My fridge is empty...

Well, nearly anyway. It's new years eve, and what I have left in there is some mead from Redstone Meadery that I'm saving for special occasions, a bottle each of Dogfishhead's Raison D'Extra and World Wide Stout (the Rasion D'Extra will be cracked tonight at Dan's New Year's gathering most likely), and oh, some Westvleteren! That's right, my amazing girlfriend had this rare beer imported for me from Belgium, both the 8 and the 12. I'm looking forward to trying them when I get the opportunity, but I definitely feel like I need something to make that tasting special. In any case, I don't have anything I can have with lunch today....

Pauwel Kwak

Well, Christmas is over, and my collection of holiday beers is pretty much exhausted as well. There's still plenty to look forward to for next year though, and I can't wait for Christmas to come around again. In the meantime, I'd like to go back to one of the beers I missed reviewing from our trip to OBX.

Perhaps the most notable thing about Pauwel Kwak is it's extremely unique glass. The technical term for it is a stirrup glass, as it's similar to the shape of glasses riders used, which were designed to be held in the stirrup of their saddles while they rested. Still, that's not all that this beer has going for it.

The beer pours a nice reddish-brown color, although towards the thinner part of the glass it seemed like it was more orangish. There was initially a tan head of about one finger, but it dissipated quickly and left no lacing on the glass. I must say that with this glass, it's definitely one of the most attractive looking beers I've seen.

The aroma is fairly light. Predominantly, I noticed a combination of grassiness and sweetness in the smell. I don't want to say it had a hay quality to the smell, but it wasn't quite a straight grass aroma either. Perhaps it was a bit of the yeast coming through. Other than that, there was a bit of an apple quality to the smell as well.

The taste was spicy and sweet. The malt was forefront, and there's little bitterness to it at all. I didn't notice much alcohol in the taste if any either. It was definitely well hidden for a beer that's 8% ABV. There's some caramel flavor in there, and possibly cinnimon.

I also noticed it was a bit thick in my mouth. The carbonation sat well, and didn't get in the way of the flavor at all. There was just a bit of tingle to the beer, and it really was very easy to get down. I also noticed that it was neither too wet or too dry, just a nice balance in the middle.

Overall it was a very easy beer to drink - too easy for it's strength. The lack of bitterness made it very easy to get down, but it may have been too sweet for more than one. I didn't bother trying to find out though. All in all, it's a nice flavor, and a pretty good drink. It just didn't have anything to make it really stand out, or too much complexity in it's flavor. I'd definitely try it again if I got the chance, I'm just not sure that it's worth the hefty price tag that comes with it.

- Adam

Scaldis Noël

Scaldis is a brand known as Bush over in it's home continent. Like Czechvar, Bush was forced to rename themselves in order to export to North America. This beer is brewed at Brasserie Dubuisson, a brewery which has been run independantly by the Brasserie family in Belgium for 8 generations. So far most holiday beers I've seen have been available in the usual 12 oz bottles, or in the larger magnum-sized 750ml bottles. The Scaldis Noël however, comes in a smaller 25 cl bottles, or about 8.5 oz. This is probably partially because of it's higher than average ABV, weighing in at 12% and tying it with the Insanely Bad Elf for the strongest Christmas beer I've had yet.

The beer poured a medium colored brown that is slightly hazy. A vigorous pour yeilded a half-finger of off-white head that dissipated quickly leaving only a ring of bubbles around the edge. I was wondering if I should have used a different glass for this beer as it appeared to have relatively low carbonation, so a glass with less surface area on the bottom than a Chimay chalice may have been more effective. Still, it's the glass recommended by Beer Advocate, and the Bush glass is roughly the same shape. Once I tasted it, I realized it had a higher carbonation than it appeared to have.

The aroma was that of a darker fruit, perhaps a plumb or a fig. It definitely has some sort of rounder and smoother scent to it than the more usual smells of cherry or citrus that are often associated with beers. There's also a slightly earthy quality to it. I definitely noticed a bit of alcohol in the smell as well, but it's not as obvious as it was with the Insanely Bad Elf. There's a hint of grain in there as well, a bit of wheat or barley smell.

The taste was hard to describe at first. There was a little bitterness in the center of the tongue, and some warmth going down. The initial aftertaste had a light spicy kick to it just a second after it was swallowed. On the second sip I noticed more of a sweetness around the edge of my tongue, and it's got a fruity quality to it. I also tasted a little breadyness to it as well. The beer actually reminds me a bit of the homemade bread my mom used to make, only colder. There's a touch of alcohol in the taste as well, but not nearly as much as would be expected for the strength of it. This beer hides it well, and has a nice balance to it.

The beer has a medium body, and is a little on the thick side at first, but as I noted before it actually had a decent amount of carbonation. There was enough for a pleasant tingle on the tongue and the roof of my mouth. The beer left a thin coating on my mouth that lasted a while. The warmth from the alcohol stayed down in my throat, right about where it meets the chest. It wasn't a very good feeling.

The drinkability of the beer was good overall. It was very different in taste from the other beers I've had, and it hides it's strength well. The only place it really lost any points was with it's mouthfeel, specifically the way the alcohol burned. It actually felt pretty similar to heartburn. If I was judging by taste alone, this would have been one of my top beers of Christmas, maybe even the best so far. As it is, the mouthfeel made it just good. I don't know if what I experienced was a common occurance, so I'll try it again next year. I gave Dan a bottle as well, so I'm hoping it was just me. We'll see when he cracks it.

- Adam

Ridgeway Brewing's Insanely Bad Elf

Ridgeway is a brewery from England that surprisingly enough has more lines of beer for Christmas than they do year round. These are Bad Elf, Very Bad Elf, Seriously Bad Elf, Criminally Bad Elf, Insanely Bad Elf, Lump of Coal, Pickled Santa, Warm Welcome, and Santa's Butt. Each beer is different in style or alcohol content. Insanely Bad Elf is the strongest of the line, weighing in at 12% ABV. The rest of the beer lines come in 500 ml bottles, but the Insanely Bad Elf is only available in 330 ml bottles because of it's strength.

The beer pours a clear caramel color, with just a little bit of a reddish tint to it. It has a very light tan head that's one finger thick initially, but dissipates fairly quickly to leave only a trace of thin bubbles on the top. There was no lacing to speak of from this bit of head on the glass as I drank the beer.

The beer smells strongly of apple cider and alcohol at first, and it stays the dominant aroma throughout. It's a good warning of how strong the beer is actually going to be. The smell is fairly sweet, and I think I detected a bit of chocolate in there as well.

The taste is dominantly of alcohol at first, but I did taste some apple as well. It's sweet but it burns a little going down. It's kind of like a weak scotch, with no trace of bitterness at all. Surprisingly enough, it also reminded me a little of the Russian Imperial Stout I had from Rogue a while back. I think it was the high alcohol content, because that's the only connection I can see between the two.

The mouthfeel is pretty nice, it's got a good medium body with a moderate level of carbonation, just enough for a nice tingle. There's just a light coating in my mouth, but not in the same way that other beers have. Usually it would be a smooth coating, but this one had more of a dirty or grainy feel, almost like there's tiny particles of something in it. It's a bit on the dry side too. The strongest sensation though is definitely the burn from the alcohol. However it's a pleasant burn, a good warming sensation that's good on a winter's day.

The drinkability is decent, but it's definitely too strong to have many of this beer. I wouldn't want more than one in a single day. This is definitely a Christmas beer for someone who likes a strong drink, but I think I'll give it a pass in the future.

- Adam

Petrus Winterbeer

Petrus is a brand of Brouwerij Bavik, which contains 7 different lines, including Petrus Winterbeer. They also are responsible for the Bavik Pils, Wittekerke, Ezel, Pilaarbijter, Eaumega, Bon-Val, and La Bonne Vallee brands. Only the first 4 brands are beers though, Eaumega is seltzer water, Bon-Val looks to be bottled water and fruit drinks, and La Bonne Vallee is a line of wines. I'd never heard of any of them until I looked the brewery up online, so I'll leave it at that. I'll admit, I was first attracted to Petrus because State Line Liquors had a really cool glass and bottle set for sale that contained a special Petrus glass and a 750-ml bottle of the Winterbeer. Still, Belgian beers tend to be my favorites, and looking a little more into Petrus indicated that it would be a good one to try.

The beer itself pours a milk chocolate color that is hazy and nearly opaque. It has a frothy off-white head that's pretty huge; almost 3 and a half fingers thick. The bubbles in the head are large, and the head has an extremly long retention. The lacing is moderately light over the duration of the drink, but huge chunks break off at first and stick to the glass.

The aroma is chocolaty at first, and a little funky. It's not a brett yeast smell, but it's still earthy. I was noticing an estery (flowery) smell as well, possibly a hint of clove? Whatever it is, the smell of this beer is not overpowering but neither is it weak.

The taste does have a touch of chocolate to start off, but it's not really as sweet as one might expect. There's a little tangyness to it, and once it was swallowed I noticed a spicy tingle in my mouth. There was also just a hint of bitterness on the back of the tongue, right where the tongue meets the throat. Like the Samuel Smith Winter Welcome, this beer had a bit of a warming effect to it, although I think this warmed a little more than the Samuel Smith. Overall the flavor it somewhat muted, definitely not "robust", but there's not a single unpleasant part to it. As I mixed the yeast on the bottom of the bottle (it's a bottle refermented beer, so this accounts for the haziness), I noticed that the sourness was a bit more pronounced and a little more tart. It puts me a little in mind of the sour flavor of Ommegeddon, and it's not unpleasant in the least. I don't know that it's better with all the yeast than without, but it does seem a little more complex.

The mouthfeel is dominated by the carbonation. This is the one area where I'm a little unhappy with this beer. It actually seems as if the carbonation is getting in the way of the flavor, to the point where I'm having a hard time really focusing on what's going on with my palate. The beer does leave a little coating on the mouth, but nothing major and the tingling from the carbonation overpowers this sensation as well. The body is medium-light, and the beer is definitely on the dry side. In fact towards the end I noticed myself actually getting more thirsty.

Because the flavor is not too strong and the bitterness is so light and balanced, this really does seem like one that I could drink all day - IF it wasn't so dry. However, I needed to follow it with a glass of water just because it made me so thirsty. I also noticed that the ABV is a bit on the high side with this beer, weighing in at 7%, so it's a bit deceptive. The alcohol really doesn't come through in the flavor, just in the warmth this beer has. This is a great beer for a cold winter's night (like tonight) as long as there's something else to drink after. Putting the dryness aside, this is my favorite Christmas beer yet this year.

- Adam

Samuel Smith's Winter Welcome Ale

For those of you that have read early posts of mine, you'd know that Samuel Smith's Taddy Porter was one of my favorite beers. As such I was excited to learn that they had a winter warmer line. In fact, Merchant Du Vin, the beer's US distributer, compares the brew to wassail, a type of mulled beer brewed the holiday season that was often spicy. It comes in a bottle that has the year on the label, and apparently the label changes every year. This bottle was brewed for the holidays of 2008-2009. I was definitely looking forward to trying this brew for Christmas this year. Sorry for the blurriness of the picture, I need a new camera badly.

The beer pours a caramel color with a slightly reddish tinge. It has an almost white head that was 1 finger thick and dissipated quickly. Still it leaves a bit of lacing on the glass, but not much.

The aroma is mainly of caramel and vanilla. However, a bready/biscuit malt scent is also apparent. I was reminded a little of nectar by the smell as well. Everything about it indicated that the beer would likely be sweet and spicy.

As indicated by the smell, the taste is indeed dominated by sweetness and a touch of spice. I'm not sure what the spice is, it's not nutmeg or cinnamon. Maybe ginger? Still, whatever it is the spice is definitely not dominant. There's also a little round bitterness to it, like you'd get from certain cheeses. The aftertaste has two parts, one is bitter and stays in the back of the mouth. The other is the spiciness that stays on the tip of the tongue and roof of the mouth. There was one thing that I didn't like about it, the bitterness seemed a bit out of place in this beer. I don't know if it was the type of bitterness or the fact that it seemed a bit disconnected from the main flavor. Still, it's quite good.

The mouthfeel is highly carbonated, a bit on the light side. There's not really any coating to speak of. It's a little warming going down, which is odd given the alcohol content, which ways in at 6%. My guess is this is from whatever the spice is. The beer is not terribly refreshing, but definitely crisp. It tingles a bit going down the back of the throat.

The drinkability of the beer is fairly high. It's got a nice flavor to it, even though it's a bit subdued. It's definitely unique, and nothing like the other Christmas beers I've had so far. I might not want to drink it all day, but I wouldn't mind a couple.

- Adam

Anchor Brewing's "Our Special Ale" 2008

Anchor Brewing, a San Francisco based brewery, has long been famous for both their Steam Beer and Liberty Ale. While i have not had a chance to try either of them, I recently picked up a "Magnum" (1Qt, 1Pt, 2.7oz) of their 2008 Christmas Ale. This is their 34th Christmas Ale since they began producing them in 1975. They say that the recipe changes each year, but "the intent with which we offer it remains the same: joy and the celebration of the newness of life." So, with that in mind, Adam and I pulled out our pint glasses, and went about tasting this and other Holiday beers.

This ale had a much darker appearance, I think, than Adam or I had anticipated. It was almost black in appearance, and only revealed its deep red tones when held to a light. Poured gently it still developed a solid two finger, tan head. The head held very well and left a nice, light lacing on the glass.

The aroma of this beer is outstanding. It smells heavily of sweet malts, and cherries. It initially reminded me of Chimay Premiere (Red Label). Going a bit deeper you begin to get a yeasty smell, and nutmeg appears, just to preview what you are about to taste.

The tongue is dominated by nutmeg and the malty flavors that came through so strongly on the nose. Given that i had to dig a bit to find the nutmeg in the aroma, I was pleasantly surprised at how present it was in the taste. As we drank more, Adam noticed a seedy flavor which I seemed to taste as a nutty component to the beer. It reminded me of walnuts. I could not find any information on the alcohol content. Traditionally a holidy beer has a relatively high ABV, such as the Mad Elf's 11%. Whatever the alcohol content, the taste of alcohol was not present at all.

This beer has a surprisingly light mouthfeel for being so dark, and a Holiday or Winter style Ale, which are both typically very heavy ales, brewed to be both filling and warming on a cold winter night. The carbonation was just right. It leaves just a little tingle on your tongue, but not enough to be overpowering.

Drinkability is high with this beer. I could easily have seen myself getting through the entire bottle on my own, a feat which i may be attempting this New Years Eve. However, for all of the ways I could describe to you how drinkable the beer is, I think that Adam put it best in his tasting notes, where he simply wrote: "Yes, Please."

Overall, this beer is Christmas. I'm certain this is largely due to the nutmeg flavor, which is associated with and present in so many Christmas desserts. I could not help but think of how well this beer would go with a big Christmas dinner. It is simply wonderful, and has put me in the Christmas Spirit.

- Dan

Tröeg's Mad Elf Ale

Tröegs is a local brewery, despite the umlaut. They're located in Harrisburg, PA, which is just west of Hershey, a mere 2 hours from where I live. Like Dogfishhead, the closest major craft brewery to me, they offer regular tours of their facility, which I'd love to visit at some point. I'm fortunate to live in one of the few states they distribute to, which are Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware and Virginia. They offer a number of year-round brews, as well as seasonal beers. The Mad Elf Ale is one of the latter, brewed for Christmas.

The beer pours a deep reddish-brown, that's clear with few bubbles in the glass. It has an off-white head that's 1 finger thick from a very vigorous pour, but it quickly dissipated to leave just a little head on the brew.

The aroma is pleasant and fills the area quickly. From a distance, the smell is sweet and dominated by cherry. Closer in there's a malty grain smell that's maybe a little on the grassy side. I also noted hints of alcohol that reveals some of the 11% ABV. The sweet smell of honey is also present.

The taste is sweet especially at first, I definitely noticed malt & honey. Not getting any bitterness really, just a light warm sensation on the tongue. The cherry is muted at first, but comes through a little more as it sits in the mouth. It's really more of a cherry liquor flavor, you can taste some of the alcohol in this one. I think I'm also getting just a touch of vanilla in the aftertaste, although I don't know why. This beer is actually reminiscent to me of the bottle of mead I purchased a while back. Probably mostly from the honey that is used in the brewing of Mad Elf. Unfortunately the honey lends a somewhat medicinal taste to the beer as well, but not so much that I would turn down a glass. I'm also a little reminded of Chimay Blue when I drink it, but I'm not sure why. The flavors also come out a bit as I go through the glass. The cherry got a little more tart and stronger.

The mouthfeel of this beer is just great. It's got a medium body with a nice balance of carbonation for just the right amount of tingle. It coats the mouth lightly, leaving just a trace of smoothness on the teeth. It's warming, not too wet or dry going down, but a little more on the dry side. A little more rounded feel than crisp.

I'd say the drinkability of this beer is not the highest. The taste is a little bit on the sweet side, so one at a time is enough. Still, it is good and even better as the glass progresses, and it's putting me in a festive mood. I'd definitely identify this with the season more than the Sierra Nevada.

- Adam

Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale 2008

Winter is here, and with it comes a slew of specialty Christmas and winter beers. As such, I'm going to post some special reviews along with the normal list I have to get through. I was over at State Line Liquors yesterday, and there were so many different exciting seasonal beers to choose from. Between the local craft breweries and offerings from overseas, it would take me years to try them all. There's a few in particular that made my "wish list" for this year though... Affligem Noel, Scaldis Noel, Samuel Smith's Winter Welcome Ale, Mad Elf, Insanely Bad Elf (which I have waiting in my fridge), Petrus Winterbier, Anchor Christmas Ale, etc. I actually was considering doing a "12 days of Christmas" type thing, but my wallet is saying not this year.

One that I had not necessarily considered was Sierra Nevada's Celebration Ale, but Solomon and Lindsey had it at thier house, so of course I had to give it a shot. Now Sierra Nevada is one of the breweries I feel like I've never given a fair chance. Once a long time ago I went to a party at a friend's house, and they had Sierra Nevada's Pale Ale and Miller Lite to drink. This was back when Miller was pretty much the only thing I'd had, so I wasn't terribly interested in the Sierra Nevada. At a friend's request I gave it a shot, and thought that it was bitter and unpleasant in comparison. It wasn't until recently that I started going back to them to try some of what they have to offer, but in a toss up, I'll generally take something a little less well known. Go figure.

Anyway, according to Beer Advocate, as a style, Winter Warmers are malty, not characteristically bitter, can contain some spices at times, and may have a warming sensation from the alcohol. Sierra Nevada's Celebration Ale is none of those things. In fact, it's pretty characteristic of a standard IPA, or India Pale Ale.

The beer poured a hazy light brown/copper color. I got a small off-white head despite the moderatly vigorous pour I gave the beer. It was maybe a half finger thick, and dissipated pretty quickly. Still, there was a bit of lacing on the glass as I drank it.

The aroma was very pleasant, with a mixture of sweet maltiness, hops, and a hint of cherry. I didn't smell any type of spices or anything to indicate the seasonal nature of the beer though.

The taste was pretty much a straight IPA - malty on the tip of the tongue, then dominated by the bitterness of the hops throughout the rest of the mouth. There might have been a touch of caramel flavor in it at first, but nothing that really stood out. The finish was bitter, and left the aftertaste of the hops in my mouth for a while.

The mouthfeel was good - the body was medium-light, and the beer left a nice coating on my teeth. It was definitely well carbonated; not noticable at first, but a good strong tingle if I held it in my mouth for a second. I also noted that the beer was very crisp and refreshing - definitely more on the wet side.

The drinkability was fairly high as well. The few IPA style beers I've tried, I wasn't really a fan of. This includes Dogfishhead's 60 and 90-minute IPAs, which most people consider excellent. I've always found the hops to be too strong and overpowering, to the point where it's not even enjoyable. This beer however, I found to be well balanced. It was still bitter, but it wasn't bitter in a way that I had a hard time drinking it, or felt like getting rid of it. All in all, it was a good if not very good beer; it just wasn't particularly wintery.

- Adam

Weihenstephaner Festbier

I apologize for the lack of pictures on this one but I forgot to take any of it when we tried it and never got to it later. So I've heard a lot of good things about the Weihenstephaner brewery, and since our trip to the Outer Banks was right around Oktoberfest, we figured their Festbier would be a good pick. Specifically their plisner and hefeweissbier are suppused to be excellent.

Weihenstephaner makes the claim that they are the oldest existing brewery in the world. I'm not sure what the qualifications for this are, but they say they've been around since 1040, first as a monestary with a brewery, and then transitioning to a commercial brewery.

The Festbier pours a completely clear yellow color. It has a 1 finger airy white head that dissipates fairly quickly, but still leaves some lacing on the glass.

The aroma is not too impressive, it's mostly dominated by grassy scents and yeast. Bread is definitely in there somewhere. However I noticed there was a slight hint of spice and lemon in there as well.

The taste is also dominated by grass. The sweetness of it stays on the tip of the tongue, and there's a bitterness towards the back of the mouth. I think there was a bit of a spice flavor as well, but very muted. All in all there was nothing particularly special about the taste. Not a lot of complexity involved. I didn't taste any alcohol in it though, so the 5% ABV is well covered.

The mouthfeel is pretty thin as well. Not really any body to it, and it feels pretty watery. Despite that, it still has a dry finish.

All in all, it wasn't very good. The smell was the best part of it by far. I never went so far as to dump it, but there wasn't really any redeeming quality to it either. I'll see what other Oktoberfest beers taste like at some point in the future, but I'm hoping this is not representative of the style.

- Adam

Westmalle Dubbel

I figured I might as well go ahead and finish up with the trappists. The final remaining brew I was able to get my hands on for this trip was Westmalle Dubbel. The brewery in the Westmalle abbey opened in 1836, but it wasn't until 1921 that they started selling it commercially. In addition to the brewery, the abbey also has a farm and a cheese making facility.

The beer's appearance is a deep reddish/purple color, kind of murky and slightly opaque. The head is tan but dissipates quickly and has no lacing.

The aroma is sweet. There's cherry and liquor scents. I think there's some chocolate as well.. maybe chocolate covered cherries. A very faint grassyness.

Taste is somewhat chocolatey. There's a mild cherry flavor as well. The beer is neither too sweet or too bitter. It's sweet on the tip of the tongue but I'm also getting a bit of alcohol in the flavor. The second bottle of this I had appears to be bad despite the freshness date of 2/26/10. There's a medicinal quality to it as well that's slightly unpleasant. Tastes like Vick's vapor rub smells.

The mouthfeel is thick and juicy on the tongue. It's a bit dry, but good. The first one I had was not very carbonated, but the second was overpoweringly so.

The drinkability of the beer was not too high. The first was so heavy that it was like a meal in itself. My second go at this beer was obviously bad, and I ended up pouring it down the sink after a few sips. I was severly dissapointed because this was one of my favorites of the entire outer banks trip. At some point I'll have to give this one another shot.

Actually what's most dissapointing is that this is the 2nd bad bottle of beer I've gotten from State Line in the last month or so. The first was Gulden Draak, which I've yet to review because I haven't had a decent sized portion of it that wasn't bad. I discovered that it was a bad bottle because they had it at their Belgium vs. North America tasting event and it was actually quite good. I don't think this was State Line's fault as the beer was clearly not expired, but I wish I knew how to avoid this in the future.

- Adam

Koningshoeven Dubble

As most of you have probably gathered, I hold a special place in my heart for the Trappist ales. Something about them really makes me feel like they should be better than other examples of the same style from a non-trappist brewery. I've also mentioned before that there are 6 Trappist breweries in Belgium: Achel, Chimay, Orval, Rochefort, Westmalle, and Westvleteren. Of these, I've gotten to try something from all of them but Westvleteren, which only bottles a limited amount per batch, and doesn't get exported to the US. However, I recently learned about a 7th trappist abbey, this one in the Netherlands. Over there, it's labeled as Le Trappe, but in the US it's imported as Koningshoeven. I picked up a bottle of the Dubbel, chosing it over their Tripel and Quadrupel. This is mostly simply because out of the beers that I've had, I've generally liked the Dubbels best.

One interesting thing I noticed about Koningshoeven is that for a period of 5 years they lost their status as a trappist brewery. This was due to the fact that they licensed their brewery to a limited liability company. However in 2005 a settlement was reached with the International Trappist Association, which allowed them to regain the trappist label.

The beer poured a deep brownish red, with a tan head. It started to dissipate at a moderate pace, but the last bit covering the beer held on and stuck around through most of the glass. There was pretty much no lacing on the glass as the beer was consumed.

The smell was a bit faint, and I was really having a difficult time picking anything in particular out. I definitely detected a cherry fruit scent, along with some sweet malty characteristics. Underneath this was a trace of alcohol. However, I did notice a slight chocolate smell as well.

The taste was domintated by chocolate and cherry at first. However, this changed a bit as I got through the first sips, and turned a little more to the sweetness of the malt. I noticed a bit of bitterness towards the back of my mouth. There was a warming sensation as I swallowed the beer. The brew didn't have very much of an aftertaste... in fact, less than I'm used to. However I did find there was a touch of bitterness that remained behind for a few moments along with a trace of alcohol.

The mouthfeel was fairly dominated by the carbonation. This is possibly one of the highest carbonated beers I've had. This threw me off a bit as I would tend to say the beer was a medium body drink, but the carbonation made it feel lighter than I though it actually was. I didn't notice it coating my mouth at all, which is something I've become more aware of lately. The one thing I noticed in particular is that as I swallowed, the beer was extremly tingly in my throat, and had an almost burning effect, but not painful or unpleasant, just unexpected.

I'm not sure what to make of the drinkability of this beer. It wasn't the best beer I've had, and seemed to be a little unbalanced towards the sweet side. I thought that personally the sweetness dominated a bit too much and I would get sick of it if I tried to have more than one glass. However, it was still tasty, I don't want to indicate that it was a bad drink. It was definitely way better than Orval. Overall, a good drink, but not great. I'm glad Dan was around to drink the other half of the 750 ml bottle, because I wouldn't have wanted to. At least now I've tried something from every Trappist you can get in the US without trading with individuals.

- Adam

Rochefort 8

Well, after Orval I wasn't really sure what to expect. Chimay was good, Achel was good, Orval was not so great. I think I would have enjoyed Orval a lot more if it hadn't been a trappist ale, as I just had higher than average expectations for it.

Rochefort comes in three different varieties, each made with the same ingredients but of different strength. There's the 6, the 8, and the 10. The numbers are from an outdated Belgian system to measure a beer's strength based on the specific gravity of the wort. We went with the 8 which weighs in at 9.2% ABV.

The appearance of the beer is a dark, cloudy brown color. There's a slowly dissipating foamy 1 finger off-white head. As the beer is consumed, it leaves a little lacing on the glass. I've had this beer twice now, and the second time there was a good bit of flaky sediment floating in the glass. It was a bit gross to look at but, it was harmless - just some coagulated protein. It isn't harmful and doesn't alter the taste, although I admit it made me a little uncomfortable.

The taste is very malty and sweet, I didn't detect much bitterness in there at all. There's strong amounts of chocolate in the flavor, and it's a little warming. I also noticed a touch of fruitiness in the flavor, but it was hard to pin down exactly what kind. It's extremely tasty, but it's not overwhelming either. There's the slightest hint of alcohol in the aftertaste, but not nearly enough to indicate it's strength.

The mouthfeel is thick, and there's moderate carbonation. It was a good combination, since it keeps the beer from feeling too heavy. I also noted that with the second bottle, I couldn't actually feel the sediment in my mouth.

The drinkability of this beer is high. The taste is amazing, so I could see myself being able to drink more than one, but the alcohol content would make that a bad idea. I definitely wouldn't want to drink this one quickly... it deserves to be enjoyed.

- Adam

My first beer tasting event

So Dan, Solomon, and I all got together last night for our first tasting even at State Line Liquors. Solomon's wife, Lindsey, and my girlfriend Julia came as well. A good time was had by all. The event was Belgium vs North America, for which they chose 2 beers of the same Belgian style for 7 different styles, one from Belgium and the other from North America.

The event was just $20 per person, and $3 of that was a refundable glass deposit. At the end of the night you could hand your glass back in for the $3, or walk out with your own Chimay goblet. For that you got to try 14 different beers, plus cheese and soft pretzels. Obviously they weren't full glasses of beer, instead it was roughly 1/3 of a glass. Since the amount of beer you got for each was limited, I didn't bother with taking notes on anything, but it was definitely a great event.

We had the opportunity to meet some new people as well as chat with the staff of State Line a little bit. The atmosphere was nice and relaxed and friendly... not at all like most bars you'd go to around here. I got to try out some brews that I've never had before, as well as revisit some that I had tried. I even found that one bottle I'd taken notes on for an upcoming review had gone bad, so I won't be trashing what turned out to be a very good beer. All in all, it was a great event, and I'm planning on checking out more of their tastings in the future.

Pilsner Urquell

A translation of the name Pilsner Urquell is "the original pilsner". This goes along with their claim that Pilsner Urquell was the first beer brewed in the pilsner style. As the inventors of this style, the Czech people are protective of it, and go on to say that if it doesn't come from Pilsen it's not a pilsner. Consequently offerings of this style from outside this area are often called "pilsener" instead. Pilseners are a subset of the lager style, so really even though Czechvar is called a lager, it's really a Czech Pilsener like this beer.

It seems that typically, a pilsener is going to be both light in color and flavor. The focus instead is on it's refreshing nature. Distinctions between one type of pilsener and another come mostly from the changes in the hoppy character of the beer.

The beer pours a clear golden color with a tinge of red. There's a frothy white head about a finger thick that dissipated somewhat quickly, but while it was around it left good lacing on the glass. Not having a pilsener glass, we poured into our Pauwel Kwak glasses. It shares the general tall and narrow shape, so it seemed our best match.

The hoppy aroma was the first thing that hit me, but I also noticed an underlying trace of skunk. This made me nervous as I heard that skunking was a common problem with this beer. There were also some grassy notes to the aroma, but this was not very prominent.

Skunking is the result of a chemical reaction that takes place in a beer when the drink is exposed to UV rays. The chemicals in hops are light sensitive, so when they are exposed to light the hops in the beer are altered to a compound that is very similar to the scent skunks produce. See more about that here http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2001-10/uonc-ucf101701.php.

Anyway, it turns out that for certain beers a very little bit of a skunk aroma isn't considered a bad thing, and this is one of them.

The beer tastes watery, much like Czechvar did. However, there's a bitter finish to the beer that wasn't as prominent in Czechvar. I also noticed that there was an earthyness to the beer, which is something that I'm personally partial to, as long as it's not overpowering and blends well with the other flavors. Ommegeddon would be a good example of when earthyness is a good thing. In this case, since there wasn't a lot going on with the flavor other than the bitterness, it wasn't really doing it for me. There was also a bit of a metallic aftertaste that I wasn't a fan of.

The mouthfeel is thin, but nicely carbonated. It's crisp, and a bit tingly in the throat. Refreshment is definitely key with this beer, it's almost cleansing.

So the drinkability of this beer is either very low or very high depending on the occasion. I can see this being good with spicy food or when you just want something light and refreshing. However, it's not a beer to drink just for the flavor. The bitterness seems unbalanced, and a little overpowering. The overall lack of flavor makes it sort of boring. It's very smooth to drink, so it has it's place, but I can't see myself stocking it on a regular basis, or even justifying the additional expense over a beer like Grolsch. It's a landmark in beer history and worth trying once, but I don't think I'll be revisiting it again.

- Adam

De Koninck

If you pick up a bottle of De Koninck, you might find yourself asking, "What's with the hand?" Both the label and the bottle cap feature a white hand. Apparently, this comes from an Antwerp landmark, a border post with a statue of a hand, that sits by the coach house that eventually became Brouwerij De Konninck. An interesting side note on this beer - if you ever find yourself in the Cafe Pelgrim located by the brewery, they apparently have a bucket of yeast delivered daily so patrons can take a shot of it with the beer.

Not having any of the De Koninck "bolleke" glasses, we poured into our Chimay glasses, which are similarly shaped. Many Belgian establishments take the glassware very seriously for a beer, and if the proper glass type isn't available they may refuse to serve it. Dan and I aren't so picky as that, but if we have something close we like to use it. One of the reasons is that the shape of the glass effects the way the aromas are released from the beer. Since aroma is so strongly linked to taste, this also has a great impact on how the flavor of the beer comes out.

Like Orval and Leffe, this is considered a Belgian Pale Ale. There's multiple styles of Belgian Ales, so it can be a bit confusing, but I'd say the main 4 categories are Pale, Dark, Strong Pale, and Strong Dark. I'm not sure where the line is drawn between a pale and a dark right now, but the strong ales have a higher alcohol content.

The beer pours a reddish brown that's a little on the cloudy side. It's almost a copper color. There's a small white head, not quite a finger thick, that dissipated fairly quickly and didn't leave any lacing on the glass.

The aroma was a bit on the mild side. It consisted of a blend of apple cider and grassy hops. There's an underlying biscuity smell as well, possibly from the grain and yeast. From the smell I'm expecting some sweet fruity flavors and a bready quality to the beer.

The actual taste has a slightly bitter start that was unexpected, but not unpleasant. There's a muted sweet flavor in there as well, along with some grassy notes. Overall I noted that the flavor was extremely well balanced. The finish was on the dry side, so not really a thirst quencher, but very smooth and palatable.

The mouthfeel was light, and highly carbonated. There's definitely a good tingle to the beer. It had a nice medium body though, so this offset the carbonation well. As previously stated, it is a little dry.

Overall this was a very drinkable beer. Because the flavor is so well balanced, and the alcohol content is not high like many other Belgian beers, the only thing that might keep me from going through a lot of these is the dryness. I can see the similarity to Leffe in it, but not so much with Orval, other than the color. This was definitely a worthwhile purchase, and one I'd go back to try again. Between this and Leffe Blond, I'm not sure which would be the winner for me, but really you can't go wrong with either.

- Adam

Avery Mephistopheles Stout

Yesterday was Halloween, so to celebrate, Dan and I decided to pick up some evil themed beers. We both chose offerings from Avery Brewing Company, in Boulder, CO. Dan grabbed The Beast, a 16.3% ABV Belgian Grand Cru. I picked out Mephistopheles Stout, a super dark 16.1% ABV stout.

The beer pours a deep, dark brown... practically black. It has a 1 finger brown head that dissipates fairly quickly. Even the head on this beer is darker than a lot of beers out there. There's no lacing on the glass, and the head was almost completely gone by the time I started drinking it.

The aroma has a good bit of alcohol present. There's a sweetness to it though from the malt, and some traces of coffee. It's definitely a strong smelling beer, and let's you know that there's going to be quite a kick to it.

The taste is initially very sweet at first, moving to a bitter burnt coffee flavor as it moves back on the tongue. Then a strong alcohol flavor kicks in. It's definitely warming as it goes down, almost like a shot. It seems like it needs to be sipped at first. The strength of the alcohol becomes less noticeable as I continued drinking. The first bit was a bit hard to get through, but it's well worth it. I also noticed a somewhat greasy burnt bacon flavor as the beer progressed. I know that sounds a little nasty, but it actually fit well in the flavor. The aftertaste had strong coffee notes.

It was thick in the mouth, as expected from something this dark and strong. The carbonation wasn't too strong, just a mild tingle on the tongue. It fit well with the character of the beer.

As for the drinkability... not too high. It was good, it was worth having, but it was strong. Very very strong. And at 16.1% trying to session this beer would likely put you in a hospital, if you could even get that many down. Happy Halloween.

- Adam

Murphy's Irish Red

Murphy's comes from an old brewing family in the area of Cork, in Southern Ireland. The current company was founded by James J. Murphy in 1856. In 1979, Murphy's Irish Stout was imported to the US for the first time and in 1985 was released as an international brand.

The Irish Red pours a clear light reddish-brown color, with a quickly dissipating 1 finger white head. There's no lacing on the glass left from it. Still, it's an attractive looking drink, and the reddish tints add a lot to the beer's appareance.

The aroma is fairly weak. There's a light hoppiness, but it's not overwhelming. There's also a bit of sweet malt to the smell.

The taste is a little thin. THere's some malted sweetness, a light bitterness from a very muted hop flavor. A little watery. It's in no way bad, but it's not terribly flavorful.

The mouthfeel is light, and extremely smooth. The carbonation isn't overpowering in any way.

All in all, it's easy to drink, but because of the lack of flavor I wouldn't go out of my way for a bottle. Certainly good be a good accompaniment to a good Irish dinner when you desire something lighter than a stout.

- Adam

Warsteiner Premium Dunkel

A Munich Dunkel style lager, Warsteiner Dunkel conforms to the German Purity Law or the "Reinheitsgebot". This law states that the only ingredients used to make the beer are malted barley, water, yeast, and hops. The Warsteiner brewery is a mass production facility, and as such is relatively easy to get and fairly cheap for an import.

The beer pours a dark chocolate brown, with red highlights. There's a bit of a tan head, but it dissipates fairly quickly.

The aroma is sweet and bready. There's almost a biscuit-like quality to it. The malt comes through well though. It's not terribly complex, but not unattractive either.

The taste is mostly biscuity and sweet. There's some citrus flavor mixed in as well. There's absolutely no bitterness to the beer, no trace of hops. Not really any alcohol flavor either. The finish is extremely smooth.

The mouthfeel is pretty light, especially for such a dark beer. There's a mild tangy carbonation to it. It goes down very easily.

The drinkability of this beer is extremely high. It's got a decent flavor, nothing unpleasant about it. On the other hand there's nothing that really stands out about it either. It's pretty cheap ($6.60 for a 6 pack), tastes good, and is really easy to drink. The ABV is relatively low at 4.9%. I can see this going in my regular rotation for when the beer isn't what I'm focusing on.

- Adam

Ommegeddon

I originally discovered Brewery Ommegang through the Duvel USA website. I was looking for more beers from Duvel Moortgat, and found that they owned a brewery in Cooperstown, NY. (Somehow I missed Maredsous, but that's on my short list to try.) I've tried a number of brews from Ommegang in the past, which at some point I'll have to get around to reviewing. These include Ommegang Abbey Ale, Hennepin, Rare Vos, Three Philosophers, and Witte. I've tried all but the Witte so far. However, Ommegang also has a couple seasonal lines, and Ommegeddon is one of them.

This is one of the breweries I've grown to trust in the short amount of time I've been tasting beers. While so far none of their offerings have replaced the soft spot Duvel holds in my heart, nearly everything I've had from them has been darn tasty. Dan was lucky enough to snag a left over 10 year anniversary box set from Ommegang, that included a special anniversary Hennepin glass.

This beer is a Funkhouse Ale... which pretty much means nothing to me. Looking into it a little more though, it seems like this is Ommegang's play on the Farmhouse Ale, or Saison category. Basically this seems to mean that it's brewed seasonally, on a small scale, and using local ingredients. This beer is also brewed with Brettanomyces or "Brett" yeast, which in most beer and wine seems to be an undesirable thing. It's said to impart a odor of a stable.

Our bottle was from Batch #3, brewed in April of 2008. We popped the cork, and poured it into our Chimay goblets. It's a hazy golden yellow color, with a thin white head that nonetheless leaves good lacing on the glass. You may note from the picture that we were careful to leave a bit of the beer in the bottle. This contains most of the sediment from the yeast that the beer is bottled with. The bottle's label specified that this sediment should be left in the glass and not mixed in, so we thought it was best to follow their instructions.

The aroma is decidedly unique... there's that horse blanket smell. Overall the smell of hay is forefront, but there's also a bit of apricot fruitiness in there. There's a wildness to the aroma that's just hard to describe.

The flavor is magnificent. There's the tangyness of apricot, a bit of a sweet-sour flavor. It's well balanced though, and the alcohol flavor doesn't really come through much. Oh, did I mention it's 8% ABV? The hops come through in the finish, with a very light bitterness rounding out the flavor.

It's a light beer in the mouth. The carbonation is mild and tingly, the beer feels somewhat thin, but not in a bad way. It's extremly smooth.

So to sum up the drinkability... very. Dangerously very. I had the impression that the flavor might sour after a few of them, but considering that it's 8% ABV, it's way too easy to drink. The uncharacteristic wildness of it makes it an incredible brew, and something to look forward to every year when it's produced. I will absolutely try this one again if I can get my hands on it. This may be a perfect summer drink.

- Adam

Orval

The second of our trappist beers from the trip, I wasn't sure what to expect from Orval. Unlike Chimay, Achel, Westmalle, and Rochefort, Orval only has one line readily available to the public. It was also noticably lighter than the other trappists we had with us.

The beer poured a light brown color, with a 1 finger off white head. This beer even gave Duvel a run for it's money in head retention... the head stuck around and left good lacing on the glass. It was on the cloudy side, but we poured the sediment from the bottle into the glass to allow the yeast to dissipate through.

The aroma was also a bit unexpected. It was grassy, almost like hay, with an underlying spice scent.

The taste was fairly mild. There was a muted citrus fruit flavor that was slightly tangy, along with a light bitterness. The aftertaste had a slightly metallic tinge to it. I'm wondering how it would be without the yeast in the glass, whether the bitterness would be gone, and how the flavor would be altered.

The mouthfeel was thick and smooth, with a light carbonation. It was however a bit on the dry side.

This was a very easy beer to drink. Because the flavor was so mild, and there was no trace of alcohol in the taste, it was not at all difficult to throw back. I wouldn't say it was the best tasting beer ever, but certainly worth trying.

I do think it's worth mentioning that I'd like to give this beer another shot. My notes for this beer are a bit sparse, and it seems like the trip was so long ago that I'm having trouble remembering the details of it. I'm also wondering how much of an impact the yeast has on the flavor, and whether it's positive or negative. I remember when I tried Affligem blonde, I really wasn't grabbed by the beer at all until I tried it with the yeast in the glass. Maybe I'll run out this week and pick up another bottle.

- Adam

Revisited 10/24/08:

I picked up another bottle today and tried it again, this time without the sediment mixed in at first. I didn't pick up so much of the spice in the aroma this time, but instead got a sweet banana smell. The beer is definitely more clear. The taste is still very mild. The flavor is a bit sweet, with a dull bitterness at the end. The carbonation comes through a lot more this time. There's a bit of warmness to it too.

Mixing in the sediment, the smell is unchanged, but the beer is definitely more cloudy. The taste is a little more tangy, and the bitterness at the end isn't quite so dull, but the taste is mostly unchanged.

It's a little disappointing. I had hoped that the second time around I might be able to reveal a little bit more about this beer. It's the same style as Leffe blonde and De Koninck, a Belgian Pale Ale. I can taste the similarity to Leffe in it, but it's not as flavorful. It's also not nearly as sweet which may or may not be a good thing depending on your mood. Overall though, it doesn't live up to the expectation I have for a trappist. I had expected something that transcends the style, but instead it seems average. It's not bad, but it's not great either. I really can't see myself coming back to this one. I've had it, I can check it off the list of trappists, but really there's not much else worth saying.

- Adam

Czechvar

Looking at the posts I've made so far, it seems like I've been biased towards posting all the darkest beers we brought on our trip. So to remedy that situation, here's Czechvar. Originally named Budweiser Budvar, this beer precedes the American "Budweiser" but due to a trade dispute from 1911, Anheuser-Busch is allowed sole rights to the name in North America. Consequently, imports of this beer from Budweis in the Czech Republic are renamed to Czechvar.

This beer pours an extremly attractive clear amber color. There's no head to speak of, save a thin white ring around the edge of the glass. There's no lacing at all with this beer.

The aroma is fairly standard. However there is a flowery hop smell present that stands out among the normal "beery" smells.

The taste of this beer is dominated by bottled water. Obviously there are plenty of other tastes present, even more strongly than the water taste, but the water really dominated the taste for me. It was like drinking a beer flavored bottle of Deer Park. Besides the water flavor, there were hints of spice and banana present. The rest of the flavor is stereotypical beer.

The mouthfeel was very light and bubbly. It felt thin in the mouth as well as in flavor, but crisp and extremely refreshing.

Ok, so this wasn't the best beer ever. Not even close. But it does stand out in drinkability. It was extremely easy to drink, was very refreshing... I'd say it may be one of the best thirst-quenchers I've ever had. This would be perfect after a hot summer day outdoors... just not so much on a windy day in North Carolina when we can't get out to the beach at all. All in all, this seems like the beer that "Budweiser" wishes it could be.

- Adam

Theakston Old Peculier

Even this beer's name suggests that you're getting something a bit different when you try it. Even though "Peculier" means particular, this beer is a bit odd when compared to pretty much everything I've tried so far. By no means is this a bad thing though, this beer was extremely enjoyable for me.

Old Peculier is a vintage ale, and has been made under this name since the 1890's. I'd been wanting to try this one for a while, and this trip turned out to be a perfect excuse.

Not really knowing what kind of glass this beer should go in, we poured it into our Pauwel Kwak glasses. It poured a deep brown with reddish highlights, and a small light tan head that dissipated fairly quickly. There was no visible lacing on the glass.

The aroma was hoppy with a hint of spice to me. Dan described it as a bit "sweet and sour" which I believe is an apt description. Honestly though, I was stumped by this beer. I really don't know how to describe the aroma. It's very far from anything I'm used to.

The taste was fairly hard to describe as well. There were coffee and caramel flavors. A slight amount of bitterness was present, but it wasn't overwhelming or unpleasent. All in all, it was very rich, complex, and well rounded. There was a fair bit of warmth going down too.

The mouth feel was kind of thick and not too carbonated. However, there was still a good tingle on the tounge from the carbonation, and was not flat at all.

I still don't know how I feel about the drinkability of this beer. My initial reaction was that it was something to savor and enjoy, possibly on it's own. I also said that I couldn't see myself drinking many of these in one sitting. Now though, I wonder if it's because the flavor just takes a little getting used to. I could see this being a great beer for a cold winter day.

-Adam

Brooklyn Brown Ale

Brooklyn Brewery was established in 1988 by a former banker and a former Middle Eastern correspondent. They have a number of different beers available, including core lines, seasonal, and brewmaster reserves which are only available locally on tap. The Booklyn Brown comes from their core line.

This was one of the two domestic beers we brought with us on the trip, the other being Dogfishhead's Punkin Ale. It's not that I don't like domestic beers, although some of them can be pretty awful, but the long standing traditions of European brewers have allowed them to develop well balanced and flavorful offerings over the years. Additionally, there's the cost factor for importing beers, so if the product isn't strong enough, it wouldn't sell well enough to offset the cost of importing.

That said, there are plenty of craft brewers and breweries in the United States that make a quaility product that blows the major beer distributors in the country out of the water. Brooklyn Brewery's Brown Ale is a great example of this fact.

The beer pours a deep brown with a tan head. It has good lacing on the glass, and mild head retention. The aroma is a combination of grassy hop scents, mixed with sweet malt.

The flavor of the beer is sweet and creamy, there isn't much bitterness at all. Typically with a darker beer you have the anticipation of bitterness, but I can see why the style is called Brown and Mild. There's a mixture of roasted barley flavor, with caramel, and general sweetness. Additionally this beer is incredibly smooth going down. It's not terribly high on carbonation, and it's somewhat dry, but fits quite well in the mouth. I can see this beer being great with a meal.

It's also incredibly drinkable. Not only does it have great taste that I can't see myself getting tired of, but because of the smoothness of it I feel like I could drink them non stop if I wanted to. But... I'll let this picture of Dan and myself tell the rest of the story.

-Adam

Samuel Smith's Taddy Porter

As one of the oldest breweries in all of England, and the only remaining independent brewery in Tadcaster (but still the smallest of the 3 breweries there), there's a lot going on behind the Samuel Smith name. There are quite a few different brews available from Samuel Smith, and their reputation is extremely high. Some interesting facts - according to the official Tadcaster website, they're still using the original well, sunk in 1758, to brew their ales and stouts. They use a strain of yeast that has remained unchanged since the early 1900's.

This is a dark British Porter. It pours an extremely dark brown, almost black in appearance. There is a small tan head, with little lacing on the glass. It's aroma is that of roast coffee, with hints of berries. It's a very attractive looking and smelling drink.

The taste is dominated by coffee flavors, but there is a somewhat muted sweet malt flavor as well. The finish is bitter, with a roast coffee bean aftertaste. The mouth feel is rich and creamy, with light carbonation. This beer is very similar in taste and feel to Guinness, but it has a much more balanced bitterness.

This is a very drinkable beer. Even though it's not a thirst-quencher, it is very flavorful, incredibly well balanced, and just tastes great. It was one of my favorite beers of the entire week, and I would rank it right up there with Duvel and Chimay for enjoyability. At $9.69 for a four pack, it's a bit pricey, but well worth it.

-Adam

Achel 8 Brune

This was the first beer of the week. We wanted to start things off with a bang, so one of our 4 trappists seemed like the way to go.

The Achel 8 Brune is one of 5 offerings from the abbey. The others are the Extra, 8 Blond, 5 Brune, and 5 Blond.

The beer pours to an attractive reddish-brown. It has a creamy head, 2 fingers thick, that dissipates slowly and leaves some lacing on the glass (for those of you who don't know, lacing is the foam that stays stuck to the side of the glass).

The aroma is sweet and fruity, with a cherry smell and malty hints.

The taste is once again of cherry and sweet malt. At first the high alcohol content comes through in the flavor, but this goes away quickly. The finish of the beer is bitter, but well balanced, and very warming. This would be a great beer in fall or winter especially.

The beer is light on the tongue, and the carbonation comes through strongly at first. It has a tingly feeling to it.

Because of the intensity of this beer, although it has an amazing flavor, this isn't one you'd want to sit down and drink a lot of. It's a beer to sit and enjoy, sipping as you go.

Like all trappist beers, this is brewed under the supervision of monks, with the proceeds going to support the monastery and charities. The history of this beer is quite rich, but one of the things I found most interesting was the fact that the monastery had a brewry until the First World War, when the German army drove the monks out and dismantled the brewery. In 1998 when the monks at the Achelse monastery decided to re-open the brewery, the monks at the Westmalle and Rochefort abbeys, which both brew their own trappist ales, helped to build the new brewery. Try finding cooperation like that in any other industry!

-Adam

Coming soon...

Dan and I will be taking a trip on the 21st to the Outer Banks in North Carolina for a week with a group of friends. In order to make this a more memorable experience for us, we stopped by State Line Liquors tonight in Elkton, MD to pick up beer for the trip. A whopping $240.12 later, we have quite the list of beers to try out.

I'm particularly excited about the Trappist Ales we got while we were there. For those of you who don't know, a Trappist Ale is a beer that is produced by or under the supervision of the monks at a trappist abbey. In addition, the proceeds from sale of the beer must be used towards assistance in the monastic community (for example, the money can be used to support orphans or widows). We picked up 4 of the 6 Belgian trappist brands for this trip. Achel, Westmalle, Orval, and Rochefort. We almsot picked up a 5th, Chimay, but since we've already tried it numerous times and didn't need to spend any more money, we gave it a pass for this trip.

The list of beers we have to review are:

Grolsch
Pilsner Urquell
Brooklyn Brown Ale
De Koninck
Pauwel Kwak
Theakston's Old Peculier
Samuel Smith's Taddy Porter
Duvel
Achel Bruin
Orval
Rochefort 8
Westmalle Dubbel
Leffe Blond
Murphy's Irish Red
Warsteiner Dunkel
Czechvar (formerly Budweiser Budvar)
Weihenstephan Oktoberfest
Dogfishhead Punkin Ale
Ommegang Ommegeddon

That's 19 beers over a 6 day period. It's gonna be a good week.

Who am I and why do you care?

Well, chances are you don't. I'm just a guy who enjoys beer. Not for the sake of getting drunk, not because it's cheap alcohol (it really isn't if you buy the good stuff). I love the flavor, the variety, the history... alright, let's just say there's a lot of things I like about it.

Mostly I'm writing this blog for my own sake. I'll be cataloging my thoughts on different beers as I try them, and using it as a reference point for myself. If you happen to stumble on here and find some information that appeals to you, then great. I'm not an expert on any of this by a long shot, so don't take anything you see here as a hard fact. Actually, I'd welcome any corrections... this blog is mostly just going to be about my journey with my friends in our discovery of new and exciting beers (to us). Suggestions are encouraged!

All the information that follows below in this post is completely pointless. Come back later to read the first reviews, or continue reading at your own risk.

I had my first beer on my 21st birthday. I actually hated it. A friend took me to a local place, ordered a pitcher of something that sounded good, and we went for it. What came out of the back room was the darkest beer I'd ever seen. Now he only drank Miller Lite usually, and I was completely new to the stuff, so this nearly black brew with it's strong coffee-like flavor was not well accepted by either of us.

I tried a few different things over the years, mostly staying towards the "shallow end" of the beer pool. Miller Lite became my beer of choice for a long time, and I slowly expanded out to Heineken, Yuengling, and a few other popular beers.

It wasn't until I went out with a few friends from my old high school for a bachelor party that I experienced a truly wonderful beer, which sparked my interest to discover more. It was at a cigar bar in Philadelphia, and the beer's name was Duvel. This is a magnificent Belgian Ale, and is still one of my favorites. At 8.5% alcohol by volume, it's much stronger than your average brew, but the flavor is to die for. There was something magical about that first tasting. That one beer grabbed my attention in a way that no other had before, and I found myself wishing I could get my hands on it again.

Then one day I was visiting a friend who lives some 30 miles away from my house. We stopped by a local liquor store to pick up a 6 pack to go with our pizza and movie. While wandering around the store, I noticed a section of imported beers, and walked over to take a look. To my astonishment, they had a Duvel gift set, with 3 bottles and a special glass! I bought it right away, and introduced him to it as well. And that's how I started my beer odyssey...

(for more information on Duvel, visit http://www.duvelusa.com)