Party in the Put Some Damn Pants On

Day #626 Cuvée / Brouwerij de Ranke, Wevelgem, Belgium
Previously from this brewery: another Cuvée

I haven't really discussed much other than beer lately, and that's not an accident.  But I did feel like there are three things I need to share:
1. I wish all of my pants/shorts had a built in belt.  This would be helpful for when I forget to put one on, obviously.  Which I seem to do a lot, and that obviously causes problems.
2. Dear people who wear sunglasses inside: YOU'RE INSIDE.... you can probably take off your sunglasses.  I get when you wear them in from the car and forget to take them off immediately after walking in the door. Please trust me when I say I do that too.  No worries there.  But unless you just had your eyes dilated, I think you can eventually take them off to conduct your daily business.  The person in the grocery store wearing their sunglasses in the checkout aisle?  Hmmm....
3. So apparently Miley Cyrus lost her mind.  That's unfortunate, but not really unexpected when we make demigods out of marginally talented tweens and teenagers, then feed the beast by documenting their every move of every day until they sort of snap.  Our society and where we place our priorities sucks, really.  Get well soon, Miley.  We'll always have Party in the U.S.A., won't we?

I guess the last item can be today's beer, which is a glass of the Cuvée from Brouwerij de Ranke, another brewery that we unfortunately didn't get to visit, but thankfully did get to sample.  We did ride past the town this brewery is in, if that's worth anything.  Anyway, in the glass this beer showed off an apricot hue, with a wispy white head.  There's a perfect sour tartness, with great citrus notes and noticeable flavors of yeast and green apples.  This is also a rather interesting beer, as it's a blend of 70% oud bruin beer made with Rodenbach yeast and 30% lambic from Girardin.  Or, in other words, two other breweries involved in this beer.  Odd?  Maybe, but who cares, it's absolutely delicious.

Possibly the worst photo ever.  EVER.

Thing to Think About Today:
Free Miley!  Okay, so I've already dropped Party in the U.S.A. on your faces, but I didn't drop the Next Episode mashup with Dre and Snoop, now did I?  NOW I DID.  Is this version on my iPod?  Do you even need to ask?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0vH-CeRMsE

Day 592: Brouwerij De Ranke

I always have a little pang of guilt when I post a photo of a beer in another brewery's glass. After visiting Belgium, that guilt has been ratcheted up by a factor of 100!

Everywhere we went, no matter the size of the bar or restaurant, the beer always was served in a properly shaped and branded glass. In fact, many of the soft drinks were served in branded glassware. That will make me think twice about what glass I grab out of the cupboard at home.

We're heading back to La Trappiste in Brugge for tonight's review.

This is the Cuvée De Ranke from Brouwerij De Ranke. It poured a cloudy apricot color with a thin white head. It smells minerally...like damp rocks. The flavor is tart. Reminds me of acidic fruit but not quite lemony. There's a little grassiness to it along with some woodiness.

Lucky for me, De Ranke does export to the United States. Now I just need to figure out where exactly!

Beer stats
Style: Belgian pale ale

ABV: 7%
IBUs: Unknown
Rating: Excellent

Previously reviewed from De Ranke
As is the case for many of the beers being reviewed this week, Cuvée De Ranke is first out the limo.