Delirium Tremens

After a long hiatus from my craft beer blog, I am back!!!! Reasons for my absence, LIFE. Or as I like to call it mother-fuckin life. Yeah work is a bitch, parents' a constant pain in the butt, friends' getting married left and right, vacation with the homies, that sort of shit. But back to why I have this blog, it is about the beer damn it! So this is my most recent discovery when I went to browse the high end grocery market in my hood. The bottle captured my attention and I didn't have my phone on me to look up the reveiws. Well to my surprise, this is an award winning Belgium strong ale according to Wikipedia: Delirium Tremens was named as "Best Beer in the World" in 2008 at the World Beer Championships in Chicago, Illinois, USA.^[1][2] Stuart Kallen gives it the number one spot in his The 50 Greatest Beers in the World.^[3]

So lets get on with the tasting shall we? The beer poured a beautiful golden yellow. Nice thick head that holds its retention with dancing heavy carbonation bubbling below.

The smell hit me with citrus, a bit of banana and a nice yeasty floral fragrance.

The first taste brings me back.  The mouth feel is creamy, which has the citrus and carbonation riding through,  then the yeasty mustiness comes in along with some sourness. The carbonation takes over and leaves a nice dry finish.  The taste is complex and gets better as you drink. Tasting different notes as it warms.

Wow. This beer is in every word, an extremely “drinkable” beer. Goes down easy and satisfies that deep “good beer quality” thirst you yearn for AND deserve.

Rate Beer: 96 overall score, 8.5% ABV, Brewed by Brouwerij Huyghe

http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/delirium-tremens/1039/  

Lost Coast Tangerine Wheat

Lost Coast Brewery. Eureka, California:
http://www.lostcoast.com/

BA Score 75: http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/256/31931

Description from the brewery: A refreshing citrus ale, Lost Coast Tangerine Wheat combines our Lost Coast Harvest Wheat with natural tangerine flavors. Brewed with a combination of wheat and crystal malts, and finished with Perle hops.

Side note: Fruit infused beer is nothing new. Raspberry lambic comes to my mind when we talk about these type of beer. Now brewers are expanding the flavor profile of these type of beer with other fruits like tangerine, orange, and grapefruit. I think brewers are definitely trying to get more females to join the beer lovers by making fruit infused beer which is usually a pale ale with light body and much sweeter flavor profile than your typical beer.

My take: You can smell the tangerine right from the start when you open the bottle and it pours in a hazy yellow straw color with a light head of foam. The initial sip is a carbonated rush of tangerine citrus sweetness with a mild spice tingling in the back end. The tangerine is front and center in this beer, Lost Coast definitely isn't being subtle here compared to the Dog Fish Head's Apricot IPA. It's a very drinkable beer as you taste very little hop and bitterness. I can see a lot of chicks digging this beer due to it's aroma and tangerine sweetness. Personally, I like my beer with a little more punch and the tangerine is a little too overpowering for my taste. Not a lot of depth either which might be what they are trying to go for with a clean simple fruit infused beer. Not something I would go out and buy a six pack any time soon...unless I am drinking with bunch of chicks I guess. Though I probably get the Triple Karmeliet which is super light and smooth for a beer with 8.4% ABV. Girls love it and wonder why they are tipsy drinking a light beer, LOL (j/p).

Chimay Tripel (White)

Chimay, Belgium: http://www.chimay.com/en/bieres-de-chimay.html?IDC=287

BA score 91: http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/215/1346

Description from the brewery: The Chimay Triple, last-born of the Abbey, is labelled "Cinq Cents" on the 750 ml bottle. Of a golden colour, the Trappist beer combines sweet and bitter in a rare balance. The beer's aroma felt in the mouth comes from the hops' perfumes: above all, they are fruity touches of Muscat grapes and raisins, even ripe apples. This traditional Belgian beer is best savoured fresh at a temperature of from 6 to 8°C.

Breaking down the label: Chimay is famous in the state and stands out mainly for being a "Trappist" beer. For those of you who don't know, it simply means that it is brewed within the walls of a Trappist monastery under the control and responsibility of the community of monks, and whose revenue is devoted to social service. There are only 6 active trappist brewery in Belgium so that's why we see so few beers with the "Trappist" label. Triple on the label means triple ale and is used by Belgian Trappist breweries to describe the strongest beer in their range. Typically 8 to 10% ABV.

My not so professional review: As you can see from the picture, Chimay Triple pours in a golden amber color with a nice size head of foam. As I bring the cup close to my nose, I can smell the Belgium yeast, sweet fruity notes and a hint of spice as well. Upon first sip, my immediate reaction is the heavy carbonation and crisp on the tongue then followed up with slightly citrus sweetness balanced with some spice in the middle. It rounds off with a not so subtle hop bitterness and is finished rather dry in the mouth. The fruity sweetness is balanced extremely well with the herbal spice, it doesn't overpower one another and since I like some hop in my beer, the hop bitterness in the end is a nice finish for me. It's light body though a little too much carbonation for my liking, but for a beer with an 8% ABV, it's a pretty refreshing beer and the spice and hop will definitely keep your attention.

Hitachino Nest XH (Matured in Sake Casks)

 Kiuchi Brewery, Ibaraki, Japan: http://www.kodawari.cc/?en_home.html

Descriptions: Strong Belgian Brown Ale matured in distilled Sake barrels.the final Maturation takes place in Shochu casks {distilled sake} for 3 months.

http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/697/7728    BA Score: 85

My thoughts: Well, I saw this at Whole Food the other day and being a huge fan of Hitachino Nest Pale Ale, I figured I give this special looking bottle a try, particularly intrigued by the idea that it was matured in sake casks. As you can see from the picture it pours in a murky dark brownish color with a small head of foam. The smell is rather complex, fruits, coffee notes, toasty, but didn't pick up the sake. First sip, wow, sharp malty bitterness and seemed stronger

than the 7% alcohol on the bottle. Picked up a lot of oak and woody notes and then I picked up something very pronounced in the back end. I am not sure what it is exactly but my guess it has to do with the sake casks, it's sour and funky that lingers in your mouth after drinking. Not exactly my type of beer, it's very complex but the sourness and the bitterness make this a difficult beer for me to consume. It's definitely not a beer for general public.

Firestone Velvet Merlin Oatmeal Stout (Limited Release)

Firestone Walker Brewing Co, California:  http://www.firestonebeer.com/

Description: A decadent Oatmeal Stout brimming with cocoa and espresso aromas. Partially aged in bourbon barrels, this beer features a rich, dark chocolate and roasted coffee flavor with a creamy mouth feel and wonderfully dry finish. The addition of U.S. grown fuggles hops contributes the perfect amount of bitterness to this exceptionally balanced beer.

http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/2210/45897   BA score: 90

My take: We just got this on draft for our restaurant/bar here at Plan Check. It pours in a deep black color with a nice floating head of foam. Smells great and once it hits your mouth, you can pick up that nutty toasty notes with a flavor profile of coffee, oatmeal, and unsweetened chocolate. It's a creamy texture, little bitter but well balanced and very smooth malty finish. Pretty damn good stout to have while eating a breakfast/brunch. Which is exactly when I sampled this delicious beer. Highly recommended.

Scrimshaw Pilsner

North Coast Brewing Co, Fort Bragg, CA:  http://northcoastbrewing.com/home.htm

Description: Named for the delicate engravings popularized by 19th century seafarers, Scrimshaw is a fresh tasting Pilsner brewed in the finest European tradition using Munich malt and, Hallertauer and Tettnang hops. Scrimshaw has a subtle hop character, a crisp, clean palate, and a dry finish.  My take on this beer is that it's refreshing with lots of floral, lemon fruity notes. Extremely easy to drink, light hop and light bitterness. Definitely what a great Pilsner should taste like. Smooth all the way through.

http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/112/409   BA Score: 84

Kigen Kawaba Sunrise Ale

Denen Plaza Kawaba Brewery, Gunma, Japan: http://www.denenplaza.co.jp/osake/beer.html (it's in Japanese)

Description: Since I cannot read Japanese, I am not able to give you the description of this beer from its brewery.

It is not rated on the beeradvocate.com website.

My take: This is mostly likely a red/brown Ale based on the color and its malty smell/taste with a medium body. Brown Ale is not one of my favorite beers so just based on personal preference alone, I am already a little biased. I was able to get my hand on this Japanese craft brew beer from the restaurant/bar I invested in when the manager told me he got a few samples and if I like to take them home to try. It pours in a reddish/dark brown color with a small head of foam. You can smell and taste the malty center, but it falls very flat right after. I let the beer sit for a little bit which did help the flavor to linger slightly longer. I took a few more sip and I can definitely pick up a hint of coffee and biscuit notes in the back end. My impression overall is that it's malty but lacks depth. I had Firestone DBA and even though brown Ale isn't my thing, I thought it had a lot of more complexity which at least made me want to keep drinking. This one just seems to fall short and flat for my taste bud. 

The Bruery Saison Rue

The Bruery. Orange County, CA: http://www.thebruery.com/index2.html

Description: Saison Rue is an unfiltered, 100% bottle conditioned, Belgian/French-style farmhouse ale. This is a beer of subtlety and complexity, with malted rye, spicy, fruity yeast notes, biscuit-like malt backbone, and a slight citrus hop character. With age, this beer will dry out and will become more complex with rustic notes of leather and earth from the contribution of a wild yeast strain. Being a Saison, Saison Rue is ambiguous unto itself as it is a different beer when fresh and when aged. We hope you enjoy it in all of its incarnations. (ABV: 8.5%, IBU: 30, SRM: 9, Release: All Seasons, Format: 750 mL bottles)

http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/16866/42434 BA score : 91

My thoughts: The Bruery is a fairly new company but already it has set the bar as one of the best craft brew in the US. I was lucky enough to visit their tasting room and their Saison Rue is one of their many award winning beers. Saison Rue, for those who don't know, is a farmhouse ale and based on my none extensive research, in the past it was brewed by farmers as a very weak pale ale around 3% ABV, but things have obviously changed since. The beer pours in a nice golden color with a nice size white head of foam. You can definitely smell the earthy notes with a hint of that bready, biscuit like malt. It's a bit dry but it's balanced extremely well with a subtle hint of fruity sweetness. It's light and easy to drink yet there are a lot of characters you can pick up, everything balanced out nicely, from the rustic note to the citrus to the hop. Crisp and bubbly too. I can see why it won so many awards. Highly recommended if you willing to spend 10.00 on a wine size bottle beer. I shared it with a friend but after tasting it, pretty sure I can kill it myself since it's so drinkable.

Allagash White

Allagash Brewing Company. Portland, Maine: http://www.allagash.com/home

Description: Our interpretation of a traditional Belgian wheat beer. Brewed with a generous portion of wheat and spiced with coriander and Curacao orange peel, this beer is fruity, refreshing and slightly cloudy in appearance.

http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/4/59 BA score 92

My opinion: Beligan style wheat beer. I prefer the Hoegaarden over the Allagash even though it has a lower BA score, just a personal preference. Still a great wheat beer. Very light and smooth and got a nice fruity after note.