Belgian Beer

Click on the picture for more info on Belgian Beers.

What is Belgian Beer?  Here is a guide with loads of info.

Links to many of the well known Belgian Breweries.

Beer Class Notes 9.5.12

**These notes are rich with Links so roll your curser over the article for links to lots more information.**

We investigated how our palate works with different taste sensations by tasting and discussing powdered sugar, salt, citric acid, hops and spicy mustard.

We also did an exercise where salt, sugar and citric acid were blended in water to inspect how the elements balance each other without the context of texture.

The main “take aways” from this exercise are:

• Both food and beverage rely on balances between sweetness, bitterness, sourness, salt/minerality and richness. 
• With spicy food, HOPS drive spice and turn the volume up on the heat.  WHEAT beers and MALTY beers calm heat.                                                                                                               

   -If you did not have the chance to do the exercise in class, please get your hands on Spicy Brown Mustard and taste it with a severely hoppy beer and a Hefeweizen to experience both sensations.

We also tasted two new beers to the menu.

• Lost Abbey Red Barn Farmhouse is new to the main bottle list and is currently available.  Details

• New Belgium/ Alpine Brewing Co Super IPA WILL BE added to the Library List in the coming week. 

We now have many hoppy choices and all for good reasons.  Here is a quick review of the hoppy offerings.

1. Firestone Walker Union Jack IPA-  American IPA focused on gorgeous citrus and floral hops.
2. Dry Dock Double IPA-  World Class DIPA focused on Hops (seven varieties starting with the letter C) 
3. Boulevard Double Wide IPA-  Rich and malty DIPA with beautiful hops to balance.
4. Sierra Nevada Torpedo-  American IPA focused on piney, herbal and citrusy hops balanced with rich caramel malts. 
5. Firestone Walker Wooky Jack-  Black Rye IPA
6. Avery Hog Heaven-  Dank hoppy barleywine/Imperial Red (Columbus hops)
7. New Belgium / Alpine Brewing Co. Super IPA- American DIPA severely hoppy.  
8. Stone Cali Belgique – Belgian IPA

If you are still interested in learning about SPECIFIC HOP VARIETIES and their characteristics, here is the LINK.

We will be looking at broad categories each week so that you will have a greater grasp of all of the choices in given categories of beer.  You can expect to see the following:

• Sour and Wild
• Belgian and specifically sub category of Trappist 
• Cellar List
• British Beers
• Gluten Free Options

Hop Specific and Beer Class Notes

If you are interested in looking at hops a little more in depth, here is a link to the hop chart that we discussed.  It will offer Alpha acid levels, hop characteristics, usages and substitutes.  

http://www.maltmunchingmashmonsters.com/files/20100511Talk15_Hops.pdf
Below are notes from the Wed Aug 29 beer class.

Keep drinking and enjoying beer

8/29 Beer Class Notes

GABF is literally 37 days away.  Almost all of the beer plans are completely finished and I will be getting details and beer info out shortly.  If you are interested in helping pull together a few last minute beer descriptions, reach out.

Today's class was focused on new menu items and changes coming to the menu and looked at hops specifically.  Darin from Avery was a guest to share his knowledge of hops. 

We tasted:

Boulevard Double Wide IPA

http://www.boulevard.com/BoulevardBeers/double-wide-i-p-a/ http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/423/39639

BLVD Double Wide IPA is replacing BLVD 6th glass on the LIBRARY LIST.

It is more of a balanced DIPA with toffee and caramel malts to match the hop bitterness.  

AveryHog Heaven Barleywine - Columbus Hops ~ dank

  Hog Heaven is more of an imperial red than a barleywine and has a great rich caramelly malt backbone to malt back bone to pair with the dank and bitter Columbus hop bill.

You can find Avery Hog Heaven is located on our CELLAR LIST in the Colorado Collection.

Avery DuganA  Chinook Hops  ~ pine

http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/30/53167 

http://averybrewing.com/our-ales/dugana/ DuganA brings intense hop  aroma, flavor, and bitterrness in this piney, resinous DIPA
This beer is NOT currently available but will be released soon and we will likely see this beer served on draft.

St. Louis Framboise ~ fresh fruit juice added to beer rather than fruit concentrate or sugar.
http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/212/5796
Framboise = Lambic with Raspberries
Lambic - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lambic
This beer will appear on our BOTTLE LIST in place of Linndeman's Apple Lambic


Leipzeger Gose
Gose  is a light german beer brewed with 50% + wheat content with additions of corriander and salt and a low ABV%.  It is a relative of Berlinerweiss, and a very unique beer style that is rather tough to come by, and a great addition to the CELLAR LIST.
http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/4909/10683
Gose
http://beeradvocate.com/beer/style/16

Mikkeller 1000 IBU
We discussed that this beer is a beautiful example of a severely hopped experimental beer that is not currently available for sale but will appear with some other gems on our CELLAR LIST very soon.  Thank you for your patience. You will see when our cellar list drops for GABF it is going to be intense.
 http://beerpulse.com/2010/01/mikkeller-1000-ibu-causing-a-stir/

http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/13307/56842

See the blog for details on hops characteristics for specific hop varieties.
http://beersinthehall.blogspot.com/
Be prepared for tests to open each beer class that will address topics covered in the previous beer classes.  Thank you for your time and energy attending beer class, I understand that your time is very valuable so please let me know what you would like to cover in coming beer classes.

You can expect us to cover:

• pairings
• tastings 
• Brewery information
• palate training
• menu changes
• GABF

Upcoming Beer Happenings

Thursday July 19  6pm -Hop Disciples at Great Divide  (beer tasting and discussion)

Friday July 27   7pm -  Denver BeerFest at Mile High Station


Tuesday July  31 6:30pm - Beer and Cheese Tasting at Great Divide

New Beer!

83 Days before GABF.  That is just over 11 weeks.  We will start to see a lot of new beer going into the GABF season.  There will be updates and descriptions on all the new beers regularly.  This is a great time to review your beer knowledge as we will have some of the biggest beer fans and aficionados descending on our great city for a 5 day orgy of beer drinking and celebrating.  We are located only 4 block from the GABF venue which caters to nearly 40,000 beer drinkers in 3 days.  Last year we saw over 3,500 guest at Euclid Hall in 3 days.  If you don't feel ready, lets talk about how we can get you ready.  

We have a handfuls of new unique beers.  Here are tasting notes on these gems, if you have any questions please ask me.  These will be added to our cellar list and will only be available while supplies last.  Enjoy.

Maui Sobrehumano Palena 'Olo   6.%ABV  12 oz  can

Maui (Maui, Hawaii) / Jolly Pumpkin (Dexter, Michigan) Collaboration with Hawaiian Lilikoi and Michigain Tart Cherries

A:  Pours a hazy deep bronze with a modest head and minimal lacing.

S:  Mild hops, caramel malts and mild fuity tartness that smells of both, passion fruit and tart cherries.

T: Slightly sweet malts with tart fruits and a solid hop bitterness. 

M:  Medium-light in body with adequate carbonation and a slightly sweet and tart finish.

Pairings:  This would be great with a Chopped Salad, Spatzle, Crabwich, Cheese plate, Chips and dip, and would go nicely with Waffle Ice Cream sandwich and the Lemon Meringue Pie.

Dogfish Head Indian Brown  7.2%ABV   12 oz bottle

Dogfish Head Brewing Co, Milton, Delaware

This is the original hybrid. A cross between a Scotch Ale, an India Pale Ale and an American Brown, Indian Brown Ale is well-hopped and malty at the same time.

A:  Pours a dark brown, nearly black color with a robust tan head that leaves thick lacing.

S: Aromas of bittersweet chocolate, coffee and brown sugar with a hint of nuts.  This beer has a complex bouquet of aromas that finish with earthy and herbal hops.

T:  Rich malts up front followed by mild piney, earthy hops in the end.  Coffee and bitter chocolate.

M:  Medium- Light bodied with a rich and creamy texture and lively carbonation that feels soft rather than prickly.

Pairings:  Waffle Ice Cream Sandwich, Brat Burger, Sausages, Tri Tip.

Dogfish Head Positive Contact - Imperial Witbier (Collaboration with Deltron)

Dogfish Head Brewing Co, Milton, Delaware

300 lbs of organic Fuji apples = total addition of 25 gallons of fresh pressed cider

4lbs. of cilantro

Cayenne

Overall, Positive Contact is characterized by its bright spritzy cider character and autumnal herbal quality derived from the cilantro, cayenne, and yeast.

A:  Pours a lightly hazy golden color with a lofty creamy white head that offers a rich lacing on the glass.

S: Sweet and malty up front, apples, Belgian Wit yeast, bananas, and mild cayenne.

T: Creamy apple, citrus, mild herbal cilantro meets modest smokey cayenne and Belgian yeast characteristics.

M: Medium bodied with light-med carbonation and a creamy texture with a dry finish.

Pairings:  This is a great food beer.  Try this with goat cheeses, Kampachi Crudo, Crabwich, Chicken Sandwich, Salads, Eggplant Talleggio.

Crooked Stave Surrette Reserva  Sour Saison  6.2%ABV   750mL

 (Barrel Aged Surrette)

 Crooked Stave Artisan Beer Project   Denver, CO

A:  Pours a rusted orange color with a modest white head

S:  Tartness up front.  Lots of bright fruits blend with mild funk and delicate oak. 

T:  Again bright fruits, mild funk and hints of wood.  

M:  Light-Med (thin) and creamy with a crisp finish.  This is an incredibly finessed beer.

Pairings:  Crabwich, Weisswurst, cheese, Chicken Sandwich, Salads, Chips and Dip

New Belgium /Lost Abbey Brett Beer    American Wild Ale    7.5%ABV    22oz

New Belgium Brewing Co Ft. Collins, CO & Lost Abbey Brewing Co. San Marcos CA

A:  Pours a hazy light golden straw color with a thin white head.

S: Grainy and tropical fruity hops (pineapple, lemon zest, mango) with a delicate Brett funk.

T:  Bready malts and ripe fruits with a perceived sweetness, mild earthy  funk

M: Medium- light bodied with a creamy texture and active carbonation.

Pairings:  Salads, cheese plate, crabwich, weisswurst, chicken sandwich

Timmermans, Oude Gueuze LE, 750ml, 5.5%, Gueuze

A: Sustained pop from the cork, wispy gunsmoke from the bottle. Pours a hazed glowing orange, tinged with pastel yellows on the outer edges. Frothy white suds around the rim, not especially sticky, settling to a thin ring at the edges. Second pour, a finger of white foam seemed to last for a bit longer. Swirling brings a momentary congregation of sparkly, soapy bubbles, that leave as quickly as they came. This stuff is charged like champagne, nonstop streams of carbonation.

S: Lactic aromas of Greek yogurt, also white wine, lemon, and minerals. Slightly funky but seemingly mild in that department. Second pour yielded some wet hay and musty barn blanket notes.

T: Sharp lemon sourness, wet stone minerality, crabapple, some tannic oak dryness in the finish. Nothing off about this, it's clean with prickly champagne carbonation, feels somewhat light, not far off from Boon Oude Gueze with a bit more lemon sharpness to it. Easily drinkable and particularly quenching in hot summer weather.

M: Feels light and effervescent with a strong lingering finish

D: Overall fantastic Gueuze that’s lively, bright, and explodes with flavor.

Food Pairings:  This funky, complex gueuze is not for everyone.  We recieved only 6 bottles so getting this to the right people is key.  Think to pair it with delicate yet complex foods like the mussels, scallops, grilled cheese, cheese plate, and possibly veal schnitzel.

Boulevard Love Child #2     American Wild Ale   9.6%ABV   750mL

Boulevard Brewing Co, Kansas City, MO

A:   Pours a hazy reddish brown color with an off white head and delicate lacing.

S:  Light tart cherry, lemon balm , vinegar, oak, vanilla, and bourbon.

T:  Sour cherries, lemon tartness, wild funk, followed by rich fruity and toffee malts finishing with wood, vanilla and bourbon .

M: Medium bodied with adequate carbonation and a puckering sourness and intensely dry finish.

Pairings:  Cheese, oysters, salads.

How to Taste Beer

There are a lot of ways to taste/drink beer, but the focus here is to be able to look at multiple characteristics of a beer, quickly and with very little effort.

A few basics, then a short explanation and you will be tasting beer on a whole other level in no time.

First, when tasting, always look at a few main characteristics of the beer, then consider 3 aspects of each group of characteristics.  So when tasting a beer note:

Appearance of the beer in terms of:

• Color
• Clarity 
• Head

Smell of the beer in terms of:

• Hops
• Malts
• Yeast
• Off Aromas (not too common)

Taste of the beer in terms of:

• Hops
• Malt
• Yeast

Mouthfeel of the beer in terms of:

• Carbonation
• Body
• Finish 

Here is one way to go through the process of tasting with a little more detail on technique. 

Or check out this video to watch the process of tasting 

Here is a tasting card that can help you as you taste a beer.  

Here is a glossary of words that can help you describe a beer 

Here is a Tasting Wheel with ways to associate flavors and aromas

Here is a Periodic Table of Beers

Here are the Brewer's Association Guide to Beer Styles

Here are the BJCP Guidelines for Beer Styles.

June New Beers

Estrella Damm Daura  (Speciality Beer brewed with Ceoliacs Society 

5.4% European Pale Lager

A: This beer pours a brilliantly clear golden straw color with modest white head., minimal lacing or head retention.

S: Aromas of pale malt, mild hops,  with no real big flavors.

T:  Light, grainy malts with mild sweetness and hints of grassy and spicy hops in compliment..

M:  Light in body, crisp, bright carbonation and semi-dry lager finish.

D:  Very drinkable, especially on hot days, especially if you are Gluten Intolerant.  This is a “gluten free“beer that tastes like beer.

Pairings:  This beer will pair with our lighter fare.  Chicken Schnitzel, fishwich, veal schnitzel, weisswurst.

*This beer was brewed with the Ceoliacs Society and has a gluten level of 6 ppm.(20 ppm is the acceptable limit for Coeliacs)  Unfortunately the FDA regulates any dietary “recommendations” so they are not allowed to label it as “Gluten Free” although most Gluten Intolerants would find this acceptable.

Orval Trappist Ale,  Belgian Pale Ale bottle Conditioned with Brett

6.9%ABV

A: This beer pours a cloudy honey amber color with a lofty white head. 

S: Aromas of citrus, white fruits, pale malts, sharp grassy and spicy hops and a dry delicate barnyard funk.

T: Light sweet malts, Belgian yeast, dry Brett funk and delicate citrus notes.

M: Medium- light body with bright prickly carbonation, and a dry and slightly funky finish.

D:  Very drinkable summer style brew.  Bright, citrusy, hoppy and dry.

Pairings:  Fishwich, Chicken Schntzel Sandwich, Weisswurst, Halibut, slaw, and spatzle.

Petrus: Aged Ale (Flanders Oud Bruin), 7.3% abv, 12oz Beer Advocate: B+ / A (Bros)

A: Clear golden color with minor amber highlights, fantastic white head 2 inches thick, great lacing.

S: Oak, funky horse-blanket, lactic acid, fruit is tart apples.

T: Sour and tart with apples, cherries, peaches wrapped up in oak with notes of citrus fruit (lemon).

M: Light to medium bodied with solid carbonation.

D: Clean and refreshing sour ale! Can’t even taste the abv on this one and isn’t as heavy/tart as a Gueuze.

*Food Pairings: Lamb Poutine, Duck Poutine add Boudin Noir, Bone Marrow, Tri-Tip, Smores, Cupcake

New Belgium Tart Lychee.  American Wild Ale, 56% Ale Aged in Oak 44% Ale brewed with Lychee and Cinammon.

7.5%ABV

A: Pours a hazy golden orange with a frothy white head and moderate lacing.

S: Tropical and citrus fruit, light malt sweetness, delicate cinammon, dry earthy funk and mild tartness.

T: Tart tropical and citrus fruits, with mild sweetness and dry funky finish.  Similar to the nose, but a bit more fruit.

M: Medium light bodied, bright carbonation with a crisp tartness a mild funk.

D:  Very drinkable yet also a great food beer.  Another great summer style beer and great with our light fare.

Pairings: Chicken Sandwich, Fishwich, spatzle, Veal Schnitzel, Halibut, Po’Boy, sausage, and Surf and Turf.

Stone Levitation Ale American Amber ABV: 4.40%

A - Amber-brown in color with a toffee colored head.

S - Has a nice caramel malt aroma with some piney and grapefruity hop aromas.

T - Slight malt flavor that is immediately over powered by an intense hop spicyness.

M - Light bodied with a fair amount of carbonation.

O - A pretty good amber ale, but I think it is a little too hopped for the style.

Pairing:  Sausage, brat burger, fishwich, Tri Tip, spatzle, chicken sandwich, and Surf and Turf.

Great Divide Claymore Scotch Ale 7.7% ABV

A:  Pours a reddish mahogany brown color with a khaki colored creamy head.

S:  Aromas of sweet rich malts, dark fruits, caramel, toffee and dark sugars.  Minimal hops at best.

T:  Sweet caramel and roasted malts , creamy dark fruits, mild hop and dark roasted malt bitterness and moderate booziness round out the flavor profile.

M: Rich, medium to full bodied beer with soft, creamy carbonation and a dry yet sticky finish.

D:  Moderately drinkable, yet rich and full flavored.

Pairings: Great with bbq meats, rich dark sauces, sausages, tri tip, Po’ boy, Surf and Turf.