Door #11

Oh danger, more Belgian beers coming in!  This one at least is oak aged, so I expect a pretty good kick.  As a red ale, it's fitting for the time of year.  It's not very cold these days, though, so I guess I don't any serious alcoholic insulation.  Rodenbach Grand Cru, let's see what you can do.

It starts out with a puff of syrupy aroma, promising to be one of the sweeter red ales.  Seems in keeping with a Belgian one, to be honest.  It's a deep ruddy color, not a whole of head, but there is a fine sliver of it that hangs around on top.  I find it hard to distinguish anything but a grapey, winey sort of scent.  It's not as harsh as a lot of red wines, say, but there's a lot of fermented fruit in there.  It's also rather wine-ish in taste, although definitely a sweeter one.  It's a pretty heavy feeling beer, with a smooth but powerful sensation in the mouth.  It builds up a little at the back of the tongue, not with a strong aftertaste exactly, but there's a feeling of coating.  This is a jolly beer, warming and seasonally sweet.  This coincidence works for Calenbeer!

What kind of coincidences await for Beermas?  They all are, really, with the abundance of names and labels and everything.  Can't hardly plan anything.

time to bee happy

"There's a new bar in my neighborhood!" my friend said.  She had the business cards and everything.  I wasn't in a big hurry to go somewhere new, but it's always nice to have something different to explore.  I thought Bee Beer was just a gastro-bar, but when we went down there, it turned out to be one of those beer stores with taps.  Very small, very intimate.  They have more taps than most stores, hell more than a lot of bars, and for €8.50 you can get a flight of five beers.  I was disappointed that it didn't include number 7 actually, but you have to save something for another time, I guess.

1-5, right in a row

La Trappe was a very Belgian type beer despite being Dutch, typical scent, typical taste, a bit on the sweet side.  Oddly, I though there was a little bit of marshmallow in the flavor.  As expected from a Low Countries brew, something sour had to be in there somewhere, and it's in the aftertaste.  It's not a bad beer if you're a fan of the Belgian style, but I have different tastes, personally.

I had high hopes for the red ale, but it wasn't actually much better.  It was about the same scent, with a cloying sweetness, but the taste had a heavier sour fruitiness.  More in line with a lambic, although not quite so punchy.  It's sweet and sour, tangy, but a cleaner taste than La Trappe, going down with less aftertaste.  This is one time I prefer a lambic-like beer to...any other really.

The weiss bier is extremely pale and also nearly scentless.  Maybe there's a little grass in there.  It does have a nice wheaty taste, clean and sharp, not clingy, certainly refreshing for summer.  I was surprised to find something like lemonade lurking the background.  Makes it a contender for Spanish patronage.

Lefèbvre Barbãr pops up in bars here and there, but I haven't taken the opportunity to taste it.  Here it is without my even asking for it explicitly, so let's see what it's like...it's not bad at all, although not beery.  It's just sweet and smooth, without even a hint of bitterness.  It even smells like pure honey.  Not even a hint of bitterness.  Must be all that sugar that makes it so powerful.

Finally, an IPA to finish off.  It's another one of those collaborations, 7 breweries this time.  The smell is just what you'd expect from a craft IPA, citrusy and a little fruity.  It's a little astringent in flavor, not much fruit there, citrus or otherwise.  But it's a nice cleanser after the line of sweet beers in the flight.

There's nothing like finding a little corner of good beer, even though this city isn't lacking for it at the moment.  Hopefully, neighborhood interest will keep these experiments going.

brown, eyed belgian

Rodenbach comes in a cute little bottle, sitting among the ciders at the beer store.  It's not a cider itself, but might have been left there to enjoy the company of its Belgian beverage brethren.  The label styles it a "Flemish Red-Brown" and explains that it's actually a mix of "young" beer and aged beer, matured in oak vats.  There's something about that oaken barrel/vat recently.

The poured beer releases a fruity, almost marzipan-y, smell.  It's a nice brown, with just a touch of reddish hue.  A quick whiff from the glass is sweet and sour, not unlike some fruit sodas, but the taste is all Belgian beer.  Tangy, with an undercurrent of bitter, and a tail of sour, it's a refreshing sort of mouthful.  Not as heavy and smooth as other brown or red beers, more of a summer time drink.  For some reason, the sky has decided to cloud over now that I have my beer in front of me; a shame, since it tastes like a good, sunny late afternoon pick-me-up.  Oh well, small disappointments have never stopped me draining my glass.