Day 608: De Dolle Oerbier

The other beer I wrote notes on while visiting De Dolle Brouwers is the Oerbier. But before I get to the review, let's recap some of the highlights of our visit to De Dolle.

I got to see a coolship in action. What's that, you ask? It's a large shallow pan used to cool wort overnight using outside air temperature. During the cooling process, naturally occurring yeast in the air inoculates the wort. Once the wort is cooled, it moves onto the next stage of production--often barrel aging!

 

We also got to sample a year-old beer straight from the barrel. 

 Here I am enjoying it!

Several times on the Beercycling trip, Mr. Blog Named Brew mused about the terroir of beer. Terroir is a French wine concept incorporating everything that contributes to the distinctive character of a particular vineyard site. This includes its soil and subsoil, drainage, slope and elevation, microclimate, which in turn includes temperature and precipitation, exposure to the sun, wind and fog, and the like. It can also include strains of wild yeasts that come in on the grape skins and live in the wine cellars. 

But what does that mean for beer? Water, strains of yeast, varieties of hops and malts all give beer its characteristics. But what about equipment? Does equipment that is hundreds of years old change the beer? Maybe. Does a brewery's history have an impact? Absolutely. 

What about as a beer drinker? Is there terroir of beer drinking? Does time and place impact how good we think a beer is? We asked ourselves this question many times during the trip. Did the beers taste better because of where we were and who we were drinking with? I don't know. The halcyon glow of vacation likely had a positive impact on our perceptions but did it make an average beer seem that much better? Or was it possible that we didn't have a bad beer the entire time we were on vacation?

One beer that I'm pretty confident was just a darn good beer is De Dolle's Oerbier.

It poured a hazy brown with a thick cream-color head. It smelled slightly fruity and tart with an earthiness and some hop. The flavor is amazing. Lots of malt body with some dark fruit and tartness hiding out. Every few sips I could find some slightly sweet wine-like notes. I also wrote down silky with about sixteen exclamation points. I think I wanted to make a note of how silky it felt to drink.

What you can't really see in this photo is the phrase "Nat en Straf", which means wet and strong. I can attest that perfectly describes this beer. I could also claim it as my personal motto on the Beercycling trip as I ended most days soaking wet with sweat but feeling unstoppable. That's me...nat en straf.

Beer stats
Style: Strong dark ale
ABV: 9.5%
IBUs: Unknown
Rating: Great

Previously reviewed from De Dolle
My review of Dulle Teve, which includes me and a lot of spandex!
His and hers reviews of Arabier

The Owl, The Arms Race, The Way We Move

Day #607 Steenuilke / Brouwerij De Ryck, Herzele, Belgium
Previously from this brewery: Arend Tripel

Here in America, craft beer is an arms race.  Every brewery tries to outdo the rest of the industry by adding more hops than realistically needed, or by mashing together crazy ingredients just because they need to be different to stand out in a crowd.  Call me crazy, but beer made with gun powder, dandelions, Milk Duds, and hearts of palm just isn't what I need.  I need good beer, well crafted with solid flavors that stand out because they're delicious, not because they're weird.  Anyone out there remember the scene in Superman 3, where Richard Pryor is trying to reverse engineer homemade Kryptonite, but can't figure out the missing ingredients?  Inspired by his cigarette pack, he inserts tar, and it turns out that his Kyrptonite just turns Superman into a prick rather than killing his powers.  I feel American craft beers is sort of like that, adding tar because they can't figure out what that missing ingredient is sometimes.

At Brouwerij De Ryck, they've managed to craft a new beer that combines unexpected ingredients without going off the deep end.  Specifically, the Steenuilke, a pale ale that takes its name from a local bird, the Stone Owl.  This beer pours with a clear gold color and a fluffy, puffy white head.  There's a good flavor of light hops; not hoppy by U.S. standards, but by far the hoppiest beer in the De Ryck lineup.  There's a wonderful and unexpected herbal spice to this beer, and it has a fresh, green flavor.  Perhaps not the greatest beer I had while in Belgium, but without a doubt this beer was the most unexpected and unusual I found along the way.  Well done, De Ryck!

In case you were wondering, that unusual spice and earthy quality comes from local herbs: sweet woodruff, angelica and blackthorn.  Much, much better than gun powder.  Or tar.  Trust me.  De Ryck has recently started shipping their beers to America, and I sincerely hope that Steenuilke is part of that distribution.

I see you, Owl. I see you....

And, if you still need further proof that beer people are good people, this beer was brewed in a partnership with a nature conservancy to increase awareness and raise funds for the preservation of this bird.  Beer people?  We solve problems, yo.

Thing to Think About Today:
The song currently stuck in my head, and hopefully stuck in yours very shortly, comes from Langhorne Slim & The Law - their hit summer song The Way We Move.  I defy you to play this one and not roll down the windows while driving at least 10mph faster.  Plus, he's actually from Langhorne, PA!  We're practically neighbors not really but it's still fun.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5KEv3rbNJuE

"In my bed I can't sleep
All my friends have crooked tales
And that's the way I like it / that's just what I need."

Day 606: De Dolle, The Crazy Brewer

On Day 7 of the Beercycling trip, we hit a stretch of bike path that was pin straight for a few miles. After a quick water stop, our trusty guide Evan told us to have at it and take as little or as much time as we needed to get to the next route marker. Faced with a relatively empty bike path, beautiful weather and my bad ass cycling outfit, I hit the road. Let's face facts. My fastest ride didn't hold a candle to most of the riders on our tour, but it was fun to pedal away and not have to worry about a thing except stopping when I caught up to the leaders of our pack.

Despite knowing that there weren't any turns on the path, I did get a little nervous when I couldn't see the group either ahead or behind me. I pressed on and was very happy to catch sight of one of our bikes pulled off to the side of the path. Was that it? Did I get to the meeting point that quickly?

Nope. Someone with an eagle eye at the front of the pack noticed a beer vending machine in the side yard of a farm. A what now? Yes, you read that correctly. We found a beer vending machine in the middle of nowhere. For a few Euros, the Duvel in the photo below was all mine! Wait, it gets better! Remember how I mentioned in a previous post that Belgians take their beer glasses very seriously? Sitting next to the vending machine was a bin of glasses and much to my delight there was a Duvel glass waiting for me.

Aerodynamic!

Now that's a vending machine!

This wasn't the first vending machine we hit on the trip. Earlier in the day, we came across a fresh strawberry vending machine. Those were some of the best strawberries I've ever had. Belgium, man. It is a good time.


Later this day, we visited De Dolle Brouwers. I've been told that it translates to "the crazy brewers". While I  can't attest to the mental capacity of the brewer at De Dolle--he seemed like a nice enough guy, I can tell you that De Dolle makes some amazing beer.

One of those beers is Dulle Teve or Mad Bitch. It's a tripel weighing in at 10% ABV.

It poured a very bright apricot color with an equally bright white head. Maybe it was all the beer from throughout the day, but this beer was absolutely magical in the glass--it almost glowed. It smelled of caramel and hops. It drank very cleanly. There was lots of honey, malt and fruit. It finished with a solid hop bite.

So remember when I said the brewer from De Dolle seemed pretty nice? In full disclosure, after poking around his beer cellar, we found his aging/storage room and this is what greeted us when we walked in...

If you're wondering, I screamed like a girl. So much for the sneaking part! 

There was so much beer aging in there. And cobwebs. So many cobwebs!

Beer stats
Style: Tripel
ABV: 10%
IBUs: Unknown
Rating: Excellent

Previously reviewed from De Dolle
His and hers reviews of Arabier

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"

Make 'Em Say "Oud"

Day #604 Oud Bruin / Brouwerij Liefmans, Oudenaarde, Belgium
Previously from this brewery: Cuvee Brut, Goudenband, and more Goudenband

It's a Monday, and that means I'm officially out of energy to write something creative and witty tonight.  My apologies if you came for the witty, but I do hope you stay for the beer.  The witty will be back, I promise.

Tonight I'm reviewing the Oud Bruin from Liefmans, which was poured on draft and put in front of us just minutes after getting off the bike.  Showing up with light brown hue, this beer gives of aromas of oak and sour fruit.  After taking a sip, you find a welcoming caramel malt up front, with plenty of tart cherry and raspberry and dark fruits following behind.  Incredibly well done beer, and it absolutely hits the spot after a long bike ride.

Doesn't that look delicious?

I don't have much else to add, and a picture is worth a thousand words, so here's a thousand words about me behind the bar in their banquet room.

Who's that handsome man?

Think to Think About Today:
Oud in Flemish translates to old, or aged in English, so tonight I close things out with some Eels and their cheerful Old S***/New S***.  No this isn't an actual video, but I really can't solve that problem for you. Just play and enjoy, and see you again soon...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lcwe8wWbmzs

"I'm tired of the old shit / let the new shit begin"

Cuvee and Cows

Day #603 Cuvee Brut / Brouwerij Liefmans, Oudenaarde, Belgium
Previously from this brewery: Goudenband and another Goudenband

The second day of the Beercycling trip was spent riding along canal paths, with a stop to walk around the quaint town square in Oodenarde, an awesome picnic lunch in a beautiful park, and a well timed visit to Brouwerij Liefmans.

Hi there!

Hector, our Liefmans tour guide extraordinaire, set us up with a couple of rounds in their tasting room, then walked us through the entire brewery, sharing some very cool perspectives on how they brew beer and what sets them apart from their competition.  I loved this tour because it was completely OSHA-free; no warning signs or concerns that you might injure yourself on tiny stairs, low ceilings, hoses scattered about, or any of the other dangerous things we got to hang out with.  If I had a Euro for every time I hit my head on something while wandering around breweries in Belgium, I could book another trip to Belgium.

Beer, fresh from the tanks...

One of the beers sampled was the delicious Cuvee Brut, which poured with a dark red color and a thin white head.  When you take a sip, you get a great blend of tart and sour on your tongue.  Not as tart as I expected, but it did have a ton of wonderful cherry notes.  You find some earthy, oak flavors hiding out in there as well. This is a great summer beer; refreshing and enjoyable.  Hector was also a bit of a pusher, as he made sure glasses didn't stay empty too long...

Good lookin'!

While there, we also drank an Oud Bruin (delicious), a Goudenband (previously reviewed and really delicious), and a Fruitess, which was a fruit beer on the rocks (too sweet to be delicious).  And, to top off an already awesome brewery visit, Hector gave everyone a bottle to take home as gifts!  Belgium... so friendly.

Thing to Think About Today:
Almost all of the bike ride was spent on paths along canals or through farm country. Having grown up in a not urban environment and having attended college in a not urban environment, farms and cows aren't anything new.  However, I did enjoy the quiet calm I felt riding through farms and pastures.  I also got a kick out of seeing the wildlife as we rode through - including these two cows who were quite literally mooing outside my window during a stay in the tiny hamlet of Zwalm.

Sup, yo?

For every cow I saw - and I saw plenty - I wondered if they understood English, or Flemish, or French, or some combination of all three.  I close things out with the best European farm animal translation video I've ever seen, courtesy of the show Family Guy.  The cows never answered back when I would bellow, "SHAZUUL!" at them.  Maybe they spoke German?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KcPOEtuAKw0

"It most certainly does NOT!"

Day 602: St. Stefanus

This is the St. Stefanus Grand Cru, which is brewed by Brouwerij Van Steenberge. It's actually the American version of their Augustijn brew. I knew why they didn't sell  Augustijn in the United States, but then we all got hammered on the Van Steenberge brewery tour and some of the details are fuzzy. The tour experience there is one for the record books and I need some time to get all my hazy memories together for an appropriately ridiculous post.

Per the St. Stefanus site, it is only sold in select American cities but distribution is expanding. I'm pretty pleased that it's available at my local Whole Foods. This one, however, was procured at Van Steenberge and drank at the Melia hotel in Luxembourg City. How's that for international? Sidenote: I highly recommend the Melia hotel chain. Beautiful rooms, felt very luxurious and the restaurant was outstanding!

Add caption

It poured a hazy, dark blond color ale with a fluffy white head. It smells peppery with an underlying sweet malt aroma. The flavor is caramel and fruity. It has a nice round mouthfeel up front but finishes with a great dryness. It very much reminds me of a bold white wine. I also found it important to add to my notes that it opened with a very solid cork pop.

Beer stats
Style: Grand cru
ABV: 9%
IBUs: Unknown
Rating: Very good

Previously reviewed from Van Steenberge
Mr. Blog Named Brew's review of De Garre
A quick review of Monk's Flemish Sour
A better review of Klokke Roeland. Unfortunately this review was early in the life of the blog and I wasn't as good about taking photos. To make up for that, I give you a photo of a keg of Klokke Roeland at Brouwerij Van Steenberge, which I pretended was headed to my neighborhood Belgian beer bar Teresa's Next Door

Blonde on Blonde

Day #601 Vedett Extra Blond / Brouwerij Duvel Moortgat, Breendonk, Belgium
Previously from this brewery: Their flagship beer Duvel, and more Duvel

Today seems like a great day for a baseball game, so instead of an avalanche of words you get the quick and dirty.  Well, not too dirty.  This is a family friendly beer blog, after all.

Today's beer is a bottle of Vedett, a blonde ale from Brouwerij Duvel Moortgat that I had with dinner after the first day's ride (admittedly, a short 8 mile journey).  It pours a clear, bright shade of gold, with a huge foam head - although that can probably be attributed to the stupid manner in which I poured the beer. When you take a sip, you get a refreshing, easy drinking lighter beer, with tons of grain noticeable, and just a touch of hops flavor.  This beer was first brewed in 1945, and it checks in with an easy 5% ABV.  I freely admit no one is flying to Belgium just to drink this beer, but I did enjoy drinking a local favorite.

Highlight of this beer might be the fact that if you send in a photo of yourself, they just might put you on the label!  I got a bottle with a guy sitting on the hood of an antique car.  Others had different labels, but all with home photos.  Cool concept!

Vedett Blond.  Check it.

If you find yourself in Kortrijk, Belgium (and who knows, you just might) you need to make sure to stop at Gainsbar.  After the dinner on the town square where I had this Vedett, the Beercycling group wandered to this bar, which was advertised as the best beer bar in town.  We walked to the front door as the owner was cleaning off tables outside, and found that they were closing for the night.  A tiny bit of sweet talking later and a small bit of "but we came all the way from America to drink here :)" and Eliza let us in for one round.  And then another, because she forgot to mention a sour beer that was on draft.  And then a thrash metal cover of Luka came on (the place definitely had a punk rock vibe) the stereo.  And then another round.  And then I got the sense Belgium was a fun place to be.

Thing to Think About Today:
Could I find the heavy metal cover of Luka?  No, dammit.  So instead you get something youtube described as the punk version of Luka, which doesn't seem really all that punk.  Anyway, it's Friday, so celebrate! And if anyone finds the thrash metal version that Eliza had on the stereo at Gainsbar... email me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGE3YVfgxQY

Day 600: Dupont Pils

Does it seem crazy to anyone else that we've been at this for 600 days? That sounds like a long time, but it certainly doesn't feel like a long time. What feels like forever is today--although that may be due to working on budgets for six hours today. Add that to the seven hours I spent on them yesterday and the full day of budgets tomorrow, and I'm pretty sure that adds up to 600 days of budgeting. I'm certain that I'll see columns of numbers floating by in my sleep tonight.

Instead of flashing back to all day sessions of number crunching, let's talk Belgium and beer.

Let's start with Brugge. If I ever go back (and god knows I'm ready to leave next week), we're cycling on this thing. I call dibs on the front seat!

The canals in Brugge are beautiful as is the architecture...

Also important to note: The dogs are very advanced. This one was running a market table that sold beer-themed candles and glassware. You would think not having thumbs on your paws would be a hindrance to collecting change. Evidently it's not.

This is the tomb of the Duchesse de Bourgogne, namesake of one of my all-time favorite beers.

Now for the beer.  This is the Dupont Redor Pils and it was my tasty reward on Day 5 of the Beercycling trip and it was enjoyed on the back patio of Hotel Cordoeanier prior to to going out to explore Brugge.

As you can see from the photograph, it poured a slightly hazy pale yellow with a fluffy white head. It had that distinct pils smell...sharp but a little buttery. Or at least that's what I think pils smells like. The flavor was crisp, herbal and refreshing with just a mild hop to it.
 

Interesting note about Hotel Cordoeanier in Brugge: It's a great hotel with a great bar attached, the Rose Red. It has a great beer list. Where does the name come from? Rose Red by Stephen King--a television miniseries with a story involving a cavernous Seattle mansion called Rose Red, which is investigated by parapsychologist Dr. Joyce Reardon and a team of psychics. 

I'm glad I figured that out after my stay there...

Beer stats
Style: Czech pilsner
ABV: 5%
IBUs: Unknown
Rating: Good

Previously reviewed from Brasserie Dupont
His review of Avec Les Bon Voeux, a holiday offering
My review of Saison Dupont

Censible.

Day #599 V Cense / Brasserie de Jandrain-Jandrenouille, Jandrain-Jandrenouille, Belgium
Previously from this brewery: IV Saison, which was just ok.

Hard to believe it's Wednesday again.  Today's review comes from another beer poured at Moeder Lambic pre-cycling.  I chose a big bottle of V Cense, a farmhouse ale from Jandrain-Jandrenouille.  This beer was totally a "roll the dice" beer, as I had ordered something else that was out of stock, and told the waiter (who certainly knew his stuff) to bring me whatever he thought might be close to what I wanted.  It arrived nestled into a wicker basket, and we'd find that many big bottle purchases (750ml) arrived with such fanfare. To show them off? To keep them cool?  Don't know.  Didn't ask.

In the glass, there was a bright amber color and monstrous fluffy white had.  There were aromas of malt, bread, and spice, and when you take a sip you get more of the same.  A dry beer with some malt sweetness, a bit of peppery spice, touches of lemony citrus and hints of tartness.  Solid choice, although not a world class offering in my book.

Wow, this picture SUCKS

Their website is so bad it's actually kind of funny.  Click here, and see why.  Okay, fine, I'll just tell you in case you're lazy.  It's just a picture of the label from their IV Saison.  Nothing else.  Why?  No idea.  Why do they number their beers?  No idea.  I do know that this brewery is in a town smack dab in the middle of Belgium, so there's that.

Thing to Think About Today:
So obviously that website needs some work.  Wait... did I just say work?  Let's think about combining work with my bottle of V and let Dolly Parton close out with her rendition of 9 to 5 from a recent episode of The Today Show.  Congrats for getting through another day of work... one day closer to retirement!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZ-bezD_fXM