The Pour: La Divine poured with a hazy copper colored head and offered a small, finely carbonated, and only minimally retained head.  The carbonation wasn’t as high as I would normally expect a Belgian Abbey brew to be.  However, there was a touch of decent lacing the liquid level reduced.

The Nose: Sticky and sweet, that is the best way to describe the nose.  The aromas of a barley and wine were very present.  Actually, the beer reminded of half beer, half red table wine.  There was a certain youngness and freshness to the brew, like a young wine.  Of course the sweet candy sugar tones were present as well as a bit of fruitiness.

The Taste: Like the nose, the taste was very refreshing and a bit sweet.  The wine-like qualities were to the fore on the palate as well.  A fresh fruitiness, candy sugar caramel sweetness, and a barely pop all helped to hide the 9.5% ABV of the brew.  Surprisingly, La Divine really dried out at the end (again, not unlike a red wine) and left a long lasting impression.

Overall, this is my favorite Belgian beer but it’s hard to denigrate it for much.  It was balanced in its high ABV, it was satisfyingly fresh and dry, and it was a joy to drink.  If one criticism was far to make about the brew, I suppose that the level of carbonation could be bumped up a fair amount.  The pillowy head and full carbonation of Belgians was lackluster on this one.

Mike’s Rating:

Overall Satisfaction: ★★★★☆ 

Among other Belgian Ales: ★★★¾☆ 

Whenever I see this bottle on the shelf, I think of Nietzsche’s token Persian prophet from his epic work, Zarathustra, which comes across in English as Zoroaster.  It sounds uncannily like Zoetzuur.  While Zarathustra represents perhaps the rediscovered and empowered self of man, Zoetzuur, from the Flemish, means “sweet and sour,” which actually reminds me quite a bit of the attitude of the Nihilist’s great philosophical work.

But how was the beer?

I’ll skip to the resolution of the review and state, It was fantastic! The reason I liked Zoetzuur so much, was due to it’s incredible balance and mildness, while maintaining considerable complexity.  This would be a great beer to serve to a young beer geek as an introduction into sour beers.

This beer, which utilizes brettanomyces as well as classic Belgian yeast strain(s?) has a simple grain bill:  Pilsner, Munich, and Caramel malts. What is interesting, is that the brewery–DeProef–deviates from tradition and uses Tomohawk hops, a Pacific Northwest hop, in addition to Saaz hops.  Additionally, black cherry juice was utilized to maintain equilibrium.  It always amazes me how Belgian breweries can achieve such complexity with such simple ingredients.

The Pour:

The beer pours an beautiful burnt umber.  Depending on the light it looks more orange/red at times, or it displays copper and brown colors.  There is decent (3/4 inch) head that lingers a lot longer than other beers of the Flanders style.  The ale is predictably thin.  It is not at fizzy as other Belgian style beers, and the cork had not exploded off; rather it popped with ease.

The Nose:

Often the reviews I have read for Flanders style beers mention a lack of complexity in both the nose and the flavor.  I just don’t get this.  There are aromas that are hard to pinpoint, but they are there, nonetheless.   Up front some very fruity acidic tones greet  the nose.  Apples and grapes dominate the nose, with hints of cherry.  Unlike many sour ales, you can smell the sweet cararmel.  It is quite candy like, but there are notes of vanilla and mildly funky cheese, like gorgonzola.

The Taste:

This beer is marvelously balanced.  I oohed and aghhed with each sip.  The beer is boldly sweet, and it works well.  While I picked up on the black cherries right away (without having read of their use in the beer) the acidity of the beer created an extreme apple flavor, with worked amazingly well with not only the mild sour flavors but with the sweet caramel flavors.  The raw field flavors of dry vegetation were very unique.  Teh sourness never made me pucker up, as there was always equally counteracting sweet notes.  The beer finishes on a tart lemony note.  Interestingly, the beer is silky smooth.

Overall Thoughts:

As was aforementioned, this is a great intro-into-sours beer, but it is also a great beer for the seasoned sour nerd.  And besides, like any good vintage sour ale, if one desires a bit more pucker, just slip a bottle into your cellar for a few years.

Nate’s Rating:

Overall Satisfaction: ★★★★½ 

Among Other Sour Ales: ★★★★½ 

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As was suggested to us, we decided to make Lindeman’s our choice for Sip with us Saturday.  Many are familiar with their Pomme, Framboise, or Kriek versions, which tend toward sweetness.  Few people are prepared for their Rene simply because they’ve grown accustomed to Lindeman’s sweet lambics.  Well, brace yourself.

The Pour: I love taking the cork out of these beers.  You really can see the French influences on the Belgian bottles.  The pour on this beer is innocuous enough.  It has a straw pilsner color and a slight haze. The stable white soapy looking head (in part to the 30% un-malted wheat in the beer) sits atop the brew like an easy breezy afternoon.  Body-wise, the carbonation is almost violent, pointing toward the turbulence that underlies its simplicity of appearance.  As I drank it, there was some nice lacing on the glass.

The Nose: This is where the pilsner perceptions change.  No doubt, I detect some of the classic bready and grain aspects of pilsner malts.  I would venture to say there is plenty of that pilsen styled malt in the beer. But the beer is way more than that.  The head that appears to be soapy is, in fact, a bit redolent of soapy qualities.  Yet the wheat and powdery yeast keep it in check.  A big dose of sour aromas also shoot the beer past the soapy tones.  The “horse blanket” qualities normally attributed to these style beers were not so evident.  However, pineapple fruit tones were a part of the nose.

The Mouth/Taste: The wheat and yeast were a minor part of the taste profile.  What really stood out were the beautiful sour qualities in the beer.  In spite of the sweeter fruit aromas in Cuvee, it was pretty dry.  A soft mouth-feel kept the beer from seeming even drier.  Those pilsner tones did come through on the palate, which were a pleasant quality.  The fruity pineapple tones did come through slightly in the taste.  However, there were some fairly prominent berry aspects to the beer.  While drinking Rene, I could really see why raspberry would be the natural choice for fruits in the beer…I could almost phantom taste them.

Overall, this is a great beer to try if you’ve only had Lindeman’s sweeter beers.  It really shows the drinker the under-structure of Lindeman’s beers.  For my part, I think it’s a great beer.  Perhaps my only criticism is that I’d like to have a little more sour and funk going on.  A touch more complexity would go a long way for me.  Still, it’s a terrific beer.

Mike’s Rating:

Overall Satisfaction: ★★★★¼ 

Among other Sour Ales: ★★★★¼ 

The Pour:

After pouring Delirium Noel into my tulip glass, I was astonished to see two Christmas bulbs, some green garland, and a donkey from the nativity scene in my glass!  Just kidding; but, the beer did pour a deep mahogany color with striking ruby red highlights that reminded me of the metallic red foil that had ensconced the rubber (surprised that real ‘cork’ material was not used) stopper.  The beer was crystal clear…not a hint of sediment or suspended protein.  A luscious white head left sticky lacing.

The Nose:

The aroma was moderately complex.  Typical for the style, notes of banana, clove, and nutmeg were present.  There was a sugary aroma that reminded me of dark spiced rum.  As far as fruit notes, strong un-fermented grape (as in grape juice, not wine)  aromas over shadowed all else.  All together, the aroma was candy like.

The Taste:

Delirium Noel pulled a fast one on me.  As it touched my lips, my mind was expecting a Belgian Strong ale, which it was…BUT there was a strong malty backbone that had the flavor of a Weizenbock, like Aventinus.  Perhaps it was the strong grape and Plum flavors that instantly took hold of my senses, or maybe it was the noticeable caramel flavor.  Either way, the beer was different.  At times, the beer was a bit too sweet.  In your face Belgian candy sugar flavors were, in my mind a bit out of balance.  The astringent flavor of alcohol was decently hidden, but at moments, in between sips, I did feel like I was swallowing down sips of rum.  As the beer finished, the bitter flavoring hops make their appearance, but at the same time don’t let you forget how sweet this brew is.

Overall Thoughts:

I enjoyed Delirium Noel and would buy it again, but it wasn’t as great as I was expecting, and was my least favorite when compared to Delirium Tremens, and my favorite of the the three, Delirium Nocturnum.  For the price ($9) I was hoping for more.  If you picked it up, what did you think?

Nate’s Rating:

Overall Satisfaction: ★★★☆☆ 

Among other Belgian Strong Ales: ★★★¼☆ 

Rating: ★★★¼☆ 

A beer is better appreciated if the brewery and brewers can first be appreciated, in my opinion.  I am not suggesting that the beer itself will taste better in some psychosomatic suggestive sense, just the beer will take on a character of its own.  For that reason, I suggest heading to the Monks’ website and read the exhaustive article that details their brewing process.  It is really insightful as to how the flavors of Orval are achieved (and gives me a boat load of homebrewing ideas).

The Pour:

Orval pours just like a Trappist should:  Fizzy, thin, and with a thick marshmallow-like head.  The beer is mostly clear but there is a faint filmy quality.  It is orangish brown in color.

The Aroma:

The aroma surprised me a bit.  Right off the bat there was a piney aroma that hinted of juniper berries, gin, and brisk hops.  There was a distinct aroma of musky grains, lemon, the classic clove, subdued banana, and oddly enough…mint.

The Taste:

While I thought the aroma lacked in complexity, the taste more than made up.  I picked up on some brettanomyces-esque funk.  The malts were masked to some extent, but there were some interesting qualities that came through.  There was a subtle sweetness that reminded me a bit of a farmhouse saison, with lemon grass hints.  The piney qualities of the hop influence were less up front, but still slightly present.  The beer has a floral quality that pairs well with the flavor of honey.  The clove and spicey notes typical of the style come through as the beer goes down the throat and linger in the aftertaste, but are never predominant.

Overall Thoughts:

Orval is a fantastic beer.  While it isn’t my favorite Trappist beer, it is unique and delicious.  Were it cheaper, I’d drink it regularly.  Knowing that the Monks’ passion for this beer is perhaps only supplanted by their passion for God and man makes it better!

Nate’s Rating:

Overall Satisfaction: ★★★★½ 

Among other Trappists: ★★★★☆ 

Yes, we are aware that there may be followers of this site who disdain religious things, maybe even Christmas itself…to these folks we ask that you just enjoy the beer, Oval, just as when we sipped on Nosferatu at Halloween we did not suggest that our followers participate in a vampire cult.

Anyway, Orval is a world class, highly regarded beer.  Take some time and visit the brewer-monks’ website. Upon entering the website one reads, Let all guests that come be received like Christ, for he will say, ” I was a stranger and you took me in.” I suppose that statement simply sums up the good-will-toward-men spirit of Christmas.

Throughout the pious site, one will find that beer was and still is regarded my the monks as not only a delightful and sacred beverage, but a viable form of nutritional sustenance; in fact, they refer to it as “liquid bread.”

So this Saturday, fill your glass with some liquid bread and raise a toast to the monks, to whom the brewing world owes much for their development of the science and art of brewing.

2008 was a scary year for the Mrs. and I.  For four months, I was unemployed.  With my wife being a stay at home mom, four kids, and a mortgage, unemployment is hardly an option.  To make matters worse, I had been working as the director of a small non-profit organization where my meager paycheck was often late in coming or missed entirely resulting in a very thin savings.  The disaster was compounded by the fact that non-profits can opt out of unemployment insurance, as did my employer, so I was plumb out of any income.

One of the first things to go in the budget was beer.  For a beer geek, this is a tough sacrifice, but family comes first!  When I did land a job, it took a long time to catch up on bills, pay of credit cards, and ease moderate beer consumption back in to the budget.  Even in 2009 I still found/find myself trying to be as economical as possible.

So going to Dark Lord Day in April with Mike was not just a rite of passage, but a treat.  While my wife, Sandra, and I stayed with Mike and Andrea, I happened to mention that I had recently been dying to try Gulden Draak.  It seemed that no other beer sites (besides the big rating sites) wrote about the stuff and I found this intriguing.  Still, at the time, $15 was more than I could shell out for a bottle of beer.  Mike, being the good friend that he is, surprised me with a bottle while in Indiana.  While I wanted to pop the cork on the bottle right then and there, I decided to save the bottle for when my pregnant wife (who was sad that she couldn’t enjoy Dark Lord!) could drink it with me.  Well, my wife had our son, Ivan, and now can drink her favorite beverage again.  And the Gulden Draak is gone.

The Pour:

Gulden Draak is not golden; however, it is beautiful!  For a trippel it posseses a darker than normal hue.  The brown liquid is relatively clear, brimming with effervescent carbonation.  The billowy and creamy head lingers for a long time before leaving its delicate lacing calling card on the inside of the class.  The head never completely goes away, even till the last sip.

The Aroma:

This is a complex beer.  I am sure that I will miss a few of the sublte characteristics of the aroma.  Like many other Belgians, there is a clove/spicy quality…but unlike other Belgians, it is not the dominant quality.  There is a very herbal and raw/grassy nature to this beer.  I could have sworn I picked up on hints of sweet basil and lemon grass.  There is a slightly acidic quality that reminds me of apples.  Mineral qualities and hints of oxidization mix with the rich caramel notes making for a puzzling beer.

The Taste:

The flavor was quite like the aroma: very earthy, yet refined.  The sweet thin carbonated body released sweet caramel maltiness that had hints of grapes and apples.  Unlike many Belgians, I thought the yeast strain did NOT yield banana like flavors, but there was a mildly pleasant clove flavor.  There was a woody and hay like flavor, that when paired with the caramel and toffee like malts yielded a mineral maple syrup flavor.  The beer goes down exceedingly smooth, masking the high (10.5%) alcohol content until the beer warms up at the end, at which point the awesome flavors still are more prominent.

Overall Thoughts:

This is a world class beer.  If you haven’t tried it, you must, even if you shy away from Belgian beers, as many folks I know do.  Perhaps the months of waiting made it taste better…unlike some, I believe that ambiance can quite impact a drinking experience.  Would this beer still taste awesome if I were a wealthy tycoon with a lofty beer cellar filled with bottle upon bottle of Gulden Draak?  Yes.  But perhaps quite not as good as it did a few nights ago.

Nate’s Rating:

Overall Satisfaction: ★★★★¾ 

Among other Belgian Strong Ales/Trippels: ★★★★¾ 

I’ve written before about how important a beer selection is to me vs. simply having a large quantity on tap. Although these guys don’t have the number of beers to match corporate models, what they do have is what one might call a deep cut.  So, when Dan told me that they didn’t have tons of beer on tap, I wasn’t too deterred…and that’s a good thing.

When we arrived, I immediately took note that the Back Abbey had a display above the bar of bottles from every Trappist Ale, even the rare Westvleteren selections.  That is the one Trappist coveted by beer drinkers that can’t be obtained very easily since they do not distribute or sell their beer commercially (most people are either out of luck or become one-armed and one-legged).  At any rate, every other Trappist was available for purchase.

Having already eaten, Andrea and I did not order any food but did eat some Fritz, which were pretty good (thanks for sharing, Dan and Samantha).  The Back Abbey served food, which looked very nice in presentation and even better in my mind’s tasting eye.  Yet, I was more than content to order a beer or two.

Andrea ordered Carmelite Trippel and I order Schneider Aventius and Saison Dupont…all on tap.  (I didn’t know where else to start, so I went for some things I’d never had on tap before.)  I also tasted Dan’s draught Celebrator, which is already great in the bottle.  I’m not going to give you a full list of the beers, but their tap list was wonderful and their bottle list was great, too.

As I side note, I do want to mention that Dan ordered Kwak on tap.  He literally had to give up his shoe to get the Kwak glass (some thievery has brought about this state of affairs).  But the ambience of the place is also very nice.  The interior had a rustic, almost older German/Belgian pub feel.  No music was blaring, only lively conversations.  The wait staff was friendly and knowledgeable.  There is also something re-assuring, from a quality perspective, when the glasses are inspected with scrutiny before beer ever touches them. Anyway, it was one of the more enjoyable nights that I’ve had for $15 worth of beer.  Check out the Back Abbey if you are near Claremont, CA.

Not always.

While those who favor craft beer often deride the big brewers for skimping on grain and using fillers such as rice and corn to achieve alcohol and thinner bodies, fillers can be used to ad wonderful characteristic to beer.  Belgian candy sugar, for example, can be used to up the ABV of a beer while keeping the body thin (sugar from malt thicken the body of the beer) and adding some delicious caramel flavors.  The result is a very smooth beer that goes down easily.

As a home brewer who has a affinity these styles of beer, I frequently find myself loading up on Belgian candy sugar at my local brew shop.  Two things irk me as I throw the one pound packages in my cart.  First, is the price.  One half pound costs $4.99.  Second, I realize that someone else made the candy sugar.  one of the many enjoyable aspect of home brewing is the sense of ownership you feel as you sip on one of your creations.  Each step of the process that I can take away from a manufacturer, the better I feel about my brew.

Recently I designed an imperial recipe that called for $50 worth of grain.  Ouch!  In addition, it called for 3 pounds of Belgian candy sugar.  With my wallet wincing, I decided that the additional $15 from the Belgian candy sugar was just too much.  So I decided to make my own.

Believe it or not, Belgian candy sugar is easy to make, and cost a fraction of the cost of the finished store product.  In fact, I made 4lbs of the sweet stuff for only three bucks!  Here is the simple procedure:

First I made a thick syrup using 4lbs of  sugar and hot water.  I didn’t measure my water, just added until I could see that the sugar was dissolved.  I wanted a darker finished product, and thus needed a longer boil, so it was on the thinner side.  I added a little bit of citric acid too, which makes the candy more fermentable.  Then I brought the temp up to about 250 degrees. I kept it at this temperature for about an hour by adding water when the temp seemed to be spiking (which happened frequently as the water in the solution evaporated).  When the solution got dark brown/red, I let the temperature rise to about 275 degrees, pulled it of the burner, poured it onto some wax paper, and stuck it in the freezer.

I was very pleased with the results.  It tasted great, with orange and caramel notes, and looked beautiful!  The true test of quality was the presentation to the candy expert, my six year old son.  As he snuck a few pieces when I “wasn’t looking” I knew I had passed.  The only thing I will do differently in the future is avoid using wax paper.  Where the paper was creased the candy enveloped it and I had to run the candy under hot water to remove it.  A greased or Teflon pan may be a better choice.

Dissolving my creation in a pot of bubbling wort (soon to be beer!) was a joy…and so was saving $13!  I would heartily recommend to the advanced home brewing sacrificing a couple of hours to put on his/her chef hat and undertake this culinary adventure…your home brew will thank you for it!

The Pour: Rare Vos poured with a maple-orange body and steady, full head.  The head was slightly off white and creamy in appearance.  It shivered in the glass with an active and bright appearance.

The Nose: Once again, as is pretty common with Belgians, there was a powdery yeast aroma on the nose. More esters (fruit aromas) came through on this beer than some of the other Belgians that I’ve reviewed recently, although it did share in the metallic qualities of beers past.  Rare Vos also had a mineral earthy tone to the nose along with herbal spice and vinous (wine-like) notes.  A promise of some malty sweetness was also held out on the nose.  Very nice aromas.

The Taste: The nose held a lot of promise, and I have to say that I experienced a touch of disappointment when the taste didn’t live up to my expectations.  The dry, mineral earthy tones were a definite part of the the flavor.  The yeast did rise up to all the powderness that the nose held out, to the extent that when it combined with the dryness, it seemed to have a slight chalkiness.  A bit of residual sweetness was a nice aspect.  The spicy herbalness, vinous tones, and metallic tones were also present.  Even a touch of woodiness made its way onto the palate, along with a slight hop finish and bitterness.

Overall, I think this is a solid beer.  There are a few things, mostly preferential, that I find to be unbalanced (which I’ve indicated above).  The only way to find out what you think about it is to give a try.  Everything Ommegang makes is, at least, worth a try.

Mike’s Rating:

Overall Satisfaction: ★★★¾☆ 

Among other Belgians: ★★★½☆