Beerenzo

Tongerlo

2007-07-21T21:25:00.000-07:00

What a strangely named beer! Tongerlo is a golden triple that is very refined and delicious. If you can find it, drink it!

St Bernardus Abt 12

2007-07-21T21:20:00.001-07:00

When I was in Belgium I searched high and low for a beer called Westvelteryn. It is a Trappist beer that is not exported out of Belgium and is only made in small batches. I didn't find a bar that had it. One bar introduced me to this Westvelteryn-clone, St. Bernardus. It is very sweet, high in alcohol, and overall superb. Maybe on my next trip I will find the elusive original.

Leute

2007-07-21T21:16:00.001-07:00

I first thougth that Leute was a Belgian beer. It is very refined and rich, with a lot of surprisingly tasty sediment. It has a hint of apple taste (which I don't normaly like). Oh, yeah, its from Germany.

King of Beers

2007-07-21T21:12:00.001-07:00

Lion Stout has a picture of Michael Jackson (the beer critic, not singer) on the back. It is a nice rich beer with a creamy latte-like head. It says that it has one international gold medals at beer competitions. Not bad for a beer from Sri Lanka.

Prior Party

2007-07-07T08:05:00.000-07:00

Kapittel Watou is just like the label shows: a good beer to drink with your fellow monks. This 9% beer has fruity notes but is not overly sweet. Quite nice.

Amber Gold

2007-07-05T08:47:00.000-07:00

Golden Carolus Ambrio definitely has some of the best bottle art. Not surpisingly, what is inside the bottle rocks! There are three or four Carolus beers (only two of which I have tried) and this one is the best so far. It has a dark amber color and a very rich, sweet taste-- a beer to nurse slowly.

Orval Reddenbacker...not!

2007-07-05T08:37:00.000-07:00

Orval, one of the seven Trappist (made or supervised by monks) brews from Belgium, is a bit of a curiosity. The first couple of times that I had it I thought that it wasn't very good. It is dark, 8%, a bit hoppy and not especia;ly sweet. After drinking it you get a tingling in your stomach similar to drinking Puer tea--kind of warm. The taste is complex and not easy to compare to other beers. Still, in Europe it is highly regarded, and I heard quite a few Europeans mention it as their favorite beer. Go figure...try it yourself and tell me what you think. The jury is still out.

Belgian beer heaven!

2007-07-01T09:06:00.001-07:00

After having my passport pickpocketed, and having to go to the US consulate in Brussels, this was my saving grace. As I entered the temple I fell to my feet and kissed the ground. A bright light blinded me, and a voice said, "Welkomen to the motherland, where have you been so long?"

3 Monts

2007-07-01T08:53:00.000-07:00

Ahh, it has been a while since I made a post. I have been traveling in France and Belgium for the past two weeks. 3 Monts was a golden ale that I tried in France. It is a strong belgian ale, yet was very smooth with a hint of hops.

Das good! 2

2007-05-26T23:16:00.000-07:00

Xcellent!

Das good!

2007-05-26T23:08:00.000-07:00

A bunch of excellent German beers.

Glaabsbrau

2007-05-15T22:40:00.000-07:00

Glaabsbrau has the most interesting aftertaste and a cool top. The aftertaste is roasty and spicy.

Youngs

2007-05-15T22:36:00.000-07:00

Youngs is a balanced, understated bitter. A good pub beer.

Sagres

2007-05-15T22:12:00.000-07:00

Its always interesting to drink a dark lager. This beer is very dark, with a hint of sweetness. The usual lager lightness. Pretty good. Points for originality.

Eggenburg

2007-05-15T22:07:00.000-07:00

A decent lager with an excellent label.

Victoria ??

2007-05-15T22:02:00.000-07:00

There is nothing particularly redeeming about this Australian lager.

Warsteiner

2007-05-15T21:57:00.000-07:00

Warsteiner is a lager with an enormous head. No frills, yet solid.

Maisel's Weiss

2007-05-14T05:41:00.000-07:00

Maisel's is a traditional Heffe Weisen. Refreshing with a hint of sweetness. This is not my favorite style of beer, but this beer grew on me as I drank it.

Hellenic beer

2007-05-14T05:24:00.000-07:00

Mythos is a very refreshing Greek lager. Recommended.

Zaragozana

2007-05-08T00:41:00.000-07:00

I am getting more and more respect for Spanish brewers. Zaragozana is a well balanced and pleasant beer. A little sweetness, a little hops and much pleasure to the mouth and stomach! Gracias.

Salitos

2007-05-08T00:27:00.000-07:00

Salitos is (again) a flavored beer (I drink these beers for the cause of this blog). This time the flavor is Tequilla. It is actually quite tasty, but alas, not a beer flavor.

Kriska

2007-05-08T00:22:00.000-07:00

Kriska is a vodka flavored beer. It has a pleasant taste, but I prefer my beer to have the roughness of hops and yeast.

Ambar 1900

2007-05-06T03:49:00.000-07:00

This beer is like a dry white wine. This is not my favorite style, and I was not very impressed.

Nessie Lurks!

2007-05-04T03:20:00.000-07:00

MMMmmm, me likey! Nessie is an austrian beer weighing in at 7%. Quite malty and copper colored. This was sweet but not overpoweringly so. Highly recommended for strong beer fans.

Poretti......Red!?

2007-05-04T03:09:00.000-07:00

OK, This beer actually isn't called Porreti Red. It is a Poretti and the label is red. I forgot to take a picture of the bottle this time. The Poretti trilogy is a pretty solid affair. All three beers are balanced in terms of hops and malt. I would recommend them all for an easy and pleasurable drinking experience.

Eku

2007-05-02T17:53:00.000-07:00

If you like super strong (11%) and super sweet beers, Eku is for you. A German beer with a big heavy character.

Macabee

2007-05-02T17:50:00.000-07:00

Macabee boasts International Gold Medals at beer tasting conferences. I see why. This Israeli beer is excellent. A smooth and nuanced lager.

Hannen Alt

2007-05-02T17:42:00.000-07:00

Hannen Alt is a solid German style "Alt" beer near 6%. It has a beautiful color, a large head and a smokey taste. The one drawback is something in the aftertaste--I can't quite place what it is, but it makes my taste buds uneasy (I don't know if anyone else would have the same reaction. try it and tell me!).

Deceptive Desperado

2007-05-02T17:37:00.000-07:00

Desperado is a French beer at about 6%. It is quite a deceptive beer. It is flavored with Tequilla and has a wine-coolerish taste (sweet, smooth, like juice). Other than that, it is very tasty.

Ambar Export

2007-04-29T08:02:00.000-07:00

Excellent malty 8% delight from Spain.

Poretti Bock

2007-04-29T07:56:00.000-07:00

Very similar to the earlier Poretti beer that I reviewed. I really can't tell the difference between the two...both nice beers.

Urbock The Barbarian

2007-04-28T21:21:00.000-07:00

Urbock 23 is a heavy-hitting Austrian beer. It claims on the label to be one of the strongest beers in the world, and doesn't dissapoint at 10%. Its older brother, Samislaus, probably is the strongest beer--14%. Very malty and sweet...in fact I found it a hair too sweet. For those with a taste for Barlywine, Urbock is for you.

Fischer

2007-04-28T21:14:00.000-07:00

Fischer is a solid yet unremarkable French beer (among high-level beers). It is a dry lager with no discernible maltiness. A small head after being poured. Nice bottle, but as a beer nothing to jump around about.

Adelscott

2007-04-27T04:30:00.000-07:00

Adelscott is an unusual beer. It claims to be brewed with a touch of whiskey. The whiskey taste is very slight, but noticeable. About 6%, very balanced and refreshing. Highly recommended.

Guiness the next generation

2007-04-26T04:14:00.000-07:00

St Peter's Stout rocks! Dark roasty grains that kicks Guiness to the curb. Chocolaty notes weighing in at 6.5%. Enough said.

So fresh and so clean

2007-04-25T20:10:00.000-07:00

Despite the name, Dirty Dicks Ale is a very balanced brew. Between 5 and 6 percent, it is a smooth and clean brown ale with a nice hint of sweetness. Good pub beer.

Sugoi!!! (It's good!!!)

2007-04-22T03:09:00.000-07:00

O.K., you might think that since I live in Japan I might be a little biased...Nope. Yebisu, brewed in the Sapporo Beer Forest (which by the way has a great tour), is a truly exemplary beer. 6%, golden, smooth and perfectly balanced. The thing that struck me the most is the mouthfeel. It has such a full taste and satisfying feel in the mouth that you almost don't want to swallow it. The best qualities of Japan incarnate in a beer (I should be a tour-guide).

Don't be Cru', to a heart that's true

2007-04-21T01:03:00.000-07:00

Hoegaarden Grand Cru. 9%, a golden belgian ale. Slight malt, strong hop, yet light and slightly lemony. Very refined and delightful beer. Small head.

O'l Time Religeon

2007-04-20T08:08:00.001-07:00

Ahh, Adam and Eve sure created a mess. De Verboden Vrucht (A.K.A. Le Fruit Degendu) or for us uneducated English speakers, The Forbidden Fruit. The makers of Hoegaarden have created a deep and fantastic beer. 9%, sweet yet not cloying, this creation from the Garden is almost as good as the original apple. I would guess that Adam would have taken this quicker than Eve's apple (depending on what the apple actually was). OK, enough of my annoying musings, this is a great beer. Kudos to the original couple for letting us have all the little imperfections of this life.

It's a Trappe!

2007-04-20T06:11:00.000-07:00

La Trappe is one of my favorite Belgian Trappist ales. Made in the only Trappist monastery outside of Belgium (in the Netherlands). Strong hop, malt, and carbonation linger in the center and back of the tongue. 9% alcohol content, a massive head, and beautiful bottle art (a glass-blown insignia) makes this one of my top 10 beers.

Bob Marlen

2007-04-19T07:47:00.000-07:00

Marlen is a golden light tasting ale (despite being 6%). I think that it is from Spain (correct me if you know where La Zaragozana is). It has a healthy beautiful head. It has enough sweetness to make it interesting and has some lemony notes. I hesitate to call it a "girl beer" because of its alcohol content. I enjoyed it, but it is not my style. Recommended with a seafood dinner.

Pietra

2007-04-19T03:39:00.000-07:00

Pietra is a truly smooth and balanced beer. From France, it is in the 6% range. It has equal parts malt and hops, with a smooth and refreshing taste from beginning to end. A great find!

Bierra Porreti

2007-04-19T01:29:00.000-07:00

Bierra Porreti is an Italian beer in the 5% range. It is an amber beer with a small head. It is moderately malty with a slightly bitter hit in the middle of the mouth. It has a full feel in the mouth without being heavy. I enjoyed this beer and found it very balanced.