Brew Reviews

Maredsous 10

Price comparison: About 1½ times what I pay for everyday beer.

Alcohol percentage by volume: 10%

Cute bottle/label? Squat little brown 11.2 ounce bottle with a nicely stylized-bordering-on-modernistic-iconic brown, orange, and black label. Definitely crying back to its spiritual abbey roots without hammering religion down one's throat.

Appearance: Dark orange with a thick, sticky white head and hyperactive natural carbonation. Deep sheets of lacing left on the goblet.

Scent: Much more maltiness and sweet alcohol than I generally perceive in a Belgian, but that's to be expected. Hints of deep sweet fruitiness like cherry and plum.

Flavor: Very sweet malt and caramel with pronounced alcoholic heat. Slight yeastiness and a small peppery hint at the finish. Creamy, nearly sticky mouthfeel. Nearly a teaspoonful of yeast left at the bottom of the bottle

Impressions: Warm and pretty enjoyable. Not a sit-down-and-have-a-coupla-brewskis kind of beer. Too strong to drink by itself but, unlike its cousin Duvel, not as well balanced and much too deep in flavor to serve as a serious accompaniment for expensive cuts of meat or luxurious vegetables. I would probably not serve this with a meal, but possibly as an appetizer with strong cheeses, grapes, olives, and pickles.

Will I buy this beer again? Yes, I did like the depth and the nice, not-too-harsh alcohol kick. Not a regular player, but I'd pick it up again if I saw it. I also think that this would cellar well, considering the fact that it's designed to referment in the bottle and has already done so more than once, and there was residual yeast that could possibly raise the alcohol volume still further over the period of another six months to a year.

Rating:

4 out of 5 cute beer glasses

Horn Dog

Price comparison: About $2 more per twelve ounces than national-branded beer.

Alcohol percentage by volume: 10½%

Cute bottle/label? Standard twelve-ounce brown glass; label depicts a slavering creature that appears to be a crossbreed of a rabid dog and a dinosaur of some sort, given that it has spiny plates on its back and a large, rhino-like horn protuding from its forehead. This barleywinelike ale is a member of "the Flying Dog Litter of Ales."

Appearance: Dark reddish-black with a thick tan head that dissolved down to a small island of lace.

Scent: Plums, saltwater, heavy malt, alcohol.

Flavor: Very sweet, with prominent alcohol; malt and slightly like cherries in the first tasting, becoming more like toasted nuts as it warmed. Very slight hops and a thin finish with a vague alcoholic aftertaste.

Impressions: Neither barleywine nor ale, this is too thin to be warming in cold weather and too boozy to be refreshing in hot weather. Serve it with food, preferably a meal as opposed to snacks, and preferably something with some bitterness or smokiness: chili or sausage would stand up to this nicely and keep you from overindulging.

Will I buy this beer again? It's not bad, and for the price, it's slightly more cost-effective, if not as impressive, as barleywine. Also, I love the Flying Dog punkass labels. I'd buy this again and serve it with dinner if I was having company that could appreciate that artwork.

Rating:

3½ out of 5 cute beer glasses

Piraat Triple IPA

Price comparison: Between $1.50 - $2 more (per twelve ounces) than the average domestic national brand.

Alcohol percentage by volume: 10½%

Cute bottle/label? I know one can get it in bottles, but I've never seen one in person. I got ½ gallon from the kegs at the MOBY DICK in one of my black growlers.

Appearance: Light golden orange with a big white head and some lace.

Scent: Mostly nice Belgian malt, but the alcohol is somewhat present on the aroma, particularly as it warms.

Flavor: The hops are spicy, with a citrus peel bite. The alcohol is evident but smoothed over by malt, with a yeasty finish.

Impressions: I found the carbonation, though natural, to be a bit high in this one. The flavors are pretty good. This is a fairly big beer, though its composition balances the alcohol well. I wouldn't drink it on an empty stomach, but it would be overpowered by any really strong or spicy foods. I'd say this would be a good choice with lightly-sauced poultry or seafood.

Will I buy this beer again? At the price, it's not an everyday drinking beer, but I'd refill the growler if I needed it for a specific dinner party or similar occasion.

Rating:

3½ out of 5 cute beer glasses

Rogue Imperial Stout

Price comparison: About a dollar more (per twelve ounces) than the average domestic national brand.

Alcohol percentage by volume: 10½%

Cute bottle/label? Usually available in six-packs of twelve-ounce standard-shaped bottles with a purple and orange label, but this time I had a ½ gallon growler filled at the tap at the MOBY DICK.

Appearance: "It's like, how much more black could this be? And the answer is: none. None more black."

The head, such as it is, is cocoa-colored and does not last, but leaves rings of lace on the glass and a light swirl of film on the surface of the beer.

Scent: Black grapes and coffee with very heavy hops.

Flavor: Bitter chocolate with toasted malt and a really hoppy finish.

Impressions: I think I could sell this to my friends who claim not to like stout; it's got the strength, kick, and thinner mouthfeel of a nice ale, and it isn't as malt-intensive as traditional stout. Sort of a cross between IPA and stout. Good with strong, salty foods.

Will I buy this beer again? I have bought this in bottles before; this is the first time I've had it on tap and it's really good this way.

Rating:

4 out of 5 cute beer glasses

Gulden Draak

Price comparison: About twice the price of everyday beer.

Alcohol percentage by volume: 10½%

Cute bottle/label? 11.2 ounce white ceramic-looking bottle, squat and unglamorous, but kind of cool nonetheless. Red, black, and metallic-gold label depicting a stylized gold dragon (copied from the statue on top of the clock tower at Ghent).

Appearance: Dark chocolatey brown with a thick tan head and heavy lacing.

Scent: Sweet smokiness with cherry, cranberry, and plum, also a hint of vine-ripe tomato on the edges.

Flavor: Malt and sweet wine, not very hoppy. Nice spicy finish though.

Impressions: It was a bit sweet but the big alcohol was nicely couched in the surrounding flavors. This is strong enough to go quite well with any grilled foods, with or without sauce.

Will I buy this beer again? It's not a great bargain, but it's a good strong Belgian. If you've never had Belgian beer before, I wouldn't recommend starting with this unless you are already used to sweet sherry or port wine. However, I like it a lot and I got a nice buzz from it.

Rating:

4 out of 5 cute beer glasses

Koningshoeven Quadrupel

Price comparison: About three times the price of everyday beer.

Alcohol percentage by volume: 10%.

Cute bottle/label? Brown glass 25.4-ounce bottle, corked and caged. The label has a small, stylized rendering of the abbey at the top.

I have to admit, I'm also tickled by the concept of "quadruple" beer. It just sounds so drunk-inducing.

Appearance: The color of strong tea; gave off a nice orangeish glow when held up to the light. Bubbled in streams, like champagne, with a foamy strong head.

Scent: If you poured red wine over sliced ripe plums and spooned some brandy over it, then smelled it, you'd have something close to this.

Flavor: Malt first, then a sort of parade of different fruit flavors, each passing too quickly to be identified before the next one showed up, and a hint of buttered popcorn. No hops that I could detect. Reminded me of wine with a slight astringent finish.

Impressions: According to every definition I have ever read of the subject, this is not a Trappist ale. Yet it's brewed by Benedictine monks, it improves with age, and its high alcohol content, complex aromas, flavors, and textures are absolutely in keeping with the "real" Trappist ales I've had. Have supper first or the alcohol will sneak up on you.

Will I buy this beer again? This is a "for-special" beer; the flavors are really too complex to serve it with a meal, but it'd be nice for afterwards. Also, the fact that it stands the test of time is a plus with me. Knowing that I can pick up a bottle and not worry about having to drink it immediately is a very secure feeling.

Rating:

4½ out of 5 cute beer glasses

Millenium Brew

Price comparison: Nearly three times what I pay for everyday beer.

Alcohol percentage by volume: 10% at bottling.

Cute bottle/label? 9.3 oz brown glass capsule bottle. Corked, but the type of cork requiring a corkscrew. Be forewarned.

Appearance: Cloudy amber, fair head with no lacing.

Scent: Alcohol, white grapes, slight cherry.

Flavor: Alcohol prevalent, very tart with a dry finish.

Impressions: This ale has a bit of a bad reputation for not having aged consistently. Half of the bottles are reported to have corked out (a slang term for losing palatability over time), so you have a one-in-two chance of getting something drinkable for your money.

If only my luck was as good in playing the lottery as in picking the correct bottle of old beer.

Who knows how high the alcohol content is at this point? 10% at bottling in 1997 after having already aged eighteen months, this didn't taste quite right to me at first, but by the time I'd got to the bottom of the bottle I didn't really give a damn. It had not gone bad; the smell and taste were very strong and peppery, but not unpleasantly so. And I got a damned good buzz off of it.

Unfortunately, I woke up at my usual time the next morning and felt like a tree full of owls. So even if you get a good bottle, you may regret it in the morning.

Will I buy this beer again? At three times the cost of more stable beer, I'd as soon not take a chance on getting a corked-out bottle. Just because I was lucky this time round doesn't mean my luck wouldn't change next time. The only way I can in good conscience recommend this ale is if you are a) a gambler at heart and don't mind the concept of possibly having to dump most of your investment into the sink; and/or b) are prepared for the possibility of a persistent need for headache remedies the next day.

Rating:

2 out of 5 cute beer glasses