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 18: January 18, 2015
Diary entry:
Second day as tour guide with an old friend from TravBuddy, Julie P.
Today’s destination was Gouda. The primary goal was to visit the 22nd edition of the PINT Winterbierfestival.
First stop, however, was into the center of town to try to pick up some Gouda cheese. But denied! Unlike past visits in September and October, all of the shops in the square were closed on Sunday during the winter, and the visitor’s center/cheese museum even has closed the cheese-shop section for the winter as well.
At least we still had the beer festival! The festival itself was much busier than expected, we arrived around 1:15, and already every table was full! This is a serious festival! Be sure to arrive early if you want to stake out a table for your tastings.
There were over 100 different winter beers to sample during the event, between the two of us, we managed only around 16. Still not bad…
Had to drop Julie off at Schiphol for her flight to Prague, then the long ride home.
The Beer:
Name: Isala Winterbier BA
Style: Winter Ale
Producer: Friese Brouwerij
Alcohol content: 8.0%
Bottle size: 0.15l pour from a 0.30l bottle
Purchased from: 22e PINT Winterbierfestival.
Overall, I was very impressed with the selections from a great number of Dutch breweries. This one stood out above all the others as my favorite of the evening. Intense caramel aromas and flavors, which gave way to a slightly spicy, cinnamon flavor reminiscent of my favorite Valentine’s Day treat, cinnamon red hots. Delicious!
