stock from the tons of Fantôme that was shipped there while they were still up and running.

This beer is brewed with dandelions and the name literally means "wet the bed". Apparently the dandelions are gathered from the fields around the brewery and brewed into a tea.  Needless to say this beer is a little different than most Saison; at least in terms of recipe. 

Wow, this stuff is amazing.  As soon as I smelled and tasted it I was pissed that I couldn't go visit the brewery or pick up more of their products.  The appearance wasn't amazing; cloudy, not much of a head (especially for the style), the body seemed quite thick and the color rather...dull.  

But the smell, damn complex, spicy and citrus.  Grapefruit juice mixed with Indian food, in a good way. The taste is the same.  I was really surprised at how grapefruity the taste was.  The thickness and acidity made it seem like I was drinking grapefruit juice.  So good.  No Trace of the 8%.  I need more of this stuff.

Next Up: Saison Regal isn't really a Saison that gets too much mention.  I think this beer looked great but lacked something I look for in a Saison.  It may be a bias but the darker more malty versions of this style never really strike me as being all that appealing.  I feel the same way even about highly rated examples such as The Bruery's Saison Rue (I very much prefer their Saison De Lente) and Dupont's Avec Les Bon Voeux.  

On the nose this beer was quite fruity along with a putrid (not necessarily a bad putrid but a typical dark saison putrid) tinge.  The taste was similar with some nice spicy flavors along with some subtle rotten light fruits.  Carbonation is excellent along with the head retention and lacing.  Overall its pretty good but there is a flavor in their that just isn't my friend.

Lastly: Saison D'Erpe-Mere from KleinBrouwerij De Glazen Toren is a somewhat "under the radar beer".  The same can be said for their other offerings.  I personally think this is one of the best Saison available and I'm glad that my local bottle shop brought in a few 750s.

The packaging is very cool.  It has that whole paper-wrapped thing going on...if that means anything.  As soon as I popped the cap the bottle basically exploded with foam and spilled out of the mouth without agitation.  No doubt very lively; a trait that is preferable in a Saison.  Be careful pouring this one.  Even a gentle hand results in massive head.  Not just big, but the kind of head that keeps getting bigger for 5 minutes after its in the glass and seems to be alive (see pic).  Settles to a weird, brain-like glob in the middle of the glass.  Exactly what I am looking for.  Perfect Saison apperance.

This beer has a classic Saison nose.  Spicy, dry, fruity, citrus.  I think it is kind of like a more extreme version of Saison Dupoint.  Very nice.  The taste is very dry with all the classic Saison flavors and even a touch of funk.  Damn boy.  Why can't I have this one back home in Ontario?  A perfect Saison?  

I'd like to give a little shout out to Brian of Stillwater Artisanal Ales.  The recent Rate Beer list has him at #2 best new brewer of the year.  I tasted a few of his Saison at the Mikkeller Beer Bar in Copenhagen and had a brief chat with him as well.  Very nice.  Top-shelf stuff. 

I will discuss some Stillwater beers in more detail when I post my feature on Copenhagen.

Drink some Saison in the meantime.  Get primed for the summer season.  

Moeder Lambic - Brussels - Beer Bar

Brussels is one of those places in the world where a beer lover could become very disoriented.  Not simply because there is an immense pressure to gorge oneself on high-alcohol beers but because there are only so many hours in a day and choosing where and what to imbibe in is a little...challenging.  I made some choices while in Brussels; one beer over another, a visit here over a visit there.  One choice I did make that I am sure was the correct one was visiting Moeder Lambic.  Its one of those places that if you seriously love challenging and hard to get beers, you must...absolutely must, stop there when in Brussels.

Moeder Lambic is pretty much right downtown Brussels.  Its sort of in between the main tourist area and the Cantillon brewery, so for beer geeks it is perfectly located.  The bar itself is extremely well decorated in a modern (think lots of stainless steel mixed with urban lodge) decor.  Lots of seating with a long bar. 

The draft menu is fantastic.  Plenty of rare and unusual finds along with a few staples.  The on-tap and on-cask lambic menu is really great; you do not find this stuff everywhere.  The bottle menu is even more special with some very rare offerings.  Plenty of vintage lambics.  

Off the bat I jumped into Drie Fonteinen's Straffe Winter.  It is slated as a faro-lambic created for the  special open brew days at the brewery.  The presentation was perfect; a nice high pour into a tall glass and a wicker box to keep the bottle at a perfect angle to keep the yeast settled.

This was a pretty funky beer on the nose with some mild lactic sour notes.  Lots of hay / horse blanket with a little citrus tinge at the end.  The taste was much more mellow in terms of sourness than I expected from the smell.  I found this much more dry than I would expect from a faro.  The head retention and lacing were awesome for the style.  Overall very enjoyable.

Next round I went a little more adventurous; Cantillon / De La Senne collaboration brew called Zwarte Piet.  As far as I know Moeder Lambic is the only place this beer can currently be purchased.  Of course because this is a fairly limited one-off, the bottle came with no label.  'Black Peter' is a mix between a lambic and a stout.  I little strange no doubt but how could I not give this a try.

This beer looks like a light bodied stout.  Black with brown around the edges, plentiful carbonation and a  really nice off-white to beige, foamy head.  Lacing is killer.  Looks more like a stout than a lambic. Sour up front on the nose with a little roasted malt at the end.  The taste is similar with acidity and sourness at the start followed by roasty coffee and chocolate notes.  For some reason this reminds me of a Cascadian Dark Ale (or black IPA or whatever you want to call it)....must be the contrast.  Pretty different but very drinkable.

The real hidden gem on the bottle menu is the Wadesda #1 from De La Senne.  Apparently a cross between a lambic and a triple.  If you have access to this beer you should get some and horde it.

This legit tastes like a mix.  The smell is literally half triple and half sour lambic.  Amazing flavor.  Very hard to describe but it is deadly drinkable, watch out for this one.  This is a sparse review but all I can say is wow, so good.

Go to Moeder Lambic, drink beer there.  There are actually two locations.  See info:

Moeder Lambic Original

68 rue de Savoie, 1060 Brussels

Tel.: +32 2 544 16 99

Open from 04:00 P.M. until 03:00 A.M.

Moeder Lambic Fontainas

8 place Fontainas, 1000 Brussels

Tel.: +32 2 503 60 68

Open from 11:00 A.M. until 01:00 A.M.

(friday and saturday until 02:00 A.M.)

http://www.moederlambic.eu/

Take One - Maastricht - Beer Bar

For the three days prior to Ash Wednesday towns in the southern Netherlands celebrate Carnival.  It is basically a three-day-drunk filled with crazy costumes and bizarre behavior.  So I took the four hour train ride south in order to get a taste of the madness.  

While the madness of Carnival was very tasty, the beer being pilfered on the streets was not so great.  A 250ml glass of Bavaria Lager will only get me so far.  In proper form I took to the web to see what the geeks were saying about Maastricht. Take One was at the top of the list and deservedly so.

This place is a cozy little cafe located on the east bank of the River Maas.  Owned by a husband and wife team, Take One has been serving top shelf beer in Maastricht for more than 25 years.  The walls of the cafe are literally coated in beer related signs, posters, lights and clocks.  A long bar with a string of taps runs from the door back to a comfy seating area.  The on-tap and bottle menu are written on a marker board behind the bar.

This isn't a place that has popped-up due to the growing enthusiasm of the craft beer scene.  The owners and locals that frequent Take One are serious beer lovers and the beer knowledge in this little cafe is enormous.  

In fact, I think the most enjoyable part of this place was the company that filled the bar stools.  All the locals here were very enthusiastic to have so many international visitors and they were by far the friendliest people I have met in Europe.  There are not too many bars on this continent where the locals will buy you a glass of beer and have you in stitches with their jokes.  Top notch.  Special shout-out to Jack, Tom and Camille (see pic below-right) for really making our visit a blast.

The beer selection at Take One is also fantastic.  There was no problem finding beers that I had never tried of even heard of before.  One particularly great (and apparently underrated IMHO) triple that I tried was the Kempisch Vuur Tripel.  Very clean with plenty of complexity.  Fruity with some spice, a nice slightly sour citrus and a mouthfeel to die for.  Looks pretty nice in the glass too.

I will leave you with a couple pics of Carnival.  It was crazy.  I'm not sure I could have mentally prepared myself for such debauchery even if I knew what to expect ahead of time.  I wish everyone had the opportunity to experience one of these events at least once in their lives.  Truly joyous.

When in Maastricht, or anywhere in Limburg for that matter, make your way to Take One for a beer (or five).  If you do visit, stop by earlier.  This place seems to fill up quick around 7 or 8 pm.

Info:


Take One Beer Cafe
Rechtstraat 28
6221EJ Maastricht
043-3216423

http://www.takeonebiercafe.nl/index.php