When we launched this blog, we had many objectives (many of which we still have not figured out). Two of those were to, 1)  Expand folks known universe of beer, and 2)Develop a time when we could all enjoy a beer together even if we live on opposite ends of the globe.  Thus, Drink It With Us Friday, developed.

In the meanwhile, we have consumed many heavenly beers and developed relationships with readers and other bloggers.  One such group of bloggers we have come to enjoy and respect host a fantastic beer blog, The Brew Club. Their wit and sage wisdom is always worth reading.  But the other day, as I read through The Brew Club’s site, it dawned on me that they also drank beers together on Friday.  The logical decision was to move our Friday tasting to Saturday, so that you and us can also participate with the folks from The Brew Club on Friday.  The more (beer and friends) the merrier, right?

So from this day forward, Sip It With Us Saturday is our official community drinking day.  We will make an effort to post the beer of the week by Wednesday.  And we don’t want to drink alone, so please…participate!  We will be soon sending out a reminder newsletter/email to remind you of the beer of the week.

Cheers!

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The style of ale that Old Thumper falls into, ESB, tends to be a stronger, more bitter beer.  Usually there is a bit of a bite to it.  Typically, they have a higer alcohol content (as Mike pointed out last week), as does this beer.  I thought this beer, while delcious, strayed a bit from what the name “extra special” forbode.

The poor filled my glass with a pretty copper bubbly beer.  A nice solid head dissipated rapidly, leaving spider-web like lacings on the inside of my glass.

I had bury my nose in the vapor to pick up and discern the subtleties within the aroma.  Instead of bitter scents up front, a smooth buttery malt with fruity hints.  I notices a citrus scent and maybe a little apple and pear.  There was also an earthy smell…almost grass-like, originating from the hops.  Ringwood’s website notes of this beer, “peppery, spicy aroma.”  I thought this was a burried nuance, not a prominent feature.

The beer was very pleasent in the mouth.  For the style, I thought the mouthfeel that smooth and creamy.  The alcohol content wss subdued, but produced a nice tingle in contrast.  The buttery aromas gave was to a pleasently sweet caramel/toffee malt.  There was very little bitterness as the beer sat in my mouth.  I picked up on an acidic note right before swallowing.  I wonder if anyone else did?  RIght before the ale made its way into my throat, the bitter hop flavor I was expecting from the get-go grabbed my attention, and finished the tasting experience out pleasently.

The overall quality of this beer, was refreshing.  I could see myself quaffing one (or two!) of these on a hot summer day after mowing the yard.  For the style, I thought it was quite subdued, but a good beer!

Nate’s Rating:

Overall Satisfaction: ★★★☆☆ 

Among other ESB's: ★★★☆☆ 

Among other English Ales: ★★★½☆ 

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I think this will be a nice treat at the end of a hard week.

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The first time I had this refreshing beer was about four years ago, and the setting was just right.  My wife was pregnant with our second-born, Aylah, and it was our second anniversary.  At the time we lived in Nixa, MO.  We found a babysitter for our boy, Malachi, and headed down the road to a quaint little hole-in-the-wall restaurant, A Bit of Bavaria.  This little shack in the Midwest serves the most authentic German food I have had since the time I spent a few weeks in Germany itself.  Sandra and I ordered up some hearty, gastrointestinal havoc reeking, sausage, spaetzle, red potatoes, and I ordered a bottle of the Hefe_Weisse Dunkel.

As I poured this Friday beer, the smell took me back to that hot Missouri night.  The smell is light and sweet.  I personally did not find it very complex.  I picked up on light toasted wheaty malt smell, slight cove aroma, and maybe a slight hint of chocolate.  The flavor is similar.  A nice, medium body.  The unadventurous drinker should not be deterred by the foreign look of the bottle.  The crisp, dry wheat flavor is a thirst quencher, and goes down smoothly.  The toasted wheat flavor is delicious, and far from bold.  In fact, I might go so far as to say it is slightly “watery.”  The light clove flavor compliments the sweet malt nicely.  I appreciate Franziskaner’s conservative use of this spice, as it is a flavor that I personally don’t find incredibly apealing.

The finish is nice, dry, and malty.  The after taste is wheaty/fruity.  Maybe a little citrusy, and a slight banana flavor.

I paired this German beauty with a meal similar to the one my girl and I enjoyed four years ago, only an authentic German family did not do the cooking this time.  I did.  Here is my rating, followed by a pic of my culinary handiwork.

Overall Satisfaction: ★★★½☆ 

Among other Wheat Ales ★★★☆☆ 

Kielbasa (Slow simmered in beer, of course), Sweet and Sour Red Cabbage, Red Potato, Onion and Cheddar Spaetzle, Wheat Roll

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The 5% alcohol content shouldn’t scare anyway, and neither should the sweet, spiced wheat aroma that will greet you.  Even the most unadventurous beer drinker just might finish this one off with a refreshed smile.

You won’t just be drinking a beer…you’ll be drinking history.  “Franziskaner” comes from the fact that the brewery was first opened in 1363 across from a Franciscan Monastery.  Again…there’s nagging historical link between beer and Christianity…

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Rochefort is designated as a Quadruple Ale, the implication being that it is fitting for times stronger than “normal” ale.  I have plans to try their 8 and 6, but for now, let’s talk about their 10.

This beer had a thick, tall, and light brown stable head.  The body was densely brown and active.  As I looked at it, it seemed like an imposing ale.

When I bent down to sniff this Trappist Ale, I immediately caught the aroma of the 11.3% alcohol that dominated the beer.  There was a sweet, sugary aroma on the nose, along with a malty and vinous quality.  I caught the smell of raisons, a slight cherry fruitiness, and hints of chocolate.  In addition, toasted caramel was a thought that ran through my mind.

Having finished my ritual of sight and smell, I was ready to take a sip.  Man was this strong!  The fruitiness and some of the other smell qualities definitely came through in the taste.  But the most dominate feature that I could gather on this beer was the taste of what I can only describe as Gin.  The alcohol warmth was prevalent and very dry.  Granted, I drink every beer I review at room temp in order to get the most taste (I may drink this again at 55 degrees and add an addendum to this review), so that may be part of why the alcohol was so strong.  However, at this point, all I can say about this beer is that the gin-like alcohol was out of proportion to the rest of the beer.  And this coming from a guy who like Dogfish head’s World-Wide Stout, 120 Min IPA, and Sam Adams Utopias–so, I don’t mind strong alcohol qualities as long as the strike some balance.  

Such a high alcohol in this type of beer is problematic for one reason: candy sugar.  Candy sugar is used to lighten the body of many many Belgian beers.  It is also used as a source of fermentables.  There becomes a point when the beer gets too big for the body.  I’m not asking for a malty bock beer, but I think a little more grain content and a little less sugar would go a long way in adding just a little more balance.

Having said all the above, this is not really a bad beer.  In fact, it is above average.  However, in my final assessment I would only call it disproportionate.

Mike’s Rating:

Overall Satisfaction: ★★★½☆ 

Among other Trappist Ales ★★★¼☆ 

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First off, the beer was highly carbonated.  I am very carefully when opening corked beers as I want to upset the beer as little as possible.  The last corked beer I drank (Three Philosophers)  op-end with ease…the cork slipped off.  Chimay exploded reminiscent of a bottle champagne.  The pour revealed a a cloudy reddish brown liquid.  I noticed small particles (yeast, I assume) suspended in the liquid.  The head on my beer was a bout 3 fingers and was supported by large carbonation bubbles that rested on the surface in a very uneven and unique manner.

The smell was fantastic.  It was a very earthy aroma.  I was expecting to pick up strong malt aromas, but instead my olfactory senses were immediately overwhelmed with a strong but pleasant iron/metallic aroma.  Underneath I picked up the malts, laden with a fruity essence, namely grapes and apple.  I also picked up on smells that reminded me of spice, brown sugar and molasses.

The mouth-feel, despite the dry and bubbly character, was extremely smooth and warm on my tongue.  The flavor of this beer hit me like a ton of heavenly bricks!  The flavor of this brew stands out in a crowd.  In fact, I would venture that this beer had one of the most distinct flavor of any beer I have tasted as a “Drink With Us Friday Beer,” which, in a world full of malty competition and look alike beers, is a rare and precious element.

The sweet molasses malts were perfectly balanced.  I have oft criticized many Belgium Ales of being overbearlingy sweet.  In fact, there have been bottles that I have struggled to finish.  But this dark ale did not over do it on the sweets or the spices.  The complex flavor tasted much like the smell.  Brown sugary, fig/raisin nuances, toasted malts, light clove…delicious.  The sweet yeasty mouthful went down smoothly and ended with a nice bitter twist.  I had a hard time pinpointing the sources of the bitterness ( I am working on developing my “hop” palette).   The entire experience was permiated by that earthy iron flavor.  I am sold.  I would drink this beer every night if I were so economically privileged.

I want to point out that I believe the unique quality comes from two sources.  One the yeast strain, that is guarded and maintained by Father Theodore and two the water source:  protected wells located behind the walls of the abbey.   Drinking this beer was practically a spiritual experience for me as I imagined the craftsmen blessing the beer as they labored over each intensive step of the brewing process.  In fact, the  Chimay website states, ” Here, in this heaven of peace and silence where since 1850 Trappist monks have dedicated their life to God, products are made which, in themselves, gladden the heart of man.”

My heart was gladdened!

I rate this beer:

Overall Satisfaction: ★★★★★ 

Among other Trappist Ales ★★★★★ 

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This week we are drinking a couple of Trappist Ales (we just posted on this very subject).  Since we are interested in people being able to participate in the process of drinking the beers that we post, we are picking a Trappist Ale that most people are able to get.  The Chimay Red, White, and Blue are the most common Trappist Ales that are available to the American consumer.  As a secondary choice, we are picking Rochefort 10, which is maybe the third most common beer (Orval being the second).

Please try to drink one or both of these beers with us on Friday.  It would be a shame if you never tried a Trappist Ale.  We will provide some links to these breweries when we review these beers.  Check it out!

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The beer poured smoothly.  High in carbonation, I thought.  The light piercing the liquid revealed a beautiful coppery/ruby color.   After the nearly one inch of head dissipated the edges of my glass with thick lacing, foreshadowing the maltiness to come.

The hop filled aroma was citrusy and dominant, but forcing my senses further the malty and alcoholic character of the beer was present.  The toasted malt coupled with a raisin/grape aroma practically warmed up the inside of my nose.

The mouth-feel was pleasant.  Despite the high carbonation the IPA was extremely smooth and silky on my tongue.  Initially I was a tad surprised at how ‘unhoppy’ the beer was off the bat.  I mean, I was expecting a burst of bitterness as soon as the beer hit my tongue, and don’t get me wrong, it was hopped up, but the hopped seemed subdued, at least in the batch I purchased.  Perhaps I got a slightly aged batch and the hops were loosing their presence to malt flavors.

Regardless, the beer was balanced.  The sweet malt echoed of figs and raisins.  Complemented by the fruity hops, it was pleasant.  The most striking feature of the beer was the alcohol content.  Usually, beer of this strength, whether they be a similar imperial IPA or another variety like a barley wine, lend themselves to sipping.  Typically these types of beers, due to the pronounced alcohol flavor, are drunken singularly.  But I found that this beer went down as smoothly and covertly as an IPA with an ABV of 6%.  Thus said, it is a good thing that these are sold in packs of four, or else the unassuming consumer may end up being consumed by crapulence.

Basically, I thought the beer is great.  In a sea of IPAs, this one tops the list.

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While the oceans of beer are flooded with hopped up beers and IPA, there are few sharks as victorious (and tasty!) as Dogfish Head’s 90 Minute IPA.  The time spent cultivating this balanced brew pays off with the first sip.

90 Minute IPA has an ABV of 9%…this is no guzzling beer!  The complex flavor makes for a fun tasting.  I really want to all those who pick up a pack this week to concentrate on the complexities of the aroma and flavor and share with us what subtl nuances catch the attention of your palate.  Drinking from the proper glassware will enable this endeavor.  I think a series on glassware is in order.  Mike has a made a nice start recently.

Cheers!

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