Tag: beer

I know I’ve been complaining about Belgian beers a lot lately. But this blonde beer is honestly very good. Feels stronger and sweeter than stated 8.5%, and doesn’t leave any heaviness behind. The closest I could think of is Delirium Tremens, and that’s a high praise from me. I wanted to stay that still, I don’t plan to buy this beer in the future, but actually, I’d buy their Triple

An Estonian Imperial Stout I’ve brought from York. A wax seal is a seal of quality for me nowadays. I don’t remember yet once being disappointed by a wax sealed bottled.

This is an amazing barrel aged Imperial Stout, one of the best I’ve ever had. Like drinking a Guiness chocolate cake, with the smokiness, but also the sweetness. Funny, but I felt less drunk from its 13% ABV than from some 6% beers. Go figure.

I kind of grew to be dismissive of everything sold in the UK, and appreciating only what I bring from abroad, but this is an exception for sure.

Imperial stout from Iceland. Icelandic beers have won a few awards over the years, but that’s the only award winner I managed to find, and only by sheer luck.
Has the ABV, but surprisingly not the sweetness. First I tasted rye bread, almost kvas, then a bit of smoke, but not too much. Definitely pleasant,

A beer I brought from Denmark when I wasn’t sure if I’d find any better beer in Denmark.
It’s a good triple. Has a tall head initially, but it dissipated quite quickly. And the taste is smooth and honey-like. Head is light, but quite focused. Better than a lot of Belgian triples I’ve had this year, but not something I’d go looking for in Denmark again.

I’m going back to the classics. And what a classic Samichlaus is. It has no gas, all the flavour and energy. What allows it to get to 14% ABV is the double fermentation.
Also, turns out it is brewed only once a year, so I was actually lucky to see it so often.

For a 8% beer, it is quite flavourful, and doesn’t leave you with a heavy feeling. But yet again, it’s not distinct enough to justify buying it again.

I remember cachier in California laughing at me, asking if I bought a single can, albeit 500ml, for a price of six-pack by mistake. But I couple of months later I must say it was worth every of the 15$ I spent on it. This is the best beer I had since unobtainable Schorschbrau Schorschbock I brought from Switzerland.
It has almost no “head”. The smell is quite dominant, like a cold espresso. And the taste is sweet, and so smooth. And it leaves you with the warmth both in the throat and belly like the best of whiskies, and with the tranquility like the best of weed. Certainly something to bring from California next time.

Brasserie Lefebvre are the ones making Barbar, the “honey beer” and Blanche de Bruxelles, the “pissing boy beer”. This one is rather new, from 2023, and promises to feature 5 different types of hops.
The head is tall, two or three fingers, much taller that I prefer. For me the less gas, the better. And the color is much lighter that I’d expect, almost lemony and quite opaque. All in all, it looks more like a hazy tripple IPA than a Belgian beer. And considering the fact that IPAs are always heavy on hops, maybe it makes sense.
I know that I was mostly disappointed by Belgian beers in the past couple of months. And in terms of hops, I didn’t feel much difference. Not too bitter, but also not too complex. But in terms of taste, it is excellent. If you’d tell me it was 10% ABV, I’d believe it. It is rich, and it is smooth, and it provides nice sleepiness for at least a couple of hours. A nice surprise.

Gulden Draak is one of my favorite beers. Brewmaster is basically Gulden Draak Classic, but barrel aged. Lighter in color than the Classic. Some beers smooth away the alcohol. Not this one, here you just feel it. Wonderful beer, that reminds me why I fell in love with Belgian beers in the first place. The only problem is that I’m not sure I’d take it over Classic.

As I’m going through my box of Belgian beers, I must say I’m mostly unimpressed. Maybe I’ve changed. Maybe not going with the “mainstream” is a mistake, and those are mainstream for a reason.
Brigand comes from Van Honsebrouck Brewery, best known for Kasteel.
I rememeber liking Brigand, when it still had a distinct bottle.

For some reason, now they have just a generic label that makes you wonder why it’s even called “brigand” in the first place. It’s smooth and nice, and left me more energised than sleepy. But yet again, not something I would buy again.

Lately I’ve been trying different Belgian beers I haven’t tried before, and honestly, I wasn’t much impressed with the last few bottles. But Malheur (not to be confused with Melchior, which is also Belgian beer) set me back on the right track. It has some head, but it goes away quickly, leaving you with not very gassy ale that tastes like canned peaches to me, mostly. A lucky find, and now I hope to try Malheur 12.

Huyghe Brewery is best known for its amazing Delirium line of beers, or “the beer with the pink elephant”, but it’s not the only beer it produces.
One example is Averbode I reviewed last year, and another, and maybe better known, is the La Guillotine.
It’s an golden ale, a style that I like very much.
Delirium, in comparison, has the same ABV, 8.5%, but is a pale ale. Pale ales should be generally more bitter than golden ales.
But here’s a catch: Delirium is considered sweet for pale ale, while La Guillotine is considered bitter for golden ales, so all in all, Delirium is sweeter than La Guillotine. Go figure.
In any case, I would pick Delirium over La Guillotine.

I love Belgian beers and love Trappist ales, so I grabbed this Achel Tripel to try. Tastewise, it didn’t impress me much. I was drinking it alongside Grimbergen, and the later has more flavour with less ABV. It does provide tons of sleepiness, though. I was still feeling it’s effect after 3 hours.
Maybe I’d enjoy it more if I’d cool it properly. This one I had room temperature, because it was a last minute decision. But I probably wouldn’t bother buying it again, honestly.

Beautiful bottle, with a was seal. Tastes like triple IPA, but without the gas. Nice, as I like when a beer doesn’t taste like a beer anymore, but the aftertaste is bitter, and I probably wouldn’t buy it again.

Another beer I brought from Zurich, this one brewed in Latvia, not a country you associate with beer usually, but then some of the best beers I had were from Norway.
It’s a “German dobblebock”, but at 15%, it’s more of a “qudruperbock” (term that I just invented). Deep amber and opaque, it reminds of classic Gulden Draak. But I’m not sure that extra 5% alcohol adds anything in terms of taste.

I never thought I’d write it about a German beer, but this is a mindblowing beer. It doesn’t look like a beer, and doesn’t taste like a beer, though. Completely opaque, like a coffee with a bit of milk in it, and with a heavy sediment. I rarely “taste” anything in beere, unless it’s something like a literal chocolate stout, but here, I can taste chocolate, coffee, and raisins. It’s closer to Madeira at that point than to a beer.
Also the bottle is something else, with the swing-top cap and wax. Theoretically, it could mean you could trink this beer in two seatings, and at 16% it even makes some sense.

Now I’ve tried the Black, the Red and the Gold Dragon Milk beers. All three are fantastic. The only reason I wouldn’t buy the Golden Ale is there are plenty of belgian beers available at this level: Gulden Drak is what they were aiming for, I think.