Tasting Craft Beer
@tastingcraftbeer
Marcel Haas: Certified enjoyer of beer (Diplom Biersommelier) in the Netherlands. Adventures in the land of beer tasting, teaching and geeking! Untappd: @harcel #craftbeer #beer #brewery #brewing
This is a Stein. Or rather a Steinkrug. It's made of Stein. A Stein(ie) isn't made of glass.
Zago seems the Italian version of the Dutch Stadshaven, using fruit in every brew. There's also a recognizable flavor that I always associated with weird fermentation or even a persistent hygiëne issue in the Stadshaven beer, but now I think it's a result of the fruit (and thus still fermentation?)!
It's not often that you come across an artisanal brewery without an IPA in the lineup! This one, La Americana, is an American Pale Ale that comes quite close though. It has a beautiful amber color and firm white head a good body with some caramel and a potent bitterness. Aromas of pine and citrus.
Obviously, this being a beer brewing but otherwise mostly wine focused company, it was inevitable to try their grape ale, l'Enivitable. It's gently vinous, yellow fruity, has a tiny little tartness to help out in the good balance between low sweetness and lower bitterness. Well done.
On site, I sampled their Keller Pils (smooth, moderately bitter, malty with a herbal hop edge), had a Rauch (reasonably well smoked, very quaffable) with my steak, and ended things with their Italian saison (good farmhouse character, dry, moderately bitter). Brought a Bock and Oatmeal stout out.
About 100m away from my campsite, and on day 5 I finally get to visit Lyon Birreria and Birrificio, aka San Leone, aka Seiterre.
Thirsty for knowledge! Excited to receive my copy of the newest book by star author Randy Mosher: Your Tasting Brain!
Is this really what we want to promote at a beer (tasting!) festival?
TIL that if there's no batch indication on an Orval glass (and it's a full size glass) that is from before 2012. This bottle was a lot younger. At about 10 months, close to optimal age for me.
Der Tag des deutschen Bieres. Happy birthday, Reinheitsgebot!
Ah, the brewery with a sister in the Netherlands, called Hoop (pronounced very similar, meaning the exact same).
Fun tasting today with a German theme. Food, Spätzle und Bratwurst, was equally great.
Their Brute Blonde (bitter, Belgian yeast and continental hop profile) and their smoky saison called Kampvuur Dromen (Campfire Dreams; dry, smoky, very pale, phenolic) were absolutely great! Yay for Eco-dreamer!
When you're at a local farmer's market and a micro brewery is selling, you obviously buy the full available lineup.
A lineup of vintage Rodenbachs tonight. Exclusive, but not entirely my preference. Quite the unique experience though, so I'm very thankful!
With "Rice Wine" and hops mentioned on the can, I perhaps expected something closer to a hoppy sake. The rice used was malted, but the majority of the grist is still barley. That is also obvious in the sweet (Moersleutel, after all...), somewhat sticky beer that is in the glass.
This beer doesn't taste so bad at all. There's not much of that unfermented wort aroma that is all too common in pale NA beers. It's leaning sweet, but that's fine. Still. A non-alcoholic Tripel. Why?! If it's NA, it just can't be much of a Tripel. NA is great, no need for Tripels in the lineup.
Malt bag backpack! This sturdy backpack is made from used malt bags and scrap car seatbelts. You get to choose between different maltsters and malt varieties, so I went for some of my favorites. These cool bags are made by Marjolijn Kroon: www.marjolijnkroon.nl
Four years seems to be a pretty decent age for Hertog Jan Grand Prestige. It's still plenty lively, with good carbonation and some residual bitterness, especially in the finish. The flavors of aging are well developing, with an accent on Port aromas, with a full body still.
I had never heard of Debaryomyces before, but apparently you can ferment a stout with it. An umami bomb with a slight acidity. Oyster stout elements. Earthy, leather (this could be the age?). I need a few more brews with such strains to draw conclusions about their aroma profile, I think.
That was a truly impressive stay at the Abbaye Notre Dame d'orval!
The Oberpfalz (between Nürnberg and the Czech border) is the only region that still adheres to the tradition, with very local, low volume beer production. While originally the brews were enjoyed in the brewer's home, nowadays there are Zoiglstuben as "pubs".
Even though we were just outside of the Oberpfalz (Germany) region, which is known for Zoigl, we still managed to get dinner at a wonderful Zoiglstube, complete with brewer's star on the facade, and an unfiltered, somewhat amber, smooth lager with a toasty edge to it.