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 200: July 19, 2015
Diary entry:
My intent for the day was a quiet day at home, catching up on some work.
I started off on track, but then I received a text message from my friend John asking if I wanted to meet up for a quick beer, since he was up in the vicinity of where I live.
We decided to take the opportunity to check out a couple of pubs in Oirschot, a village a few kilometers south of Boxtel, where I live.
We made a first stop at one of the beer cafes in town I visited when I first arrived back in the Netherlands three years ago. A bar which at the time had a number of beers that I had yet to check in on untappd. unfortunately, over the past few years, my number of new beers to try (that are generally offered by the main local distributers) has been dwindling a little, and I was actually unable to find a new beer there!
The local brewery in Oirschot was also closed for some remodeling, so we took a little walk up to another nearby pub that I had been meaning to try, Café Buitenlust. This was my first time visiting, and I must say, I was impressed with their selection of smaller Dutch breweries they have available. I’ll definitely be back to try some more!
We also had a chance to pick some old bottles out of the storage cooler, similar to the one on https://www.frippwarehousing.com, that the owner wanted to move out to make room for more stock, so I picked up a few nice bottles from, breweries like De Molen, Brew Dog, and Rodenbach that I look forward to opening as pat of the challenge over the coming weeks / months.
Popped up to Boxtel and visited a few of the local pubs to finish off the day, since the original wet and rainy morning turned out to be a gorgeous afternoon.
Beers I tried today that didn’t make the “Beer of the Day”:
Euforie by Brasserie Bours (7.5% American IPA) – Nice bitterness. Very citrus, more the white of a grapefruit. But nice.
Hamer & Sikkel O.A. by Brouwerij De Molen (5.7% English Porter) – One month before its 5-year drink-by date. Lots of the Bordeaux barrel left. Dark fruit and chocolate. Drink at 16C — So much more flavor. This beer was a special brew for the 25th anniversary of De Bierkoning bottle shop in Amsterdam. Only 459 bottles were ever made!
Wild Jo Blond by Brouwerij De Koninck (5% Belgian Pale Ale) – A decent enough pale ale. Good for a go-to drinker.
Straffe Hendrik Wild (2015) by De Halve Maan (9% Belgian Tripel) – Definitely a wild, Bretty beer.
And, of course, another Double Dutch!
The Beer:
Name: Limited Edition Oude Kriek (2013)
Style: Kriek
Producer: Brewery Timmermans
Alcohol content: 5.5%
Bottle size: 0.375l
Purchased from: De Caigny in Essen, Belgium
I’ll be honest, I wasn’t expecting much from this one, thinking it would be a normal, oversweet cherry bomb Kriek. I was happily mistaken! This beer has a very sour lambic base, which balances out quite well once the bottle is open a few minutes. A very enjoyable Oude Kriek!
