Pauwel Kwak

It’s been awhile since I’ve had a Belgian beer, and I’ve never had this one. It’s a very attractive 750ml bottle, and like many imported brews, there’s practically no information about it.

Stats:
Belgian Strong Ale. 8.4% ABV. Belgium.

Dark copper to red color. Lots of carbonated head when you pour, but the large bubbles meant the head wasn’t going to stay around too long.

Very sweet nose with malty brown sugar aroma. It smells of caramel with just a hint of black pepper. And just the slightest hint of mint.

Medium to full bodied with a medium to low carbonation. Definitely not the easiest drinking beer that I’ve had.

Sweet caramel, black pepper, brown sugar, with a little hint of apples and dark cherries. It’s even got a little paper-y thing too, but I don’t actually think it’s oxidized. I also get a hint of peach and tobacco on the long finish, that I’m really loving.

It’s a tasty brew and one that I think many will enjoy, but honestly, if you know me, it’s not my kinda beer. It’s thick, sweet, and malty. That doesn’t make it bad, just not a favorite for me. 89 points.

Fantome Pissenlit

I picked up 2 new Fantome beers from 99 Bottles. They were in the back room, but I was lucky enough to get my hands on them. They aren’t cheap, but the original Fantome that I had blew me away. I had to have them. This is a beer that’s actually brewed with dandelions. They dry the flowers in the sun, then soak them in water for a few days. That “tea” is then used as the base for the beer. The description does say that you may not detect the dandelions. Another fun fact: Pissenlit means “wet the bed”, and is named for the diuretic effect of uncooked dandelions. You learn something new everyday.

Stats:
Saison. 8.0% ABV. Belgium. Spring Seasonal.

Amber to brown in color. The bottom of the bottle makes for a very hazy beer.

Well…this smells amazing. It’s got a tartness mixed with a heavy yeast aroma, bordering on Champagne. Baked apples and pears mix with a brown sugar component.

Spritzy carbonation but backed by a nice medium body mouthfeel.

Baked apples and Champagne is what comes to mind when I initially drink this beer. It’s not just tart, it’s sour, and it’s amazing. There’s so much tart fruit and yeasty-ness in here. The length is tremendous with a tart apple and cranberry play. I love the little bit of funk on this beer.

I’m not sure I can actually write how I feel about this beer. It might be up there with some of the best that I’ve ever had. Saying that, keep in mind that this is my kind of beer. It’s the perfect saison. It’s a bit funky, a bit sour, crisp, and complex. If I had to choose one beer to drink in my life, this would be on the short list. 95 points.

Hof Ten Dormaal Dark

I liked the Blond and I really liked the Amber, so now I get to try the dark. I opened this one outside and the cork and cage shot off into my neighbors yard. Let’s see how this one is.

Stats:
Saison. 7.5% ABV. Belgium.

Cocoa brown with a large head. Lots of sediment.

The nose is yeasty with cocoa and caramel. I’m getting a little bit of plum as well.

Mouthfeel is very nice. On the carbonated side, of course, but still has a nice amount of body.

Cocoa and yeast really take over the palate. There’s a nice caramel flavor with some dark fruits also coming through. Long finish that’s on the sweeter side with a little breadyness.

This is the third beer from these guys and it’s just another fantastic brew. It’s complex and delicious with a bit of sweetness. Just a great beer. 93 points.

Hof Ten Dormaal Amber

I wised up and opened this beer outside. As predicted, the cork shot off before the cage was completely unwound. This is the second in the 3 beers I have from this brewery. I liked the Blond quite a bit, so let’s see if this is just as good.

Stats:
Saison. 7.5% ABV. Belgium.

Amber in color, go figure. Lots of sediment with a fantastic head.

The nose has a nice brown sugar and spice component with a little bit of yeast. Fantastic baked apples.

This one is a bit less carbonated than the Blond. Very nice body and very drinkable.

That brown sugar and spice component hits right away followed by a yeasty-ness. It’s balanced with just a little bit of hops and leaves you with a baked green apple.

This is just a delicious beer. It just screams Fall to me and I can’t stop drinking it. 93 points.

Hof Ten Dormaal Blond

I grabbed 3 beers from this brewery for my beer club. We never got to these, so I’m reviewing them now. I guess this brewery grows their own barley and hops. I didn’t know it when I opened the bottle, but apparently these beers are notorious for shooting out the cork. I’m just glad I didn’t break anything.

Stats:
Saison. 8.0% ABV. Belgium.

This cork blew off before I even had the cage completely unwound. Just a ton of carbonation on this one. It’s got a nice unfiltered blond color with just a ridiculous head.

Oh funky goodness. It’s got a big barnyard funk with lemon and a nice little black pepper component.

Mouthfeel is nice after you’ve swirled it a few times to get some of the carbonation out of it.

Nice lemony flavor with some funky, barnyard to follow. Fantastic balance with a long black pepper finish.

I’m really liking this. If you dig the funk, this is for you, just be careful when you open it. 90 points.

Beer Club 11/20/11 Saisons

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I hope everyone is enjoying their day and eating a ridiculous amount of food. I hope there’s some beer in there to wash it all down. I thought this month would be perfect to do Saisons. It’s one of my favorite styles, but more importantly, they are great for Thanksgiving. Here’s what we tasted.

We started with the classic, Saison Dupont. This is usually a pretty easy beer to come by, so you should check it out. It’s got a little bit of funk, but isn’t over-powering. I was actually surprised by how well this beer was received at beer club considering it has that little bit of funk.

We moved on to the Avec Les Bons Voeux. This was a bigger version of the other beer. It’s a little darker, a little heavier, not quite as drinkable. It’s abv is close to 10%. I think some people liked this beer, where as one or two thought the alcohol was a bit too much.

This was a new one for me. The Boardwalk from Left Coast is a more American version. It’s got a bit more of a hop profile. I was surprised to get a lot of “green” on the flavor. I tasted like snap peas to me. This was probably the biggest surprise of the night. It was pretty well liked.

I finally got to try the Ovila Saison. I havn’t tried any of the Ovila beers from Sierra Nevada, but I was willing to be it would show well. Unfortunately, this was the biggest disappointment of the night. It was very light in flavor, and just bland compared to the other saisons. Pretty disappointed in this one.

I loved the discontinued saison from Boulevard, but I never got to try this one. Tank 7 was a decent beer, but again, didn’t seem to stand out that much. It’s a beer that I’d like to try again by itself.

I wanted to throw a little bit of a change in here with this “black saison” from Goose Island. I’ve enjoyed this beer in the past and love the added peppercorns to accent the yeast profile. I think everyone liked this one, and it’s a definite buy if you ask me.

This was the wild card of the night. This is an Italian saison from Piccolo Birrificio called Seson, and it’s expensive. In the neighborhood of $20 a bottle. It’s got some added spices and citrus peel. This was definitely a winner, but I found it to be a bit too sweet and cloying. It’s a really interesting beer, and worth a purchase once, but I can’t see myself buying it again.

All in all, I was very pleasantly surprised by how well the saisons were received. It’s kind of a funky style, and I know some people aren’t going to be into it. I hope I’ve expanded some palates with this beer club and hope to continue with it.

Scotch Silly

This isn’t a favorite style of mine, but once in the while it hits the spot. This scotch ale is from Silly, Belgium. It has Pale, Caramel, and “aromatic” malts with Kent and Hallertau hops. Let’s see if it’s any good.

Stats:
Scotch Ale. 8.0% ABV. Belgium.

Appearance is Coke colored with a nice head and lacing.

The nose is very, very sweet smelling. It also has a very metallic aroma. This is really sweet, I’m getting candied dark fruits, and all I can think of is sugar and lots of caramel.

Cloying and thick mouthfeel.

Again, really, really sweet. Lots of caramel and sugar covered dark fruits with honey and brown sugar, with a slight black licorice note, and a hint of alcohol on the backend.

I hate this beer. There I said it. There is nothing about this beer that I like. It’s like drinking candy, but some of you may like that. 76 points.

Saison Dupont

This is the classic saison. Saisons being one of my favorite styles of beer, I had to grab this. Saisons are light Belgian beers that are brewed in the winter to be consumed in the summer. Traditionally every farmhouse made their own beer, hence saisons are also referred to as farmhouse ales. Again, another very old brewer that has very little information about the beer.

Stats:
Saison. 6.5% ABV. Belgium.

Sort of a golden yellow color, but full of sediment, leaves a nice white head.

Really nice nose, I get a lot of fruit. Very fragrant, and very Belgian. Apples, bananas, peaches, and pears. That yeasty-ness appears a little, with a slightly sweet, brown sugar component.

Medium bodied, perfect mouthfeel.

All the same as the nose with pineapple. There is a tad bit of bitterness on the back. I do find it slightly light, would be good in the summer, but I really wish there was more flavor on my palate.

Again, just kinda light, otherwise it would receive a higher score. Definitely check out this beer. 89 points.

Piraat

I don’t know what’s in here, but this is considered one of the best Belgian beers around.

Stats:
Belgian India Pale Ale. 10.5% ABV. Belgium.

A dark golden color with lots of streaming carbonation, very thick, white head.

Clearly Belgian on the nose. Lots of yeast comes through with a ton of fruit and spices. Pretty nice nose, I get sort of a baked cinnamon bread thing, like some kind of Russian dessert, and a hint of nuts.

Medium bodied with high carbonation makes it an easy drinker.

I’m not sure why this is classified as an IPA because there aren’t that much hops on here. Very triple like, with a lot of Belgian yeast with a nutty/bready-ness. Bitter orange peel, with a ton of spices, baked apples, brown sugar, baked pears. You get a fruity-ness, but it’s not like the freshness of fruit, but the more sour, caramelized flavors you get from baking them. Raisins and prunes come out with a slight hop bitterness on the back. Hint of alcohol on the back, but pretty well hidden.

Great beer, but I think the alcohol might be a tad too high. Don’t buy this if you are looking for something resembling an IPA, this is really most similar to a triple. 92 points.

Delirium Nocturnum

If you love Delirium Tremens, you need to try this beer. I can’t tell you what’s in here, because there isn’t much info on the website.

Stats:
Belgian Strong Dark Ale. 8.5% ABV. Belgium.

This beer turned out to be a gusher, good thing I was able to pour it. It poured very dark red color with a dark tan head that has a bunch of brown specs in it. The beer is just completely full of sediment.

At first sniff, the beer smells very Belgian with that typical yeastyness. It’s also quite sweet smelling. The fruit on the nose is really fantastic, with a lot of red fruits coming through. I’m getting strawberries, cherries, lemon, banana, mixed with a good amount of chocolate and caramel, and just a hint of cinnamon. I do get a tiny hint of alcohol.

Excellent mouthfeel, medium to full bodied with nice carbonation.

A whole bunch of fruit on the palate here, as said on the nose, but I’m also getting a grape component as well. I do get a little bit of oak, and bacon on the palate, but I’m getting just a tad bit of wateryness near the backend, and the alcohol shows just a tiny bit. Yeah, the backend is the worst thing about this beer, ending in a bit of a hoppy, green bitterness.

I really like this beer. Love the complexity and the transition of flavors, but the backend is a little bit off balanced, I’d say. 91 points.