This post is a part of the 2015 New Beer Every Day Beer Diary Challenge, #ottbeerdiary. Over the course of 2015, I will be trying a new beer every day. Please read the background in the link above, and enjoy reading about the most recently tasted beers below. If you’d like to join the challenge as well, let me know in the comments below, and be sure to check out Grown-up Travel Guide and his #grownupbeerdiary, where Andy Higgs came up with the diary format in use below. You can catch up on all of our posts as part of the challenge under the tag ottbeerdiary.
Day 239: August 27, 2015
Diary entry:
I am currently in Brussels for the European Beer Bloggers and Writers Conference (#EBBC15 if you wish to follow along).
Today at the conference was the Pre-Conference Excursion sponsored by the Belgian Family Brewers (#BFBPreConf). The Belgian Family Brewers is a consortium of 22 family-owned and run breweries in Belgium, who select certain of their beers to carry the Belgian Family Brewers logo.
On today’s excursion, we were to try 22 different beers, one from each of the 22 member breweries of the Belgian Family Brewers, each part of the different tasting compass focuses of Belgian beers today: Hop, Yeast, Oak, and More (Innovation). In fact, we tried 25 as a saison was snuck in at the final stop by Dubuisson and Lindemans snuck in two lambic’s for a comparison taste test of barrel vs. steel tank with wood chips.
Looking forward to a day exploring Belgian #Beer with @BelFamBrewers at #EBBC15 should be good times! pic.twitter.com/EgBeNFIuVY
— Our Tasty Travels (@ourtastytravels) August 27, 2015
It was an extremely long day, with the excursion kicking off at noon, and the coach (in fact, the bus of the Belgian Red Devils, their national soccer team) not arriving back to the hotel until after midnight! But it was a lot of fun throughout.
The first stop was for lunch and a tasting in the hopfields at Palm Brewery. Here we were provided six beers, each paired with a dish from a menu selected by Viki Geunes of two-Michelin starred restaurant ‘t Zilte of Antwerp. That was a treat, and the dishes were excellent!
All of the beers we had at this stop featured hops, and included:
Palm Hop Select by Brouwerij Palm – Still a wee bit sweet, despite the hops. But a nice bitterness. Served with Green asparagus and ham.
Poperings Hommelbier Fresh Harvest (2014) by Brouwerij Van Eecke – My favorite beer from this stop. Very nice bitterness. These bottles were seven months old, and the brewer prefers these be consumed within 6 months of bottling for them to be at their peak. Would love to try them fresh, since these were still quite good. Served with Smoked Salmon.
Gouden Carolus Hopsinjoor by Brouwerij Het Anker – Bitterness opens up in the glass a little. Nice fruit below. Liking this one a bit more this time. Served with Mackerel
Hopus by Brasserie Lefebvre – Nice hoppiness with the Gambas a la plancha they were served with.
Deliria by Brouwerij Huyghe – Some of the last bottles in the world! Spicy notes on top of the hops. A little sweet. Served with a beef tataki.
Duvel Tripel Hop (2015) by Duvel Moortgat – Nice bitterness featuring Equinox hops this year. Served with an excellent pork stew with cous cous.
Our Second stop was Brouwerij Lindemans, where the theme was Yeast, and we had a sampling of six sour beers. We also had an opportunity here to test the difference between traditional and innovative brewing methods, sampling two identical 10 month old lambics, one aged in the foeder, one aged in stainless steel tanks with wood chips. Hard to tell which was which, but there was definitly a difference.
The beers:
Cuvée René Special Blend (2010) by Brouwerij Lindemans – One of my favorites of the day. So much so I wound up wearing a whole tray of it! Could have been much worse, but the folks at Lindemans gave me a clean shirt to take and wear the rest of the evening.
Brett loves brettanomyces @ourtastytravels #EBBC15 #Lambic #Baptism pic.twitter.com/RCTi3wRqCg
— Lindemans Brewery (@LindemansBeers) August 27, 2015
Petrus Aged Pale by Brouwerij De Brabandere (Bavik) – Nice sourness.
Vanderghinste Oud Bruin by Omer Vander Ghinste Brewery – This one is one of their sweeter sours. I do prefer the Jacobins.
Bourgogne Des Flandres Brune/Bruin by Brewery Timmermans – Another very sweet sour. A bit too sweet for my taste.
Echt Kriekenbier by Brouwerij Verhaeghe – Decent cherry flavor. Fruit, not syrupy. Pretty good.
After this stop, we had to rush over to Brasserie Dupont, where six more beers were waiting, representing a mix of brewing styles and innovations.
Deus (Brut des Flandres) by Brouwerij Bosteels – Made in the Champagne style. Fruity, with tiny carbonation bubbles. Sweet and high alcohol content. Tasty.
Car d’OR by Brasserie St-Feuillien – A very nice blonde. Three hops, no spices. Well balanced. Not sweet. Not too bitter. Very drinkable.
Steenuilke by Brouwerij De Ryck – Nice spiciness. Local, regional herbs. Excellent aroma (swirl your glass!)
Monk’s Stout by Brasserie Dupont – Decent dark flavors
Adriaen Brouwer Dark Gold by Brouwerij Roman – A bit sweet again, but quite drinkable.
Pink Killer by Brasserie de Silly – You do get the pink grapefruit. But it does seem to remind me of a powdered drink mix a little. Refreshing, but not for me.
Our final stop was Brasserie Dubuisson, where we sampled some beers, got a tour of their barrel cellar, and were served a tradition Belgian Beef Strew with Frites and a Chocolate Mousse.
Surfine by Brasserie Dubuisson – Nice saison. Very interesting flavor
Bush de Nuits by Brasserie Dubuisson – A little sweet, but fruity and quite tasty.
Trignac XII (2013) by Brouwerij Van Honsebrouck – As with almost all beers from Kasteel, this one was a bit too sweet for my liking.
And the beer of the night…
The Beer:
Name: Abt 12 Oak Aged
Style: Belgian Quad
Producer: Brouwerij St. Bernardus
Alcohol content: 11.0%
Bottle size: 0.15l pour from a 0.75l bottle
Purchased from: Provided to us on the #BFBPreConf TOur at #EBBC15 by Belgian Family Brewers, served at dinner at Trolls & Bush at Brasserie Dubuisson
Abt 12 Oak Aged by Brouwerij St. Bernardus. Now that’s a tasty beer! Strong apple aroma from the Calvados barrels. With tasty, vanilla flavors underneath. The already delicious normal Abt 12 serves as the base.
Until 1992, Brouwerij St. Bernardus had the contract to brew the beer for the monks of Sint-Sixtus Abdij in Westvleteren, Belgium. This means they were, in fact, the brewers of Trappist Westvleteren. From 1992, the monks built their own brewery, but the brewery was able to continue to brew the beers, now under their own label.
What’s interesting to note, then, is that if you missed out on trying a Westvleteren 6 (Red Cap) before it was replaced by the Westvleteren Blonde (Green Cap) in 1996, you can still taste the recipe if you try a St. Bernardus Prior 6.
Commercial Description:
St. Bernardus Abt 12 is Brouwerij St. Bernardus’ flagship and is considered as one of the best beers in the world.The Abt 12 is brewed following the original recipe from 1946.
This St. Bernardus Abt 12 OAK Aged is brewed using the same recipe and then matured for 6 months in Oak Calvados barrels before it is bottle conditioned. This maturation in oak kegs gives the beer a deeper and richer taste.
