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Vondel Flemish Brown Ale. 8.5%. Dentergems Liefmans Breweries, Wontergemstraat 42,
B-8720 Dentergem, Belgium
“An example of the slightly sour Flanders Brown ales coming to us from this brewery in the Northeastern region of Belgium.”
A beer with a sour/acidey aroma. It is made for the Belgian mass market (according to a Belgian beer expert working this tasting with Wil). It used to be made in wood barrels, like Rodenbach, but now is made in standard kettles and injected with lactic acid to impart a “false” sourness. It does have a nice flavor - Belgian-malty, somewhat sweet behind the sourness. A good beer. Grade 7.5.
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A Visit to Hopleaf, 5148 North Clark Street (at Foster), Chicago
After lunch recently, Rob Cannon and I went to Hopleaf. I had been intending to get there for many months, having heard about it from several friends. Chicago Channel 11 program “Check, Please!” featured the place in April, 2006. Its cachet is its lineup of Belgian beers on draft (10 of them) and microbrewed beers on draft (20 of them). See their draft menu, a PDF that changes with product availability. They also have a bottled beer list as good as any in the Chicagoland area (for which PDF see their bottle menu), and loaded with the best in microbrews and foreign beers.
Rob and I each ordered our own beers but tasted what each other got. Here’s what we tried in or short time there.
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Bosteels Tripel Karmeliet. 9.0%. Brewery Bosteels, Buggenhout, Belgium.
This beautiful beer, served in its own personal glass, has a long provenance. It was first brewed in 1679 in the Carmelite monastery at Dendermonde in Belgium. Thus its name (which is mis-explained on another site, where the name “means the three grains,” wheat, oats and barley, used in its brewing). It has a long secondary fermentation in the barrel and in the bottles.
It pours with a straw to gold color, a strong, stiff head and a strong alcohol cloud off the top. It is slightly hazed (the wheat in it). The first taste is deeply malty and yeasty with an assertive hop background, unusual for a Belgian Tripel. The hop carries through the middle and the follow, but dissipates quickly. It is a sweet and fruity beer, though I did not detect the “banana” or “vanilla” in the Hopleaf description.
This is a beer that makes a special visit worthwhile. Brilliant. Grade 9.0
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De Koninck. 5%. Brewery De Koninck, Antwerp, Belgium.
“Established in 1833 De Koninck is the only brewery in the famous city of Antwerp, it is the name of the brewery and also the name of its main product. De Koninck is Antwerp’s everyday beer. No other city in Belgium has such a close relationship with its local beer and no other city in Belgium has such a specialty beer to call its own.”
Of the beer, the web site says, “
De Koninck's beers can be found all over the world. There is the original beer De Koninck (5% alcohol) and its two younger, stronger brothers Triple De Koninck (8% alcohol) and De Koninck blond (6% alcohol). All are brewed and bottled on the banks of the River Schelde.
All our beers are full bodied top fermenting ales with velvety smooth flavours.
And of the special glass in which it is served, the site says:
The unique glass is known as a 'bolleke' in Antwerp the name is synonymous with De Koninck beer. In fact throughout the world the special ball shaped glass is inseparbly linked to De Koninck.
It is brewed with pilsner malts and Saaz hops over direct flame, according to some separate literature about he beer. It has a very strong malt aroma with something odd in the scent, unidentifiable. The start is strongly malty, with the malt flavors shifting in character across the palate, bringing first a sweet impression, then becoming much more dry. It has a slight hop follow that disappears quickly. This is a very good, surprisingly complex beer for all the modesty of its descriptive materials. Grade 8.0.
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Brouwerij Huyghe Delirium Tremens. 9%. Brouwerij Huyghe, Ghent, Belgium
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As the web site says of this beer,
L'allusion à l'éléphant rose conséquence d'un delirium tremens de la veille, n'est pas un hasard. Les raisons sont multiples, tout d'abord en raison d'une bière possédant un degré d'alcool élevé, et d'autre part afin de responsabiliser le consommateur aux effets parfois dévastateur d'une consommation trop élevée d'alcool. Quoiqu'il en soit cette bière est devenue le classique de la brasserie, appréciée surtout pour ses qualités dégustatives, ainsi que le mystère qui se cache derrière les parois grise de sa bouteille caractéristique. Cette blonde parfaite accentue les qualités d'un houblon exceptionnel ainsi que de différents malts clair. Elle s'offre des pointes aiguës d'amertume, et dévoile au nez un manteau malté étonnant. Sa conclusion se conjugue sur un ton amer et poivré sans aucune touche d'agressivité. Elle représente la bière blonde forte sous sa meilleure apparence. Elle fut sacré championne du monde de bières en 1998.
One of the great beers of the world available in a bottle. It is a blonde ale that pours with a very creamy head. Distinct alcohol off the top of the glass. Very strong malt beginning, not yeasty. IT is sweet, vanilla in flavor, at front and across palate, until the finish, which is surprisingly dry. It has a complex character that could take all night to enjoy and work through what’s going on, by which time one would be non compos mentis. A truly fine beer. Grade 9.0
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Hoegaarden. abv unknown. Brouwerij Hoegaarden, Belgium, owned 100% by InBev (formerly known as InterBrew).
A famous white (wit) ale made by the world’s largest (by volume) brewer, which also brews such beers as Beck’s. Stella Artois and Leffe. The web site says of the beer:
Hoegaarden is the authentic Belgian wheat or white beer. It has a unique and extremely complex brewing process whereby the brand is first top fermented and then is refermented within the bottle - ending up in a unique cloudy-white appearance. The brand's unique appearance is mirrored by its one-of-a-kind taste - sweet and sour beer with a little bitterness, slightly spicy, with a strong touch of coriander and a hint of orange, perfect for warm summer days, instead of other refreshing beverages. Refreshing, a little quirky, and decidedly different - naturally.
It is, indeed, citrusy and malty. As advertised, it is “cloudy” (more properly, hazed). The spicing is subtle but noticeable. A good representative, well-balanced white ale, far better than Coors Blue Moon, not as good as Celis White (which has been revived by Michigan Brewing Company). Refreshing. Grade 7.0.
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Trappistes Rochefort 8. 9.2%. Abbaye Notre-Dame De Saint-Remy, Rochefort, Belgium.
This beer is brewed in or for one of the six “official” Trappist monasteries. The abbey does not yet have a fully constructed web site.
It’s worth some extra time talking not only about this brewer, but about the Trappist “brand” and craft. So here you go.
A sympathetic site notes this about the abbey and their brewing:
The Notre-Dame de Saint-Rémy abbey in Rochefort was founded in 1230. It belongs to the Cistercian Order of Strict Observance and is called Trappist on account of its historical links with the La Trappe abbey in France, and the role it played in the reform of the Cistercian Order in the 17th century.
Living from its work and using it as an opportunity to provide relief for many social needs, the monastic community of Saint-Rémy opted to ply its business skills within the food market. As a result, it has for centuries been producing a beer whose fame has spread far and wide. Production is voluntarily restricted. This high-quality brew should be enjoyed with wisdom and soberness; in so doing, it can then promote sharing and friendship.
The monastery itself cannot be visited, but the abbey’s church is open to anyone whose wishes to go there.
And this about the beers:
‘Trappiste de Rochefort’ is a top-fermented dark beer. It is brewed and decanted within the Saint-Rémy abbey in Rochefort. The small dimensions of the Brewery enable the Trappist monks and their brewery workers to keep total control over the manufacturing process. The craftsmanship that goes into brewing the beer is much appreciated by discerning drinkers!
It is a beer that is made from nothing but natural products: spring water, malt, hops, sugar. Yeast provides the fermentation.
The Trappist monks at Rochefort brew three special beers, 6 (= 7.5%) - 8 (9.2%) and 10 (11.3%)
With secondary fermentation in the bottle, Trappiste de Rochefort releases all of its flavour when served in a specially shaped glass at a temperature of 12 to 14 degrees Centigrade [53 to 57 degrees Fahrenheit]. It is then up to you to make your own personal assessment of the individual flavours of the various Rochefort Trappist beers!
Only those products manufactured within the confines of a Trappist abbey, under the watchful eye of the community living there have the right to bear the label of Trappist authenticity. It is an ‘appellation’ that is strictly monitored.
Tonight I had the “8” version, and it is one beautiful beer. Even when poured and tasted at a colder temperature than recommended it is outstanding. It pours with a very dense head that takes a while to dissipate, and is amber-brown in color. At the colder point it still emanates alcohol, but that does not overwhelm an unusually deep malty nose. The first taste is sweet and very malty. Yeast is not discernible in the taste, but the candy sugars used in the secondary fermentation certainly are. As it moves across the palate, it sets off a series of different flavors - malt, alcohol, sugar, vanilla, even a hint of fruit, that pop open in the mouth, then fade, leaving a lasting toasty sweetness through the follow. Amazing. Grade 9.5.
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