Archive for the ‘Belgium’ Category

6 Sep

De Struise Black Damnation IV

Posted by iamgingerbeard in Belgium, De Struise, Imperial Stout.

Session # 197
De Struise | Black Damnation IV
Imperial Stout | Oostvleteren, Belgium | 13% ABV

One year ago: Founders Canadian Breakfast Stout

When a stout coming from Belgium clocks in at 13% you know you’re going to get something massive. That’s just exactly what I got from this iteration of the great Black Albert from De Struise. What the fine gentlemen from this brewery have done is taken their Black Albert Imperial stout and created numerous variations of the beer. There’s the Mocha Bomb, Black Mes, and Coffee Club to name a few. Today we look at the Coffee Club (aka IV). It poured so dark that I didn’t even have to hold it to the light. I knew nothing would come through it. A nice chocolaty head formed on top and started to unleash some rich coffee aromas into the air. After digging further, miles of dark roasted malts and deep dark burnt caramel followed. The flavor was pretty much the same with tons of bitterness from the coffee that even finished a bit tart like espresso. The chocolate and burnt caramel soon followed and left my tongue on the side of the road for dead. Another huge stout from Belgium. If you like them big, you’ll probably like this one.

Check out all sessions of The Hopry here.
This beer can be found in these states.
Listening To: Joni Mitchell “The Hissing of Summer Lawns”



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29 Aug

Fantôme Printemps

Posted by iamgingerbeard in Belgium, Fantôme, Saison.

Session # 195
Fantôme | Printemps
Saison / Farmhouse Ale | Soy, Belgium | 8% ABV

One year ago: Craft Beer Paintings

The last time Tim and I got together to review a Fantôme beer, the results were worse than what we’d hoped. Upon opening their flagship Saison (reviewed here), we couldn’t help but call the beer “vomity.” After having the Printemps, however, we are both convinced that the bottle we opened before was infected (in a bad way). This beer poured the exact color you would expect from a Saison, bright and warm yellow with a touch of cloudiness and a soft pale white head. Strong aromas of lemon, grass, and Belgian funk started to appear as we lowered our noses to the glass. THIS is how a Belgian Saison should smell. As we sipped, the lemon took center stage, with a very astringent and bitter lemon peel behind it. The grassiness and spiciness from the hops wasn’t far behind. The mouthfeel was pretty light for an 8% beer and we both felt that this was quite refreshing and drinkable at that ABV, too. Now I’m ready to track down more Fantôme beers since this was much better than our last experience!!!

Check out all sessions of The Hopry here.
This beer can be found in these states.
Listening To: Stephen Malmus & the Jicks “Tigers”



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30 Jun

Urthel Saisonnière

Posted by iamgingerbeard in Belgian Pale Ale, Belgium, Saison, Urthel.

Session # 181
Urthel | Saisonnière
Saison / Farmhouse Ale | Ruiselede, Belgium| 6% ABV

One year ago: Kuhnhenn Olde Brune

Seeing other beer geeks being very passionate about a beer can prompt you to go right out and buy it. A new acquaintance of mine, Jay Hinman, from Hedonist Jive, gave this beer a perfect score. This, and the fact that it’s a Belgian Saison, made me want to review it ASAP. It also happens to be the brewer’s birthday today so it’s an even extra special day. Happy Birthday Hildegard Van Ostaden!!! When I poured the Urthel Saisonnière from the small 11.2 ounce bottle, it presented the most beautiful pale golden color. It had an uncanny clarity, too. In fact, I don’t know if I’ve seen a beer this clear in a while. The aromas that began to escape from my tulip glass were very clean and subtle with a touch of Belgian yeast, a nice bit of breadiness, and a soft fruity banana bubblegum character at the end. The flavor was extremely clean and spot on with the aroma with the banana bubblegum and fair amount of grassy hop. As I said in the review, this beer is the equivalent of wearing a tuxedo. It will be classic for as long as it’s made. Rating: 92/100

Check out all sessions of The Hopry here.
This beer can be found in these states.
Listening To: Fink “This is the Thing”



Let us know your thoughts by rating and commenting on this video.

25 May

Cantillon Classic Gueuze

Posted by iamgingerbeard in Belgium, Cantillon, Gueuze.

Session # 175
Cantillon | Classic Gueuze
Gueuze | Brussels, Belgium | 5% ABV

One year ago: Lost Abbey Angel’s Share (Bourbon)

There are lots of sours out there, and there are lots of sub-styles of sours. The most intense of them is the Gueuze, a blend of three different years of Lambics. For those who love the sourest of sours, this style epitomizes greatness. Today’s beer from Cantillon called Classic Gueuze is just that – classic. The name even says so. It was a beautiful straw yellow color out of the glass with virtually perfect clarity. The soft soapy white head disappeared within seconds before filling the room with a sour lemon and funky character. It was soon followed by some green apple and a touch of oak. I could describe the flavor as the exact same characters, so I will. While I didn’t enjoy it as much as the Drie Fonteinen Oude Gueuze, this was definitely a classic Gueuze and one you should find if you want to truly understand what the style is like. Rating: 93/100

Check out all sessions of The Hopry here.
This beer can be found in these states.
Listening To: Dead Meadow “That Old Temple”



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25 Apr

Oerbier Special Reserva

Posted by iamgingerbeard in Belgium, De Dolle, Oud Bruin, Sour Ale.

Session # 165
De Dolle | Oerbier Special Reserva
Flanders Oud Bruin | Esen, Belgian | 13% ABV

One year ago: Mikkeller 1000 IBU

Belgium rarely releases anything as strong as some of America’s most extreme offerings. But when I read on the bottle of the De Dolle Oerbier Special Reserva that it was a 13% sour ale (aged in Bordeaux barrels) I got very intrigued. Sours rarely top the 8% mark, so you can see why this is a bit of an anomaly. When we poured it from the small 11.2 ounce bottle, we noticed that while it was a touch hazy it had a beautiful ruby red color topped with a light tan-colored head. The aroma was a touch sour but not like we would have hoped. The sweetness on the nose masked a lot of what we were looking for, but once we tasted the beer we pulled out the earthy brett funkiness that made this one interesting. We were also surprised that there wasn’t more heat based on the ABV, but we were happy that it was easy to put back this small beer and move on for the evening. Rating: 85/100

Check out all sessions of The Hopry here.
This beer can be found in these states.
Listening To: Doc Watson “Country Blues”



Let us know your thoughts by rating and commenting on this video.

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