Author: dpatrickryan

Brasserie d’Achouffe La Chouffe Belgian Strong Ale at 8.0% ABV

Pours a clear golden blonde with a fat two fingers of fluffy white head, great retention and heavy lacing. Nose is yeasty banana, stone fruit, sweet malt. Taste is hoppy bitter and balanced sweet biscuity malt. Mouth feel is lively with sustained carbonation, medium body but crisp, with an off-dry finish and a well-integrated mild warming.

Quite pleasant, if not quite as nice as the Houblon Chouffe (tripel). Nose and flavour are both a little coarser and heavier than the tripel even though the ABV is lower. However, that’s not to denigrate the beer overall: it suffers slightly by comparison, true, but overall is a very solid performer.

My 78th from the 2010 Edition of 1001 Beers, 74th by the 2013 Edition, or 80th overall.

7.5/10 #1001beers #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Clown Shoes Muffin Top Belgian IPA at 10.5% ABV

Pours a clear copper with two fingers of fluffy off-white head diminishing gradually to a thin skim with moderate spotty lacing. Nose is pine resiny hops, pineapple, orange, apricot, caramel malt. Taste starts moderately sweet, then fruity, finishing citrusy and bitter. Mouth feel is medium- to heavy-bodied and chewy, with moderate carbonation and warming.

Not a tripel style at all, more of an double/imperial IPA: when I think Belgian tripel, I think lighter hop varieties, floral, banana or bubblegum, clove phenols, peppery spice. This has pretty much none of those, and instead is pine resin, tropical fruit, and sweet malt. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a fine DIPA, but I don’t see how it’s in any way a tripel. Malt is definitely present, but not overly emphatic, playing a nicely supporting role. A big beer, albeit not as heavy as might be expected from the ABV. But it’s not a tripel.

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

The Bruery Hottenroth Berliner Weisse Berliner Weisse at 3.1% ABV

Pours a slightly hazy lemony yellow with two fingers of fluffy white head diminishing moderately quickly to a thin skim and light lacing. Nose is muted citrus and honey, faint fruit. Taste is tart apple and citrus, slight bready yeast and malt. Light-bodied and crisp, with sustained carbonation and a dry, tart, and bitter finish.

One heck of a hot day on the patio kind of beer. Not sweet at all, tart and crisp, almost cider-like in character. The low ABV makes this something you could drink all day long. Now I want to try it with raspberry syrup!

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Brasserie de la Senne Taras Boulba Belgian Ale at 4.5% ABV

Pours a cloudy straw yellow with one finger of dense white head, excellent retention and no lacing. Nose is muted, citrus and grassy hops, slight malt. Taste is bitter grapefruit, slightly sour, faint malt. Light body, thin and slick, dry bitter finish.

Interesting. The grapefruit similarities in both the appearance and the flavour make this almost like a radler. Minimal to non-existent sweetness and a dry finish make this pretty drinkable. I’m not sure I’d call it “extra hoppy ale”, though, since the hops are fairly muted in the nose, albeit somewhat more present in the flavour.

My 78th from the 2010 Edition of 1001 Beers, 73rd by the 2013 Edition, or 79th overall.

7/10 #1001beers #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Gigantic Brewing Company GINORMOUS Imperial IPA at 8.8% ABV

Pours a clear copper with two fingers of fluffy white head with good retention and heavy lacing. Nose is caramel malt and piney hops, pineapple, citrus. Taste is moderate sweet followed rapidly by moderately strong bitter. Medium to heavier body and a slightly chewy texture, long bitter sticky finish and moderate warming.

Decent enough DIPA, with a nice hop emphasis and just enough malt to balance it out. Almost getting into palate wrecker territory, but not quite. Bit of an edge on the hops in the nose and taste, but a damn fine looking beer if nothing else.

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Gigantic Brewing Company Volta Saison at 8.4% ABV

Pours a clear gold with two fingers of foamy white head diminishing gradually to a thick cap, thick ropy lacing. Nose is Belgian yeast, floral and fruity, with a little spice. Flavour is well-balanced moderate sweet and bitter, slightly spicy. Light body, moderate sustained carbonation, and a mild warming.

Quite a nice beer that functions as a passable saison, but actually seems to bridge saison and tripel in terms of style, particularly in the ABV and the malt balance. I have to say, I like it. I’m starting to be fairly impressed by Gigantic.

8.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Le Trou Du Diable Les Quatres Surfeurs De L’Apocalypso American IPA at 6.5% ABV

Pours a slightly hazy straw with two fingers of light fluffy head diminishing gradually to a thin cap and moderate lacing. Nose is piney hops and a little tropical fruit, light malt. Taste is balanced, medium sweet and bitter. Medium to full body, slightly sticky, with a lingering bitter, slightly spicy and gently warming finish.

Well, that’s quite pleasant! Nice balance of the malt and the hops, with just enough fullness in the body to carry off the higher ABV. Sticky without being cloying, with a little bit of spicy pepper in the finish. Not quite a sunny day thirst quencher, but not a long way away from that, either. You could do a lot worse than this!

8/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Big Rock Brewery Big Rock Monk’s Misery Herb Gruit at 6.0% ABV

Pours a deep cola red with a short tan head diminishing rapidly to a thin skim and no lacing. Nose is herbal and floral, faint honey and molasses. Taste is similar, with a little liquorice and a hint of coffee on a bitter finish. Medium body, low carbonation, with a dry finish.

So that’s a gruit, huh? Well, can’t say I’m a big fan. The herbal tones have a medicinal character, almost like Buckley’s Mixture. It’s not unpleasant, as such, but I actually sort of like Buckley’s, so there you go. Even making allowances for the uniqueness of the style, I can’t say this is something I’m eager to try again. I can see why hops became preferred, even ignoring the abuses of the politics of gruit.

5.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com