Beer Club May 2010
BEER CLUB
May 2010 SESSION
BELGIAN ALES
This month featured Belgian beers. Most of the typical Belgian beers are ales, but there are also witbiers [Type 4], fruit beers [Type 15], and pale European lagers [Type 12] in this month's selection.
Belgian Beer Lineup
Blue Moon
Blue Moon
Blue Moon is an American version of the Belgian White, or witbier, brewed by Coors. Witbiers are unfiltered wheat beers, cloudy due to the presence of yeast in suspension. They are spiced with things like coriander and orange peel. Blue Moon is a good example of the style, slightly sweet, with a smell of citrus fruit. 5.4% ABV.
Hoegaarden
Hoegaarden
Another Belgian White, but this one from Belgium. A bit cloudier and lighter in color than the Blue Moon, but similar in flavor. This beer has hints of cinnamon rather than coriander. I find that I prefer Hoegaarden to Blue Moon, but the difference is small. 4.9% ABV.
Stella Artois
Stella Artois
I've rated Stella before, but I will comment today on the European Pale Lager or Munich Helles style [Type 12]. Pilsner Urquell is the original Pilsner, and after the Pilsner style caught on, brewers across the world began to make their own versions of this beer. Stella is the Belgian version of a Pilsner, that is light, and slightly sweet, but with something of a sour finish.
Wittekerke
Wittekerke
This beer was a bit of a surprise for me. I hadn't expected to find a Belgian White in a can, but there it is. Lighter and clearer than the previous two wheat beers, this beer would be very easy to drink in large quantities. It just goes down easy. 5.0% ABV
Westmalle
Westmalle Tripel
A Trappist Ale, in the Tripel style [Type 6]. Tripels are high alcohol, and this one is no exception. 9.5% ABV, golden, sweet, and heavy. So named for the amount of malts used in the brewing process [three times as much as a normal Trappist Ale],
Maredsous
Maredsous TripelAnother Tripel, 10.0% ABV. This one is darker than the Westmalle, less bitter, more caramel. The host wanted it noted that this was his favorite Belgian of the evening.
Ommegang
This was the first Dubbel of the night [Type 43]. Twice as much malt as usual, the Dubbel is usually dark instead of golden, and very rich. This one is an American Abbey style, sweet and heavy. 8.5% ABV
Chimay PremièreChimay Première (Red)
Another classic Dubbel, a bit cloudy, 7.0% ABV
Cassis lambic
Cassis LambicThe lambics are Belgian fruit beers [Type 2], spontaneously fermented by environmental yeasts, and then fruit is added once the fermentation begins. Cassis are black currants, tart and sweet. 4.0% ABV
True Blonde Dubbel
True Blonde DubbelBelgian Pale Ale [Type 16], p 8.0% ABV
Delirium Nocturnum
Delirium NocturnumBelgian Dark Ale [Type 29], dark brown with a white head. 8.5% ABV
Honorable Mentions
There were a couple of beers I didn't get to, Gulden Draak, Delirium Tremens, Brother Thelonious, and two more I'd had previously, Pranqster and New Belgium Abbey.
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