Une Année Xellensis

Brewed By: Une Année Brewery in Chicago, Illinois  

Purchased: 750ml (1 Pint 9.4 FL OZ) bottle bought at Bottles & Cans in Chicago, IL; 2015 (Batch #X151)

Style/ABV: American Wild Ale/Belgian Inspired Blond Ale, 8.8%

Reported IBUs: ?

More Midwest shelf turds. About Une Année:

Une Année Xellensis - unsexy photo FTW

Une Année is a brewery based out of Chicago, Illinois located near the intersection of Grand and Ashland in the Kinzie Industrial Corridor (three blocks from the Goose Island Fulton St. production brewery). The brewery was founded in early 2012 by Jerry Nelson, who is "an Architect, Marine, Siebel Institute Graduate, and Chicago native who started homebrewing in 1995 while stationed in California." Currently, Jerry is the head brewer along with Dustin Zimmerman, who also attended the Siebel Institute, and previously brewed at Hamburger Mary’s Andersonville and worked at Nøgne Ø. The name "Une Année" means "one year" in French, and was chosen to reinforce the two main ideas behind the brewery: a focus on Belgian and French style beer, and an emphasis on seasonal beers. For more info, check out the brewery's website.

The Xellensis is a Belgian Inspired Blond Ale brewed with Brett. The bottle reads, "A not sweet blond, brewed exclusively with brettanomyces bruxellensis. This ale will go the distance-provoking your senses and only growing tougher over time. Are you up for the challenge?"

This pours into a blonde-orange body, kicking up a lot of thick, foamy, white head. There is a storm of carbonation in my glass, like Duvel. Head retention is good.

The aroma here is funky, chalky, uniquely Belgian, and Brett. I'm getting a lot of apples and wheat, big yeast esters, pineapple, leather, some earthy funk, must/chalk, and some fruity and spicy phenol notes. Peaches.

Oh wow...this is really nice. I wasn't expecting this. This is a lot thicker than I was expecting. I'm also not getting as much Brett as I thought I would. The Brett comes out as mild and fruity, with apples and pineapple. This has tons of tropical fruit notes, with pineapple, peaches, pear, and apples. There's a bitter kiss of Brett at the back end, with some wheat. This is rich with tons of clove. It kind of reminds me of Pipework's Pineapple Bling. This takes the Belgian thing to an extreme, and reminds me of Duvel and various other Belgian beers. 

 Better photo...

I'm digging this. This is one of the better Une Année beers I have had to date. I don't know if it as good as their Tripel or Quad, but it is pretty close. It also hides the 8.8% very well. This is creamy, full-bodied, and moderately complex. While the complexity could ratchet up, the rest of the beer holds up for the style. I'm wondering if throwing this in your cellar for a year or two would result in some additional Brett complexity. That's my one caveat with many of Une Année's offerings...they all seem like they could benefit from aging a bit longer.

Rating: Above-Average (4.0/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Decent Above-Average on this. This is a solid beer, I'd love to revisit it with some age on it. Really, the base beer is a fantastic Belgian Strong Ale. It's approaching that top-shelf echelon. If the Brett was dialed up a bit, this would be an easy 4.5/5.0. 

Random Thought: I'm really looking forward to Une Année's sour program.

Sierra Nevada's Beer Camp 2014: Yvan The Great Belgian-Style Blonde (brewed with Russian River Brewing Company in Santa Rosa, California)

Brewed By: Sierra Nevada Brewing Company in Chico, California 
Purchased: Single 12oz bottle from the 2014 Beer Camp bought at Jewel-Osco in Chicago, IL; 2014 (PKG 06/02/14)
Style/ABV: Belgian-Style Blonde Ale, 6.3%

Reported IBUs: 50

What is Beer Camp? It is Sierra Nevada's celebration of craft beer and the numerous breweries across America that make that craft beer. For 2014, Sierra Nevada collaborated with 12 different breweries to make 12 different beers. They also have a Beer Camp Across America Beer Festival, which will stop at seven different cities and feature many different breweries and beers.

About Sierra Nevada:

Sierra Nevada are one of the big players in craft brewing, and one of the first craft breweries to arrive on the craft beer scene. If you check out their history page, you will see that founder Ken Grossman began his quest to build a brewery in 1976. In 1980, Ken Grossman and co-founder Paul Camusi brewed their first batch of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. According to Wikipedia, Sierra Nevada's Pale Ale is the second best selling craft beer behind Boston Lager. Sierra Nevada is the sixth largest brewing company in the United States as well, cranking out over 750,000 barrels in 2010. For more info, check out their website.

The Yvan The Great Belgian-Style Pale Ale is a collaboration with the brown bears that hunt salmon in the great Russian River. Of all the beers in this mix-pack, this was by far the one I was the most excited about. The bottle reads: "As longtime friends, Russian River brewmaster Vinnie Cilurzo and our own Brian Grossman are no strangers to brewing experiments. For this collaboration, they honored their friend and renowned Belgian brewer Yvan De Baets. This Belgian-American mash-up harmoniously blends Yvan's penchant for yeast with Vinnie and Brian's affinity for hops."

Yvan The Great Belgian-Style Blonde

This one is easy to describe in appearance: it pours out a hazy lemon-yellow color, with a juicy and hazy body. My pour yielded one finger of white, Saison-esque head that gently faded into a nice sea foam/cauldron effect. Small, modest streams of carbonation pepper the glass.

The aroma here features big Belgian yeast. This is big, earthy, and super raw, with lots of Belgian yeast, raw dough, barnyard, wheat, lemons, white sugar, green bananas, and big black pepper. The Belgian yeast and doughy notes stand out. This smells pretty damn good for a Belgian Blonde. 

I'd say this is somewhere between a wheat beer and a Saison and a Belgian Pale Ale....I'm getting cracker notes, biscuit, wheat, bubblegum, black pepper, coriander/lemon, clove, and earthy straw, grass, and wheat. There's nice bitterness at work here as well, with earthy Belgian yeast.

This is medium-bodied, if not light-full. Palate depth is refined and good....complexity is lacking. This is refreshing and drinkable. It's hard to rate as a one-off, especially in this compilation package. What do I compare this to? As this warms up, some candi sugar notes emerge. Up front: candy sugars, wheat, lemon, Belgian funk; that rolls into bubblegum, wheat, hop balance; the back end is clove, black pepper, biscuit, bread. This finishes with wheat....it's alright. 

Rating: Above-Average (3.5/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a super, super Light Above-Average on this beer. The execution pushes it over-the-top, especially for a boring-ass Belgian Blonde/Pale Ale. Despite my favorable rating for the style, I found this beer and Three Floyd's Chico King to be generally disappointing in the 2014 Beer Camp. There's just so much potential here...ah well. This is solid, and would pair well with pizza or white pasta or something of that ilk. I'm a fan, but it's hard to justify this beer when you have nearby (to the Midwest) breweries like Solemn Oath, Penrose, and even Goose Island.

Random Thought: All the Beer Camp 2014 needed was a single sour. In addition to Russian River's clout as a world class brewer, the description on the bottle of this beer summons the phrase, "brewing experiments." For future reference, please do not use that term unless you brew something that is a brewing experiment. 

New Glarus Stone Soup

Brewed By: New Glarus Brewing Company in New Glarus, Wisconsin

Purchased: 12oz bottle bought at Woodman's in Kenosha, WI; 2013

Style/ABV: Belgian Ale, 5.3% 

Reported IBUs: ?

I swear, there's just a few more bottles of New Glarus left! About New Glarus:

New Glarus is the rare, gorgeous "Midwest" brewery, founded in 1993 by Deborah Carey, the first woman to found and operate a brewery in the United States. She raised the capital for the start-up as a gift to her husband, Dan Carey, who is New Glarus' brewmaster and co-owner. Dan Carey has a long history working in the brewing industry, including an apprenticeship at a brewery near Munich, Germany and a job as the Production Supervisor for Anheuser-Busch. The brewery began as an abandoned warehouse using old brewpub equipment. In 1997, Dan Carey purchased coper kettles from a brewery in Germany. In May 2006, New Glarus opened their new (current) facility on a hilltop in the village of New Glarus. The facility looks like a Bavarian village, and is gorgeous. The expansion has allowed the brewery to continue to increase their production, and expand their operations. For more information, check out their brewery page or Wikipedia. 

The Stone Soup is a bit of a departure for New Glarus, at least in my opinion. This Belgian/Abbey-style ale combines pure Wisconsin barley malt, German and English hops, and Belgian "Monastic yeast" to create a sophisticated beer. I guess this beer is a hybrid of sorts. 

New Glarus Stone Soup

Along with American Ales, Belgian Ales are also my bag, baby. I'm just not an authority on German beer (or any beer, for that matter; see "shitty blog"). This one does look like a Belgian Ale, pouring into a radiant, hazy, farmhouse-looking body. The body is a juicy yellow color, and kicks up a finger of hazy white head. Bright light confirms the radiant yellow/orange color. It looks like Gatorade. And the head is definitely white, leaving some sea foam coverage and lacing. There is carbonation. 

There's a really nice malty character on the aroma. It's somewhere between wheat and Pilsner malt. I'm getting huge clove on the aroma, along with some banana, white sugar, and vanilla. I'm getting banana wafers and banana fosters, and a little caramel/sugar. There's lots of perfumey spice on the nose as well. New Glarus suggests a ginger character...I could see that, but it's not something that I would come up with.

I'm getting some nice bitterness as I sip on this...but mostly, I'm getting the elements of a refined Belgian Pale Ale. I'm picking up a ton of clove, zesty and perfume spice, some hints of lemons, Hefeweizen-like banana/clove/vanilla/white sugar, a little wheat, and some of that ginger that I might not have placed. It reminds me of a German Hefe with some elements of a typical Belgian Pale Ale/Belgian Golden Strong. There's a lot of flavor here, and I'm picking up some farmhouse character and Belgian funk. 

The beer here cleaned up nicely. It's attenuated, there are no cloying residual sugars, and it's very drinkable. It's like an Above-Average Belgian Ale. The body is creamy, carbonated, and medium-full. There's a surprising amount of heft here for a beer that is supposedly around 5.3% ABV. But again, it is drinkable. Palate depth is outstanding, and the complexity is pretty good. I'm getting some lemon and ginger zest up front; that rolls into more zesty citrus, including orange, and then you get the clove/banana/vanilla punch; the back end lays on some clove, with lingering Belgian/farmhouse yeast funk, some wheat and straw, and a super nice finish. I really like this, and would buy it again.

Rating: Above-Average (4.0/5.0 Untappd)

This is a Strong Above-Average beer, and maybe even higher. I really, really like this take on a Belgian Ale. This is maybe my favorite non-fruit beer from New Glarus. Super tasty stuff, and I'm really happy I stumbled upon this beer. This is something I would purchase by the case in the Spring or Summer months. I would pair this beer with meats and cheeses, fruit salad, light white pasta, white fish, mussels, calamari, peach cobbler and other fruity pies, and pork (as per New Glarus). 

Random Thought: My next beer is the last 12oz bottle...and then all I have left are the fruit beers. Woo-hoo!

Val-Dieu Blond

Brewed By: Brasserie de l’Abbaye du Val-Dieu in Aubel, Belgium 

Purchased: 11.2oz/330ml bottle bought at Binny's in IL; 2013

Style/ABV: Belgian Blonde Ale, 6.0%

Reported IBUs: ?

Intrigued by the Val-Dieu beer glass that I purchased, I went looking for some of their beer. I ended up finding their Grand Cru/Quad, and a gift pack thing with three of their beers. So off we go. About Val-Dieu:

The Cistercian Abbey “Notre Dame du Val-Dieu” was founded in 1216 by monks from Hocht, near Maastricht (the capital city of the Dutch province of Limburg) and the county of Dalhem. The legend goes that the uninhabited valley into which they settled was so hostile the locals called it the "valley of the devil." The monks renamed it "Valley of God," or Val-Dieu in French. Val-Dieu was the only Belgian abbey to survive the French Revolution. Today, the abbey is still linked to the Cistercian Order, and the abbey of Lérins.  

According to Wikipedia, the abbey's original church was destroyed in 1287 during the War of Limburg Succession, and again in 1574 during the Eighty Years' War, and again in 1683 by the armies of Louis XIV. Under Abbot Jean Dubois, from 1711 to 1749, the abbey flourished, until the church was destroyed again in the French Revolution. 

The brewery (Brasserie de l'Abbaye du Val-Dieu) was established in 1997 at the abbey farm. Originally, the monks of Val-Dieu brewed beer to make the water drinkable and to avoid diseases like dysentery, cholera, and typhoid. The beers brewed at the abbey today are inspired by the original recipes of the monks. The abbey emphasizes basic ingredients, a rigorous brewing process, and straight up legit water from the regional Gileppe dam. For more info, check out the abbey's website, or the Val-Dieu website.

The Val-Dieu Blond is described as a fresh, light beer. Punching in at 6.0%, this is the lightest (or one of the lightest) of the Val-Dieu mainstay offerings.

Val-Dieu Blond

The beer pours a hazy yellow/straw color, with a swampy body that looks like murky pond water. There's some yeast floating around, and the beer kicked up a finger of white, crackling head. This one gushed, so I let some air escape before fully popping the cap. What looks like bukkake Mona Lisa in low light looks like Mona all done up for prom night in bright light. The beer has a radiant golden body in bright light, with a pinky of hazy white head that left magnificent spider web lacing behind. There's also streams of tiny carbonation bubbles, of the likes of Duvel.

The aroma reminds me of the aged Schneider Aventinus. You get lots of wheat, big perfume, fruity esters, and huge fruity sugars. I'm getting Juicy Fruit, caramelized apples sprinkled with sugar, apple juice, wheat, prunes, apricots, and hints of darker fruits, and some hints of boozy phenols.

You get much of the same stuff in the taste, with a smack of funk, some clove, a touch of saffron/flowers/honey, and some light powder/dust towards the back. I'm getting lots of wheat, apples, pineapple, some floral hop bitterness, perfumey yeast, and some light dusted lemon.

This is very much standard stuff. The mouthfeel is medium-bodied, creamy, smooth, and supported by pillows of carbonation. Palate depth and complexity are both par the course, and this is drinkable with pleasant perfume-y phenols. You get creamy head and fruits up front; that rolls into more fruits and wheat with some light hop kick; the back end has some of the perfume/phenol/powder. The finish is light and not very drying. 

Rating: Average (3.0/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Strong Average on this beer. There's not much to see here, but this beer has the authentic trimmings of a Belgian Blond. It's more enjoyable than something like a Leffe Blonde, minus the price and availability, of course. And it doesn't tack on the "e" for the dumbass American market. Or should I say the French American market. Wee wee. Freedom fries, what? You can pair this here beer with cheeses and meats, but that's not thinking outside the box. There's an almost wine-like quality to this beer, so you could also pair it with lighter pasta and mussels or something of that ilk.  

Random Thought: And now for part 2...

Ommegang Fleur De Houblon

Brewed By: Brewery Ommegang (Moortgat) in Cooperstown, New York

Purchased: 12oz bottle from a 4-pack bought at Jewel-Osco in Chicago, IL; 2013
Style/ABV: Belgian Ale, 6.8%

Reported IBUs: ?

Tonight's beer came from a spontaneous purchase...and it turned out to be a pretty good spontaneous purchase at that. About Ommegang: 

Ommegang was founded in October of 1997, in Cooperstown, New York. The Ommegang Brewery is set up on a traditional, Belgian-style farmhouse, and they are known for their unique takes on traditional Belgian-Style beers. Brewery Ommegang was sold to Duvel Moortgat in 2003. Ommegang Ales are made both in Belgium and in Cooperstown, New York.

The Fleur De Houblon appears to be a limited release. Contrary to what the name implies, the Fleur De Houblon (hop flowers) is apparently your typical Belgian Pale Ale, with one twist: the addition of whole-cone Bravo hops. Bravo is a newer, super high alpha hop, and provides excellent bittering as well as pleasant fruity/floral aromas. Let's see how the beer stacks up.

Ommegang Fleur De Houblon

This one pours a hazy, dark, golden-yellow/honey/gold color, with 3-fingers of wispy, white, foamy head. The head is sustaining nicely, and leaving lacing as it drops off. If you've seen one unfiltered Belgian Ale, you've seen them all.

Ommegang's house yeast is great stuff, and it shows up here. You get big wheat, bubblegum, vanilla/clove, horse blanket/barnyard, custard, and some big apples and pears. The hops are fruity/floral and bright, and there's some peppery spice or cinnamon on the nose as well.

As far as Belgian Ales go, this one veers towards bright and hoppy, with big fruity/floral hops overwhelming the yeast and malt. You pick up pleasant bitterness, some herbal/peppery kick, and big apples, pears, floral brightness, and maybe some light greens (cilantro, mint). There's a strong Belgian base, with clove, white sugar, and bubblegum; and some hints of wheat and biscuit.

The body features good carbonation, and is effervescent, bubbly, and dry. It's a medium, medium-full bodied beer with good drinkability. The 6.8% is respectably high, but not burdensome in any noticeable way. Palate depth is good, but complexity is about on par with what you've come to expect from Ommegang (not a criticism; more like a subtle compliment). You get some clove/wheat up front, followed by a big hop kick; that rolls into wonderful hop bitterness and peppery spice, some bubblegum, wheat, clove; the back end features that cilantro/mint, lingering apple/pear/wheat/bubblegum...fade to dry. 

Rating: Above-Average (4.0/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Light Above-Average on this. This is super bright and floral, and is an outstanding Belgian counterpart to stronger American-style Pale Ales or IPAs. If you want a bright, floral, hoppy beer with a Belgian twist: this is that beer. For Ommegang/Duvel's wheelhouse, this is right in line with what I've come to expect from them. The bright hops and noteable spice in this beer suggest peppery food pairings...be it chicken or turkey, or mushrooms, or a burger with greens, or even a salad or ceviche...this is lovely stuff. The 4-pack format has pros and cons...but I paid 8 bucks for mine. I consider that a steal. Check it out.

Random Thought: So Dexter premiered last week, and I have to say....so far so good! At this rate, I'm just going to pretend that Seasons 3 through 6 didn't happen.

St. Feuillien Blonde

Brewed By: Brasserie St. Feuillien / Friart in Le Roeulx, Belgium

Purchased: 330ml bottle from a St. Feuillien Gift Set bought at West Lakeview Liquors in Chicago, IL; 2013
Style/ABV: Belgian Blond Ale/Abbey Ale/Strong Ale, 7.5%

Reported IBUs: ?

As with many of my purchases, this one was kind of a random, impulsive buy. It's been a while since I've had an Abbey-style beer, so I figured I'd put St. Feuillien through the runner. Speaking of, St. Feuillien has to be one of the most frustrating names to type out. I keep wanting to insert an "r" into the name. St. Feuillien is is an Abbey-stye brewery based out of Le Roeulx, Belgium, founded in 1873. The brewery's history goes back to the 7th century, when an Irish monk by the name Feuillien came to Belgium to preach the Gospel. Unfortunately...while traveling through Le Roeulx, Feuillien was martyred and beheaded. In memory of Feuillien, his disciples built a chapel in 1125, which became the Abbey of Prémontrés, later known as the Abbaye St-Feuillien du Roeulx. The Abbey prospered until the French Revolution. St. Feuillien makes use of natural ingredients, centuries-old brewing methods, and (I believe) all their beers are bottle conditioned. You can read more about them HERE. 

Tonight's beer, the St. Feuillien Blonde, is a Belgian Blond/Strong Ale, described as having a deep golden color and a smooth, frothy head. This beer should be perfumed, with some nice hops and spice. Let's glass this up and see what we get.

4/20 flame my shitty picture: St. Feuillien Blonde

This one pours pretty righteous, with a really nice cloudy orange/blond/gold color, and a finger of thick white head that is creamy and won't die. In bright light, this beer is a hazy blond/gold color, with some hints of orange. There's a ton of carbonation rising upwards in the form of small bubbles, and the head is thick, creamy, bright white, leaving lacing, and sustaining like crazy. Really...just a dynamite looking beer.

The aroma on this is super perfumey, with big floral Belgian yeast fruitiness, apples, pears, and other stone fruits, some white sugar, a bit of dust/powder, ghostly malt heaviness, and yeah. The nose is quite vibrant, really leaning on that yeasty fruitiness.

Wowza, the taste on this is creamy, smooth, and big. I'm getting a lot of yeast fruitiness, some big grain and Pils malt, lots of phenolic spice, perfumey fruits, and a little booze to boot. There's big pears, apples, stone fruit, hints of pepper and clove, grain, biscuit, and boozy smoothness that's pretty complex. There's a bit of hop kick in the middle, with some earthy and bittering hop bite, and a touch of citrus.

This is pretty nice. The mouthfeel is full-bodied, creamy, smooth, a touch dusty, and features complex and subtle booze. At 7.5%, this is appropriately boozy, and should be sipped on/enjoyed slowly. This would be perfect for the winter. The slightly dusty mouthfeel lends all sorts of faux credibility to this, and it really feels like an Abbey Ale, whatever that means. Palate depth is great, complexity is not far behind...up front is perfume, spice, stone fruits; this rolls into grain, Pils malt, bitter and earthy hops, hints of citrus; the back end rounds out with lingering grain, dust/powder, and a dry finish. Really nice stuff.

Rating: Above-Average

I'm feeling a Strong Above-Average on this, and might even go higher on a revisit. I'm a bit surprised, but this is a really solid brew. I would pair this with some strong cheeses, a meat and cheese tray, a burger with cheddar cheese and bacon, all things bacon and cheese, and even something like turkey or chicken. This beer would also work in the winter months, though I feel like I could sip it in the summer as well. Good stuff...not too expensive, would recommend.

Random Thought: It's supposed to be 80 tomorrow. Summer is finally here...at least for one day.

Ommegang Iron Throne

Brewed By: Brewery Ommegang (Moortgat) in Cooperstown, New York

Purchased: 750ml bottle (25.4oz) from Walg in Chicago, IL; 2013
Style/ABV: Belgian Ale, 6.5%

Reported IBUs: ?

Straight up confession: I don't watch Game of Thrones. That's not to say that I won't watch Game of Thrones, or that I have any objection to the show. I don't. It just hasn't made its way to my DVR/Netflix, and I have a bunch of other shows I'm trying to keep up with. Like AMC's The Walking Dead. Uggghh. I'm still disappointed with the finale. I'm hoping this beer will be a nice palate cleanser, if you will. About Ommegang: 

Ommegang was founded in October of 1997, in Cooperstown, New York. The Ommegang Brewery is set up on a traditional, Belgian-style farmhouse, and they are known for their unique takes on traditional Belgian-Style beers. Brewery Ommegang was sold to Duvel Moortgat in 2003. Ommegang Ales are made both in Belgium and in Cooperstown, New York.

The Iron Throne is a limited release, and I want to say it's flying off the shelves. Maybe not, as it was well-stocked when I found it. If you check out the Iron Throne page, you can see that this beer is the result of Ommegang partnering up with HBO to commensurate the Season Three debut of Game of Thrones. The bottle describes this beer as a "Blonde Ale with malty sweetness and a touch of fruity spiciness. Noble Hop aromas and notes of citrus." The beer is brewed with grains of paradise, lemon peel, Styrian Golding and Hallertau Spalter hops, and pils, honey, and red wheat malts. This was bottled on 02/06/2013 and is best by 02/2015.

Ommegang Iron Throne

This one pours a dark, hazy, golden-yellow color, with 3+ fingers of fluffy, dense, cloud-like head. The head is white, even in low light. In bright light, the beer is a nice hazy, pale, golden-yellow. It's remniscent of other Belgian Ales brewed with pils malts (i.e. Duvel). As you would expect, the carbonation is quite lively, head retention is good, and there's some lacing. Nice looking stuff.

There's some nice lemon bite on the aroma, and a lot of clove. I'm getting a lot of Belgian yeast, some mild Belgian yeast funk, grains of paradise, biscuit/dough, and some nice citrus zest: lemon peel, lemon zest, and elusive citrus fruits. I would say the aromas are pleasant rather than mild. And you can tell this was made with legit ingredients.

The taste is where this clearly veers into Belgian Blond territory. This is not as attenuated as Duvel, and finishes with a bit more bready/doughy malt kick. I'm getting a ton of Pilsner grains, grains of paradise, and clove in this. Honey shows up to the party, and there's some nice Belgian funk throughout. You also get some nice hop bitterness on the finish, with a hint of black pepper. There's definitely some lemon peel abound, as it shows up in the front-to-mid palate, and again in the back. Overall, this is really solid stuff.

This is fairly dense for the style, with creamy carbonation, and a medium-full mouthfeel. The lively carbonation does help keep this beer drinkable. For a Belgian Blond, this has good palate depth and good complexity. At 6.5%, this is also very drinkable. Up front is clove, Belgian yeast funk, lemon peel; this rolls into more clove, grain, honey; the back end is trailing clove, hop bitterness, mild pepper spice. The finish is lightly malty and bready, and then semi-dry.

Rating: Above-Average

I'm feeling a Decent Above-Average on this. This is a solid one-off, and will help both HBO and Ommegang in terms of gaining new fans. You really can't go wrong with Belgian yeast and Pils malts. You could pair this with some peppery chicken or turkey, rustic potatoes, a hearty stew, and maybe even with pasta. This beer can also stand up to strong cheeses, and I'm about to pair this with either sushi or a corned beef sandwich. This was around 10-12 dollars a bottle...a worthy investment, and something you should try if you like Game of Thrones. I promise I'll hold up my end as a beer fan. Game of Thrones is on my to-watch list.

Random Thought: Season 3 of The Walking Dead had some great moments, both in terms of the show overall, and in terms of character development. But through the long haul (16 episodes), the bad writing became too much. The Governor is one of the most inconsistent characters on the show, which makes no sense given how significant he is in the comics. The whole Andrea thing didn't work because I don't care about her character, and the pacing has been way off. While Season 2 was truly bad, Season 3 only managed to elevate things by just a bit. I look forward to the reboot.

Samuel Adams Belgian Session

Brewed By: Boston Beer Company in Boston, Massachusetts
Purchased: 12oz bottle from the Sam Adams Summer Styles, from Jewel-Osco in Chicago, IL; 2012
Style/ABV: Belgian Blond Ale, 4.3%

Tonight I'm continuing to work my way through the Sam Adams Summer Styles seasonal mix-pack. Before we get started, let me give some props to Sam Adams:

Samuel Adams was founded in 1984 by Jim Koch, and currently the Boston Beer Company is the largest American-owned beer company in the United States. Sam Adams is also the largest craft brewer in America, with over a million barrels of beer being produced annually. You can check out the Sam Adam's website for more info.

Tonight's beer, the Belgian Session, seems to be a replacement for Sam Adam's Rustic Saison. The Rustic Saison didn't seem to do so well...at least not concerning reviews. Hopefully the Belgian Session will hold up as far as Belgian Blond Ales are concerned.

According to this beer's profile page, the Belgian Session is a take on a traditional Belgian beer, but brewed with a twist to create a "crisp, lighter version of this classic style." And yeah, at 4.3% ABV, this is a bit light as far as the style goes. This beer is described as being "fruity, spicy, and featuring toffee and caramel notes from the malts, and citrus characters from the hops." The beer is brewed as a session beer, so light on the alcohol, and ready to be consumed by the 6-pack. This beer uses Belgian yeast, Hallertau Mittelfrueh Noble hops (for subtle floral aromas) and American Ahtanum hops (for citrus notes).

Despite being a low-ABV session beer, this thing clocks in at 141 calories. It also packs 16 IBUs. For comparison, Leffe Blonde, another popular Belgian Blond Ale, packs around 200 calories per bottle. If you're curious about the Belgian Blond Ale style guidelines, you can roll over to the BJCP. I will say though, I'm expecting something a lot lighter being that this is a session beer. Let's get on with the review and see what is up with this beer:

Samuel Adams Belgian Session

The beer pours with 3-fingers of bubbly, Belgin-looking head. Actually...the head has slightly thinner bubbles, but meh. It's off-white in low light, and pretty damn white in bright light. The head is actually holding up reasonably well, and there is even some lacing on my glass. I'm guessing it has something to do with the steady stream of small bubbles rising from the center of my Duvel tulip. In low light this beer is orange/copper/gold. In bright light, this beer is a yellow-gold color. This beer is transparent, which is kind of Sam Adam's thing...I want to see what one of their bottle-conditioned beers looks like. Again, I'm impressed with the head retention, with one centimeter plus of head hanging around.

There's a lot of typical Belgian funk on the nose. You get that big clove-sugar-vanilla profile, floral notes, a hint of grain or bread, and some hints of fruit (maybe some citrus, a hint of something tart, and maybe a dash of sweet fruits; tropical?).

The taste is light, crisp, and refreshing, and a touch watery. Up front you get some clove and fruit, some grain, and then a crisp finish with some hints of grain and hops. Maybe a touch of drying. There are some hints of banana and lemon in here, and maybe a hint of tartness with the finish.

This is light, super refreshing, and ridiculously drinkable at 4.3% ABV. This has a light-medium to light-heavy mouthfeel, with medium to high carbonation (there is a bit of effervescence here), good palate depth, but very low complexity. I'm not picking up on any toffee or caramel really. Up front is some clove, lemon, and hops, the middle is more clove and lemon, and the back is that hint of grain/hops. I mean I could probably dig for flavors here, but nothing is screaming out. The back is crisp and finishes nicely. 

Rating: Average

 

This is definitely a drinkable or sessionable Belgian. I'm feeling like this is a decent Average Belgian Blond. There is not much here in the way of complexity or depth of flavors, but then you get something that is incredibly drinkable and features nice layers of clove. Personally, I'd rather just drink a Duvel and say screw the calories...but Duvel is like a Belgian Strong Ale and I don't want to compare apples to oranges. Really though, this is an okay edition to the Summer Styles. This is a great summer beer with a big of Belgian flair. Would I pick this up as a 6-pack? Maybe. Until next time, don't drink and perform brain surgery.

Goose Island Demolition Ale

Brewed By: Goose Island Beer Company (owned by AB InBev) in Chicago, Illinois

Purchased: 1 Pint, 6oz (650mL) bomber from Binny's in IL; 2011

Style/ABV: Belgian Blonde Ale, 7.2%

Goose Island - former pride of Chicago craft brewing

I realize that I never properly introduced Goose Island. But there is so much to talk about regarding today's beer, and I don't want to spend too much time on history. Especially since I am jaded knowing that Goose Island is now owned by A-B InBev. The Wikipedia breakdown works for me: the brewery began as a brewpub on Clybourn which opened on May 1988. The actual brewery itself opened on 1995, and is located on the Southwest side of Chicago. The second brewpub, located in Wrigleyville by the Chicago Cubs, was opened in 1999. On March 28, 2011, Goose Island sold 58% of the brewery to Anheuser-Busch. The remaining 42% of the brewery is also supposed to be acquired by A-B in the future.

Today's beer is called "Demolotion" and is currently retired. Goose Island has a number of retired beers, including their Bourbon County Vanilla, Bourbon County Rare, Nut Brown Ale, and their Oatmeal Stout. The Nut Brown Ale and Oatmeal Stout were fan-fucking-tastic, and I am sad to see them go.

Aside from the very popular 312 Urban Wheat Ale that Goose Island is most known for, they brew a number of classic, vintage, vintage reserve, and extreme ales. The classic ales include typical seasonal offerings. The vintage and vintage reserve ales are Belgian and French Style Ales. And the extreme ales are huge Imperial Stouts and Barleywines.

Today's beer, Demolition, would be in the Vintage Ales if not for being retired. I feel like it is kind of pointless to review a retired beer - after all, this beer won't be on shelves in the future. But at the same time, I think there is some cool stuff we can educate ourselves on in the process. Specifically, I want to unravel some style semantics, and I want to see how a stale beer holds up. YES: I am reviewing this beer well past its expiration date. According to my bottle, this beer was bottled on 2/6/2011. Even more depressing is that there are no clear indications that this is bottle-conditioned. Although, I get the impression from all the yeast and sediment inside the bottle that it might be. The bottle clearly states: "Will remain fresh 180 days from the bottled on date." Well fuck me; according to my math, it's been around 304 days since bottling. That means this beer is 120 days overdue. I'm worried - I'm not gonna lie. But then again, people age beers like Sierra Nevada's Celebration Ale for 10 years. This beer uses Saaz and Chinook hops and has Belgian Yeast, so my hope is that it remained funky and drinkable despite being overdue.

So already we are throwing credibility out the window and pissing in the wind with this review. But we can still talk about style semantics and have some fun drinking beer in the process. Ratebeer has dubbed this beer a Belgian Ale and BeerAdvocate is calling it a Belgian Pale Ale. I've complained about these ambiguous style guidelines before. Goose Island has dubbed Demolition a Belgian and French Style Ale.

The BJCP has a Belgian and French Style Ale category, and within that section is the Belgian Pale Ale category. Belgian Pale Ales have an IBU between 20-30, an ABV between 4.8-5.5%, and use Pilsner or Pale Malts, Vienna and Munich malts for color, body and complexity, and Noble hops like Styrian Goldings and East Kent Goldings.

The BJCP also has a Belgian Blond Ale category. These beers have IBUs between 15-30, ABVs between 6-7.5%, and use Belgian Pils malts, aromatic malts, sugar, Belgian yeast strains, and noble hops. They also have an often noticeable orange or lemon flavor.

The Demolition uses Saaz and Chinook hops; I believe the Saaz are a classical noble hop, and the Chinook is more of an American hop that is often used in Pale Ales, and IPAs. Demolition also uses Pilsen malts, clocks in at 40 IBUs, and packs 7.2% ABV. It sounds slightly more bitter than both the Belgian Pale Ale and the Belgian Blond Ale. It also clocks in at a much higher ABV than a Belgian Pale Ale. Perhaps it doesn't play nicely with either style guideline...I guess we will find out, hopefully.

Again. This bottle is well overdue. I'll obviously note any noticeable defects, and comment accordingly. But it really doesn't matter because this beer is retired. So this review is strictly for the LULz and the education.

The "Cauldron Effect" that I'm always babbling about...

The beer yielded some good smoke when I popped the top. There was also some carbonation peaking out, so I poured it quickly. The bottle says pour it into a snifter; and who am I to argue? This is a hazy, straw-colored beer with hints of straw, yellow, and orange depending on the light. I got one-finger of a very white colored head that dissolved into a wonderful cauldron effect fairly quickly. The head has semi-thin bubbles that reminded me very much of the head on a Saison. This beer is super carbonated and effervescent, and it also has A TON of sediment floating around in it. My guess is that this is in fact bottle-conditioned. But why would the beer clearly warn you to drink it in 180 days? Just about every other Goose Island beer that isn't from their classic line advises that you can cellar it up to 5 years. Very strange.

The aroma here is hops, Belgian yeast, and candied notes and spices. The hops do smell a bit faded - and hey - my guess is a lot of the flavor in this beer comes from the Saaz and Chinook hops. Beers that you can age often get their flavor from yeasts and malts. Still, I'm getting sweet grapefruit on the nose, lemon and lemongrass, catty Belgian funk, a touch of orange, a touch of candied citrus/candied lemon/candied orange, and hints of pepper. Overall, not a bad nose at all. 

My initial impression upon first taste is that this beer is flat. This beer is catty, stale, and has not held up well. The hops are not resonating, and it is pretty clear that time has taken a tole on this beer. I'm a little concerned, though. The beer poured with a head, smelled great, and still has taste and flavor. Is my own bias and expectations tainting my opinion? Or can I trust myself to describe the beer accurately. 

I'm tasting a lot of peppery and spicy citrus; hints of grapefruit, orange, lemon, and lemon grass sprinkled with that peppery note. There are actually hints of pine as well. I'm also picking up some grain and biscuit, and a slight sour or astringent quality. The bone dry finish and the peppery citrus remind me a bit of a Saison. 

Goose Island Demolition Ale

There's not a lot of complexity with this bottle, and the mouthfeel is flat. This is carbonated and thin, with that peppery and bone dry finish typical of a Saison. The alcohol is absolutely non-existent, save for some warming on the deep back end. The front is peppery carbonation, citrus, and pine. You get peppery and pine in the middle, which roll into a dry backbone that has hints of grain and biscuit. 

Rating: N/A

Score: N/A

A long time ago I stated that I would never rate a beer with obvious defects. I'm not even going to guesstimate a rating, because there really is no point. The fact is, this doesn't taste bad and there are still good notes that sing. But there is also a catty, flat, and faded quality to this beer that is highly suspect. 

On the plus side, I feel like this beer is in fact a very ambiguous Belgian and French Ale. I'm reminded quite a bit of a Saison, which is a strong, fruity, and spicy beer. I really do not believe this beer fits into the Belgian Pale Ale category, and the assertive hops make me wonder if it would qualify as a Belgian Blond Ale either.

I'm sad that I didn't drink this beer when it was fresh. Actually, not really. To be honest, Demolition appeared to be a genuine flop. This beer was always lining the shelves of the liquor store, and it never seemed to achieve popular status. Goose Island has a large number of really good Belgian-style brews, and I feel like this one just got lost in the crowd. Proof that less is more, Goose Island still offers a legit Saison (their Sofie) and a number of other Belgian Ales.

So there you have it. My first review of a likely defected beer, a whole lotta info on Goose Island and their beer, and some food for thought on the style semantics of the Demolition Ale. Until the next review, cheers.

Petrus Blond

Brewed By: Bavik-De Brabandere in Harelbeke, Belgium

Purchased: Single bottle (11.2oz) from a Petrus sampler bought at Binny's in Chicago, IL; 2011

Style/ABV: Belgian Blond Ale, 6.6%

I believe that tonight's beer is a Belgian Blond Ale, as per the (18A.) Belgian Blond Ale category in the BJCP. Popular Belgian Blond Ales include Leffe Blond and Grimbergen Blond.

There is also a Belgian Pale Ale category, as per (16B.) in the Belgian and French Ale category. Belgian Pale Ales are apparently most commonly found in the Flemish provinces of Antwerp and Brabant. But most importantly, these seem to be slightly lower in ABV, more balanced, and have good drinkability. These are "Belgian session beers."

So who cares? Concerned citizens, that is who. Ratebeer has this beer in their "Belgian Ale" category, which is a catch-all category for Belgian beers less than 7% ABV who do not fit into other categories. BeerAdvocate has put Petrus Blond into their "Belgian Pale Ale" category. This is confusing for a lot of reasons, including the fact that Leffe Blonde is a Belgian Blond Ale according to the BJCP, but falls into BeerAdvocates "Belgian Pale Ale" category. So it seems like BeerAdvocate uses "Belgian Pale Ale" as a catch-all category like Ratbeer uses "Belgian Ale." The BJCP firmly divides the two.

It's confusing and silly, and completely nonsexual. I just want to drink beer.

Today's beer is brewed by Bavik-De Brabandere. The brewery was founded in 1894 by Adolphe De Brabandere. One of his kids, Joseph De Brabandere, brewed his first beer the same year the brewery was founded. Before 1950 the brewery's beer was sold primarily to cafes and individuals, but post-1950 the beer has been sold to merchants. The Bavik Brewery is a family run business, and is one of the largest independent breweries in Belgium.

Let's dive in and taste this Belgian Blond "whatever you want to call it" Ale. 

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Petrus Blond

The beer pours with a solid, 3-finger, slightly off-white head that has hints of straw or yellow in it. The beer is transparent, clear, and has moderate to high carbonation. The body of this beer is a dark golden, straw color. In lower light this beer looks like a straw-copper-amber color, but in bright light there are hints of orange, gold, and straw. The head is taking its time to dissolve, and leaving some excelling lacing on the glass as it does.

Big pils malts dominate the aroma. There are some lemony fruit esters in here, yeast, white-sugar, grain, straw, honey, clove, maybe saffron? I'm also getting a tangy note, and some pear or apples, but this could just be an interpretation of the lemon-straw-grass note. Very malty, subtle, earthy, maybe vinous, and complex; this still has a "fresh" quality to it that I quite like.

The taste is really smooth, soft, and light. There's some alcohol and clove on the back end, and lots of Pils malts lingering after my first sip. I'm tasting honey, grain, biscuits, pears, slight tang, grass, and just solid malt sweetness with nice dryness. There is also some slight dusty-ness to this, with almost a hint of leathery. This is very wine-like and vinous, and the mouthfeel reminds me of the recent Corsendonk Ales I had.

This is sweet, light, and very soft on the palate. There is moderate carbonation, but I would say this is on the heavy end of a light beer. This is a pretty smooth drinker, and while you do feel some warming on the back end, you really don't notice the 6.6% ABV. This has wonderful palate depth, and great complexity. And unlike Leffe Blonde, you can tell this is a refined craft beer. The front end is malty, honey, sweet and some hints of pear; this rolls into a middle that features pears, honey, grain, and grass. The back end is all Pils malt with some warming from the booze. You get clove phenols throughout. Again, slightly dusty and vinous, but pretty bright and "fresh." Maybe some acidity?

Rating: Above-Average

Score: 82%

Solid stuff right here. I would take this over Leffe Blonde 8 days out of the week, except that this has low availability and seems to command a higher price. This is a good start to the Petrus sampler, and I look forward to trying the other two beers that came with the sampler. I would recommend trying this beer out, it's solid stuff.

Leffe Blond

Why did the blond appear twice on the bottle?

Because foreigners are stupid, that's why.

I bet you weren't expecting that, but here is a bottle branded "Leffe Blonde - Blond." The extra "e" is for the French translation of blonde; or, the absence of an "e" is for us Americans. Obviously this beer is not freedom fries compatible.

Brewed By: A-B InBev/InBev Belgium in Leuven, Belgium 

Purchased: Single bottle (6oz) from a 12-pack bought at Jewel-Osco in Illinois; 2011

Style/ABV: Belgian Blond Ale, 6.6%

After destroying Budweiser, it seems appropriate to dabble in one of A-B InBev's classier brews. Leffe is owned by InBev Belgium, the European branch of A-B InBev. Despite being owned by one of the big guys, my understanding is that the beer is brewed in the abbey Notre Dame de Leffe. The abbey was founded in 1152, went through a bunch of rough times, and came out brewing beer in 1902. There's a good amount of information about the abbey's history on the abbey's website. The information includes discussion of the beer.

Today's beer is a blond Belgian Ale brewed with light malt, corn, water, hops and yeast. The website suggests that this beer is thirst quenching, and that it has a full, sweet, and fruity taste.

This is a golden-orange beer that is relatively clean and clear. There is good head retention which is likely supported by the tremendous amount of carbonation. A nice stream of medium-sized bubbles continue to rise upwards. The head is slightly off-white, perhaps orange in color. It is sort of thin and not particularly foamy. The aroma reminds me of a Tripel quite a bit. There are good candy and spice notes, including some clove and maybe a hint of orange peel. There's also a huge funky note that is very earthy and barnyardy. I get some slight sugar notes. Overall it's a fairly perfumey head with a fair amount of maltiness.

The aromatic and pils malts really come through and provide the bulk of the flavor. I do pick up a slight corn or grain note, but overall it's a perfumey beer. The profile of the overall flavor kind of reminds me of a wheat beer, and the characters of a Tripel don't show up as much here in the body or taste. There is some definite clove notes here, and a lot of earthy notes I cannot quite place. The alcohol does come through, but not in a bad way. The back end is slightly drying, and reminds me a bit of a white wine. As I progress through the beer, I pick up more grain and some slightly hoppy characters which seem to take preference over any fruit notes. There is still some subtle orange peel here and there, but it was more dominant in the nose.

Rating: Average

Score: 70%

The more I drank, the more corn and grain I got. There is still an undoubtedly complex, or at least mildly complex, Belgian thing going on here. This beer has okay depth, and a pretty refreshing mouthfeel that is on the medium-light side despite the moderately high ABV. The front end is carbonated and full of  cloves with hints of orange peel, the middle smooths out in a malt-tastic fashion, and the back end dries up a bit and may include some hop bite. It's malty, earthy, and spicy, but it also is a tad thin and watery. 

I like that there was solid lacing working down my glass. The head also held up as well. Overall I'm pretty pleased with this beer because it meets my expectations. Look, this isn't a fancy or particularly unique beer. However, at a price of around 8-10 dollars for a 6-pack, and at 6.6% ABV, this is a drinkable and available beer. If you don't have a specialty beer store nearby, and you want a Belgian Ale, this could potentially fulfill those needs.

In conclusion, if you want something moderately spicy, earthy, and with a nice malt and clove undertone, you might like Leffe Blond. Or Blonde, if you're French or whatever.