Brown Ale
Guest: Tim Schafer, The Brew Chef and proprietor of Tim Schafer's Cuisine in Morristown NJ. Tim learned the culinary arts at the Culinary Institute of America. Six years ago Tim began experimenting with beer in his prepared dishes and now is considered an expert on the subject. He is a consistent contributor to many publications, including the Ale Street News and Zymurgy, and has been featured on the TV Food Network. If you find yourself in north-central NJ, have a dime and are hungry give him a call - 973-538-3330. Getting a table without a reservation is not likely, be sure to call.
Generalized Summation:
Duchesse de Bourgogne
In retrospect it was unfair to have included this one. It was pretty tart, though when placed side by side with a series of oud bruins I didn't think so. It was a bit chocolatey but the biggest flavor was sour cherry. It was an earthy kinda cherriness, with no similarity to beer that added cherry syrup. To my knowledge there is not actually cherry in it, this character came through more like a high level of complexity. When I refer to Gouden Carolous as being the most complex I exclude this one just because it is so different from the other beers. In reality it is at least as complex as Gouden Carolous.
Tim generously provided a fabulous meal to accompany this tasting. The entree was a pork loin steak covered with the most succulent sauteed onions I've every had with a molasses/peppercorn based drizzle. What beer did we go for with this? That's easy, Duchesse all the way.
Duchesse de Bourgogne is not imported.
View label. Click the BACK button to return
Back to the tasting page
Double Enghien Brune
I expected an abbey style when I picked this one up. I thought I would include it to have a representative from the most famous style of Belgian brown ale, abbey-style dubble. I was very surprised to find it had pretty much no resemblance to a dubble in any way.
First off, it was very pale for a beer calling itself brune, with tannish, orangey highlights. Of all the beers I would say it was the driest, but not by a lot as it wasn't really that dry. The impact of hops was more apparent in the finish than in the actual taste. In general we found 4 beers in the tasting to be similar with only details separating them. This was one of them, and as such it was a little lost in the tasting.
Double Enghien Brune is imported by the Global Beer Network (also known as Win It Too).
Back to the tasting page
Moinette Bruin
This one really stood out as being different in taste and general philosophy from the pack. Since saison is so versatile a category (dry to tart, flat to hugely carbonated, light to very strong, dark to very pale) I felt comfortable including this beer. I'm glad I did, with 4 beers in the bunch being pretty similar this one really shook things up.
I think the best way to describe it is like a Wiezenbock but very "Earthy" tasting. It reminded me what it means to taste Belgian, when sipping it you could tell it was the product of farm house brewing. You know the aroma of a well aged cork? If you can imagine that as a taste that was in there.
This bottle was carried across the Atlantic and generously donated by Richie Stolarz of Beers International and is not imported. However VanBerg & DeWulf does import other beers by the same brewer.
Back to the tasting page
Gildenbier
Interesting brew, though it is one of the four I have mentioned that were all kind of similar. Generally malty with little hop presence it was a bit tame. This is not a bad thing, it was tame in a drinkable way. The most notable thing I picked up was a strange "peatiness" as it warmed up. The aftertaste remined me of the aftertaste of a scotch whiskey but totally without the significant sting of alcohol associated with such a strong drink.
View label. Click the BACK button to return
Back to the tasting page
Scotch de Silly
Also one of the four less distinct beers, this one is none the less very nice. It is very big in a malty sense, with a nice but not overly loud hop balance. Although Scotch Ale is considered a style unto itself, there are so few examples I felt very comfortable grouping this with general brown ales. It is not the very deep brown you might associate with McEwans or Gordons, but more coppery brown. It was second only to Enghien in hop character. I have always wanted to make Beiramisu with this one.
Scotch de Silly is imported by the Global Beer Network (also known as Win It Too).
View label. Click the BACK button to return
Back to the tasting page
Verboden Vrucht
This is a fine beer from the makers of Hoegaarden, however it became a little lost as it's flavor specifics blended with the Gildenbier, Silly and Enghien. Next to the Silly and Enghien it was light in the malt bunch, but very smooth, well balanced and drinkable. The great M. Jackson has described this beer as having hints of vanilla which I can not in good conscience go with. Although it was enjoyable, a treat for anyone who leans towards a malty beer, we found it to not have much in the way of dimension.
Verboden Vrucht is not imported
View label. Click the BACK button to return
Back to the tasting page
Gouden Carolous - 1 & 3 year
This one was an enormous surprise. I have always held this beer in high regard but found it to be less than consistent from bottle to bottle. Yet the bottle that had been in my cellar for 3 years and the bottle I bought about 8-9 months ago were very similar. There was a notable intensity difference between the two, appropriately making the younger taste like the "little brother" of the elder.
Gouden Carolous was the darkest of the bunch, and aside from the out of place Duchesse de Bourgogne the most aromatic. It was the maltiest and had a far more elegant malt character. It reminded me a little of a cordial in it's depth and complexity, maybe you could say brandy-ish. One of my goals here is to avoid really weird flavor comparisons making this description hard. Tim provided a fabulous meal finishing with a "chocolate pate" which was as mind-mangling as it sounds. When it came to finding the perfect beer accompaniment it was a no-brainer - Gouden Caralous 3 year by a landside.
Gouden Carolous is no longer imported but still on the shelf. Get some while you can.
View label. Click the BACK button to return
Back to the tasting page
Vondel
Going into this I had never realized Vondel was a brown ale, but it was clear when I was examining the glass this was the case. Vondel lacked the general malty character most of these beers shared, however it had a great balance. It was not terribly complex in a Belgian context, but it is a fine beer. I would recommend this one to somebody wanting to "test the waters" as it is less unusual tasting than the rest. If you are not crazy about very malty beers then this would be the one of the bunch for you. I feel it has a rightful place in the world of Belgian beer, but it is more casual, more what you might expect a beer to taste like than the more ecclectic brews. If I were in the mood to have several this is probably the one I would go for.
Vondel is imported by Wetten Importers.
View label. Click the BACK button to return
Back to the tasting page
|
