16 February 2008

Picking off the ducks at the shooting gallery......


Bel Pils 5.3% pilsner..... bright, light golden as a pils should be........... man, a nice dry pils with just a hint of nice Belgian yeast character in the background. Actually takes me back to Baltimore Brewing Co., in a sense. nice if you're looking for pils--which, of course, most folks here aren't, except in a "pick off a beer you won't find elsewhere" sense.

sample from 750 of Lupulus, from Les 3 Fourquets (spelled correctly, as per the European label with no English and a nice painting of a wolf-dog amongst hops) 7.5%: fuzzy light yellow/tripel color, floral nose, a nice well-bodied hoppy ale (wouldn't call it an IPA, except maybe the Belgian yeast is balancing out the hops too well)...........

Silly Abbaye de Forest 6.5% white/abbaye ale: fuzzy golden/wit, rich head w/ good retention.... cold, think a wit with the orange/coriander removed and replaced with hops and spicy yeast and a slightly tart background to the mouthfeel.

Olay, some woman just pushed a big baby stroller into this madhouse..... Okay, it folds up nicely, but two kids in this craziness? At least they went upstairs......

de Regenboog Plus 10% Imperial IPA: hazy amber, good head retention, nose more Belgian than I2PA..... a very hearty hoppy beer, nicely balanced by the Belgian tartness, not very British or German, but a good experimental IPA nonetheless, might pass muster in an American i2PA competition except for the tart background.....

On behalf of a friend who says he doesn't like fruit beers, and now he's just "seen the light": Van Honsebrouck Kasttel Rouge 8.0% Brown Ale w/ cherries: BOO-YAH! stupendous cherry/beer balance, wins over a guy who says he doesn't care for fruit beer--the cherries are seemingly a blend between black and sour, nicely mellowed like a wine instead of maraschino or the like.........

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