Day 370: The Bruery Oude Tart

Everything I wanted to write about feels so utterly frivolous today. As I sit here staring at a blank screen, an unknown number of families are dealing with the aftermath of a senseless act of violence. Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown (Connecticut) is the latest scene of a mass murder committed by an armed gunman. It comes on the heels of the mall shooting in Portland. And that came on the heels of another shooting. And that came on the heels of yet another shooting. See a pattern here?

What the fuck, America?

Seriously. What is wrong with people? My twitter feed has exploded with numerous people extolling their views on gun controls. Guns for everyone. Guns for no one. Bigger guns. Smaller guns. Knives. Nunchucks. Trebuchets! While I certainly find value in a challenging and honest conversation about gun control, perhaps there are other conversations that need to be had. Mental healthcare, anyone?

And for everyone who opts to stick their head in the ground and declare now not the appropriate time to talk gun control, maybe they should watch CNN's video of a 3rd grader who was in class at the time of the shooting. Then tell her that despite how scared she was and how being in that situation made her classmates' bellies hurt that we have to wait for a better time to talk about how to prevent it from happening to other little kids. Because honestly anyone who takes that angle is a spineless, soulless coward. Also CNN should be ashamed of themselves for INTERVIEWING A 3RD GRADER WHO WAS JUST PART OF A NATIONAL TRAGEDY. But I digress. 

There are giant, terrifying problems facing our country. I don't know how to begin thinking about it. I feel overwhelmed and helpless. How do you fix a system and a country that is so broken? Our country is broken.  The answer lies in better education. Willingness to compromise. Reducing big business in government. Healthcare that is not privilege. Basic human kindness.

I want everyone reading this -- yes, all three of you -- to be kind to those you encounter. Maybe those people will be kind to the next people they encounter. I am a firm believer that you get out of the universe exactly what you put into it. This morning was a startling reminder that we need to put more good out there. Get on that!

And because at the end of the day this is a beer blog, I'm now going to write about beer albeit with a heavy heart. 


My hand is enormous!

For starters, excuse that ridiculous photograph. This was taken at TJ's 9th anniversary party last weekend and there were like 4,000 people crammed in the bar, which made for difficult picture taking.  It's the Oude Tart from The Bruery in California.  It looked like a brown ale with ruby highlights. It had a thin head that was slightly off-white.  The aroma was light balsamic vinegar but the flavor was a much stronger. Lots of dark fruit and tart vinegar with hints of malt.  It was thin but immensely flavorful.

The Oude Tart is aged in wine barrels for 18 months, proving that good things come to those who wait. Is this why my mother always told me that patience is a virtue?

Beer stats

Style: Flemish-style red ale

ABV: 7.5%

IBUs:  15

Rating: Excellent

Previous reviews of The Bruery

Gary's review of the Tart of Darkness

My review of Hottenroth

Speedo Time (Thankfully, Not Mine)

Beer #244 Flemish Red Ale / Brouwerij Strubbe, Ichtegem, Belgium

Rejoice, for the weekend is upon us!  Kicked off Friday with dinner at Sidebar in West Chester; a great beer destination if you're in the West Chester, PA area.  Had a very nice bison burger, and two Baltimore beers - Stillwater and Brewer's Art.  It's definitely a bit unusual to find a really good beer bar, with twenty beers on draft and another fifty or so available by bottle.... and we've hit every brewery on the list.  As we get closer to 365, it will be interesting to see where the beers come from.  Our old regular haunts continue to add in new breweries, but we definitely need to apply a bit more strategy along the way to make sure we keep the pipeline going.  Truly, a first world problem we're dealing with here.

The beer du jour is Brouwerij Strubbe's Flemish Red Ale, and it shows off a dark mahogany color, with a wispy white head.  The aroma is a blend of cherry and grape, and the taste is tart, with strong notes of grapes, cherry, and raspberry, with some malt and a crisp finish.  It reminds me of the most delicious peanut butter and jelly sandwich ever, even if there are no hints of peanut butter anywhere to be found.  This one is definitely a little sweeter than I expected, but it's definitely still a good beer and certainly worth your time.

That guy seems happy.

Another Belgian brewery with a long history, Strubbe was founded in 1830 by Carolous Strubbe, and currently the seventh generation of the family is running the daily operations.

Thing to Think About Today:
We're starting to wind down here in my own little mini-Olympic Village (minus all the crazy sex from the Olympic Village, that is).  Might as well give some credit where credit is due in the pool, but I'm going back to the days before NBC decided that they needed to make the Olympics strictly about the stars.  Apologies for this brief rant, but I'm fairly certain I've heard more than enough about Phelps, Lochte, the female gymnasts, and Lolo Jones (and others) to last a lifetime.  Everyone wearing a USA uniform has dedicated their entire lives to their craft, and yet we predominately only hear about a limited few.  Lolo Jones received far, far more air time and Twitter mentions than the people who, you know, ACTUALLY won medals in her races.  I like the unique stories from the games, I like hearing about niche sports that may not have the cachet of gymnastics, but require just as much dedication, sweat, and devotion.  Not just the stars.  End of rant.

So, back to the pool - before there was Phelps, there was Spitz.  Mark Spitz, of course, of the seven races and seven gold medals in the 1972 Olympics.  And just because seven gold medals in seven races isn't quite exciting enough, Spitz managed to set world records EVERY time he got in the water.  Shabby?  No, not too shabby.  As if that wasn't enough, he had previously earned two golds, a silver, and a bronze in the '68 games, giving him eleven medals in all, and he remains one of only five Olympians from any country to ever win nine or more gold medals.  For extra credit, he did it with a mustache and while wearing a Speedo, which is the most 1970's thing ever.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0sO1lMn0PY

Beer 93: Ichtegem’s Flemish Red Ale (Grand Cru)

I have iPad 3 envy.  It has a better camera (with a flash!) than my iPad and that is the one thing that bothers me about my version.  This is coming from the same person who swore off upgrading any of her technology following the last Blackberry upgrade and purchase of the iPad 2.  There was also a three day stretch when I was afraid of our new copier/printer/fax/atomic missile launcher at work.  Oh they don’t promote the missile launching capabilities, but I know it’s in there someone.  You just need to find the correct sub-menu.

So there you have it.  I am mysterious like that.

***

Tonight’s beer comes from the Belgium’s Brouwerij Strubbe -- Ichtegem's Grand Cru Flemish Red Ale.

It poured dark brown with hints of red and was relatively still.  The head, which was practically nonexistent, left a thin ring of off white foam around the edges of the glass.

The scent was light balsamic vinegar.  It drank with a muted sourness and I noted some hop character.  The tartness in the flavor was also reminiscent of balsamic vinegar.   I also noted some raspberry, which was interesting.  It finished with an oak flavor and was dry.  Overall pretty good, but not among the best I’ve had.

Cheers!

p.s.  Check that totally awesome Petrus glass.  Guess who bought so much beer at The Foodery in Philly that they gave me a free glass?  Oh yeah...I'm a winner.

Day Drinking to Night Drinking

Beer #84 Panil Barrequée / Birrificio Torrechiara, Parma, Italy

Today was a Saturday that got better with age.  Funeral in the morning in the rain, but that lead to a sunny afternoon spent drinking.  Not a bad way to transition the day, no?

Sampled some very solid beers today, but one that stood out was a beer likely to get better with age, the Panil Barriquée from Birrificio Torrechiara.  Should I ever find myself stranded in Italy, I'm now confident that I've picked up enough Italian so I can at least find a brewery.   Which is where I'd want to be if I was in Italy anyway, so all good here.

This beer is a sour wild ale aged in oak barrels (barriquée translates to "barrel"), and it pours a reddish dark amber in the glass.  There's a thin white head, and you're greeted with a sour and stone fruit aroma.  The flavor has a great mix of sour and tart cherry, with a fantastic dry finish.  You definitely pick up some of the oak barrel aging in this beer.

Shitty camera phone, represent!

For what it's worth, the version we drank came from Batch 12, bottle # 612.  So, I'm guessing this is a limited production sort of beer.  If you find it, drink one.  Or two.

Thing to Think About Today:
It's Saturday night, and my evening will end with me watching a Julia Roberts movie.  Which is to say, me playing on my phone while Marci watches Julia Roberts play the same character for the 453rd time.  Yay.

Tonight should be more exciting.  You know why?  Because Saturday night's alright for fighting.  You heard me:

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

I'm a juvenile product of the working class

Whose best friend floats in the bottom of a glass!

The Post Where I Spend Time with Another Woman

Beer # 65 Duchess du Bourgogne / Brouwerij Verhaeghe, Vichte, Belgium

Very productive beer weekend, and I'm still putting together all of my notes from the wonderful and not quite wonderful beers I tried along the way.  Another beer from our Saturday dinner effort was the oh so delightful Duchess.

No, not that one.  The Duchess is a Flemish sour from Brouwerij Verhaeghe.

Still not right.  Sour, maybe.  But Flemish probably not.  Can we try this again?

Camera phone + dark bar  = awful pictures.

That's the one, thanks.  Boom.

This beer pours a rich dark color in the glass, and yes, thank you, I did get a wine glass to knock this one back.  I first tried a sip or two of this beer when Marci reviewed it a few weeks back (she wouldn't share a full glass), and I've been looking forward to drinking my own ever since.  This beer pours a dark color, but the aroma is light and fruity, with the tart and sour taste of cherries throughout the glass with some funk and mild vinegar tastes.  It's a blend of beer aged up to eighteen months in oak casks, and it's delicious.

Okay so this beer isn't named for Fergie, or, for that matter, Fergie.  However, it is named for Duchess Mary of Burgundy, who ruled Burgundy (sort of France, sort of Belgium) in the 1500's but died at a young age in a horse riding accident.  While falconing.  I kid you not, falconing, which is a totally bad ass hobby.  Her father's name was Charles the Bold, which is a pretty bad ass nickname.  He also got married when he was seven years old, which is totally not bad ass at all.

This beer definitely didn't disappoint, and I'm going ahead and putting it in my Top 25.  The Duchess probably received some bonus points from me being on a sour kick lately, but make no mistake - this is a beer fit for a queen.

Thing to Think About Today:
If we're talking about beer fit for a queen, then there's only one thing we can do.  Sorry, Ferg, the Black Eyed Peas didn't make the cut, because we're going to think about Queen today:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rY0WxgSXdEE

I guarantee you if Duchess Mary of Burgundy was around today, she'd completely rock out to this song while out falconing by horseback.  Bad ass.

Back from the Road

Beer #59 Cuvee des Jacobins Rouge / Brouwerij Bockor, Bellegem, Belgium
Spent today and yesterday recruiting at a career fair at Penn State.  On one hand, it's like a day off because I'm not in my office for the day.  On the other, I'm standing all day and repeating the same conversation over and over again to college students wearing ill-fitting suits.  On the whole, it's always good to get back to State College, regardless of whether I have to do some work or not.

To unwind today, I'm sampling a Flemish sour from Brouwerij Bockor.  This beer has a dark color, with a sour cherry nose.  It's tart and crisp, with a great cherry flavor and a nice effervescence.  The tartness definitely gets you on the back of the tongue.  Overall, it lacks some complexity/depth, but really it's an enjoyable sour beer that checks in at a respectable 7.5% ABV.  If you find one, drink it.

Thing to Think About Today:
Did some driving today back from State College, and the iPod was rocking the entire way.  I actually enjoy driving alone on road trips; it lets me sort of relax and just listen to music.  The highlight was the Scissor Sisters coming up on shuffle - they're an unusual band but a great add for your favorite road trip mix.  FYI, following clip is not completely safe for work, unless your workplace is cool with music containing the word "tits" frequently in the lyrics.  If so, please feel free to blast this one in the office, otherwise enjoy Tits on the Radio at home:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylDpxFK_3PY

Let's Talk Oud Bruin or #11 Right in the Choppers

Oud bruin. Flemish brown ale. Sour beer, if you must. Or as I like to call it...sweet Jesus, it's heaven in my glass.

I love sour beer. As in love it like a fat kid loves cake. My holy grail is Blue Sunday Sour, but I'm not writing about that one tonight because I cannot find it. Anywhere. And I look everywhere. That makes me kind of sad but not too sad that I can't find joy in this glass of Rodenbach Grand Cru.

Rich dark brown in the glass and vinegar in the nose. It hits your tongue with an oh-my-god-what-is-happening moment and that's when it sinks in...you've tasted nirvana. It starts with cherry, then comes the tartness that pinches your tongue and it finishes dry. So dry that it's almost asking you to politely take another sip.

It makes me want to write in hyperbole, it's that good. But with 350+ beers to go, I'll show some restraint...at least for now.