DeRyckulous!

Day #605 Arend Tripel / Brouwerij De Ryck, Herzele, Belgium
Previously from this brewery: N/A, this beer is the first out the limo!

Today was one of those days, and I'm leaving it at that.  Just happy to be done and reviewing a beer!

Today's choice is the Arend Tripel from Brouwerij De Ryck, a small family owned Belgian brewery we visited on day three of the bike tour.  Located near the ruins of an ancient castle, De Ryck is currently operated by a brother and sister duo, and Miek showed us around her brewery with great pride.

The various beer signs of De Ryck

As part of an amazing lunch they put out for our group (think: cheese and bread, and a lot of it!), I decided to sample this Tripel, which poured a gold color with fluffy white head.  There are aromas of sweet malt and flavors of candi sugar and malt (caramel, maybe?), with some banana and apple as well.  Very enjoyable, balanced beer, and it paired exceptionally well with the 18 cheeses that we had placed in front of us.  Well done!

Not a great pic for a great beer.

As she discussed the history this 127 year old brewery, Miek also explained how the family used to use an eagle on their logos, however but had to remove that icon post WW2 due to the use of the eagle by Nazi Germany.  The eagle, as you can see somewhat from the pictures, has thankfully returned to its proper home. Arend in Flemish in fact translates to eagle.  Now you know.

Thing to Think About Today:
In the spirit of the great time we spent at De Ryck, I'll go ahead and drop in "De Rick", as in the always funky Rick James. Yes, we close things out with some Super Freak.  It's been that kind of day.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYHxGBH6o4M

"That girl is pretty freaky / The girl's a super freak"