Let's talk beer!

[Chimay]

I am tasting this ale for the first time and the discription below From the web site is right on.

Chimay


Brouwerij Boelens
Belsele - Flanders
Abbey Ale 8.5% Alc. by Vol.
Refermented in the bottle: living beer.

BIEKEN is Flemish dialect for a small honeybee. Pronounced in a loving manner, it’s often used by the male to address the female when he is looking to get something from her.

BIEKEN is one of the only true honey ales from Flanders, Belgium. It’s brewed by the very small independent family brewery Boelens in Belsele, near St.Niklaas, located in the northeast part of East Flanders.

This ale pours a very large head of fine, foamy white, lasting bubbles. The body is colored a hazy, light orange-yellow. The floral taste and aroma is further enhanced by Curacao orange zests, a not dominant balancing bitterness, and finished with a faint sweet honey taste lingering on the palate. The 8.5 % alcohol leaves a glowing sensation in the throat. Ideal with all salads, or fruity desserts.

 

[sprintman]

This site is a real find. Check the U.S pages and look at the list for real ales in each state. Pennsylvania seems to have the most with 64 outlets. Anybody been to any of these?

 

[sprintman]

Would be somewhat useful if I gave the URL. My apologies

http://www.cask-ale.co.uk/home.html

 

[iontrap]

Played poker at a buddies house a couple of weeks ago and after we had some good german food. He had some german Tucher hefeweizen. These weren't in wimpy 12oz bottles but in manly sized 32oz bottles. After sampling 5 (if I remember correctly)

, I had broken even with the money and I was completely addicted to this beer.

 

[Shannow]

iontrap...get some "elephant" beer next time.

 

[iontrap]

quote:

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Originally posted by Shannow:
iontrap...get some "elephant" beer next time.

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Never heard of elephant beer, what is it?

 

[sprintman]

Carlsberg Elephant. Everywhere here. Blows your head off!

 

[Shannow]

sprintman, only problem is that when you go to sleep, it screws your head back on...then you have to wake up with it still attached.

what is it ?...7.9% Ch3COOH ?

 

[Shannow]

quote:

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Originally posted by wileyE:
Not much of a drinker but I like to pick up a bottle of Sheaf Stout when I do the grocery shopping.

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wiley,
stout is my secret ingredient for stews.

Add 375ml of stout, or guinness to a family sized stew (and a desert spoon of vegemite), and it will be rich, thick, and lovely.

 

[sprintman]

Great place to buy beer! See to 20-pack trip around the world.

http://www.internationalbeershop.com.au/index.asp

 

[iontrap]

Found some Carlsberg this afternoon, not sure if it is the elephant beer but that wont stop me from enjoying it.

 

[David in Sugar Land]

I love a cold Samuel Smith, Youngs, Celebrator Bock or Shiner Bock. Don't mind a bottle of Pearl or Lone Star either with my spicy food!

 

[AcuraTech]

www.ratebeer.com

This site is to beer what BITOG is to oil.

 

[Chimay]

Konig Ludwig Weiss Royal Bavarian Hefe-Weizen
this wheat beer is a good example of a German wheat beer with tastes of cloves, bubble gum, and refreshing.

 

[moribundman]

quote:

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a good example of a German wheat beer with tastes of cloves, bubble gum

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[Bill]

Has anyone tried the Jolly Pumpkin Ales?
I have tried a couple, the Oro de Calabaza (the Gold Pumpkin) and the Calabaza Blanca (the White Pumpkin), these are Biere de Garde beers, Belgium-French style beers, I find them both are dry on the palate.
The Calabaza Blanca is refreshing, I think would be great for Summer, the Oro de Calabaza is my favorite, nice spices in the aroma.

Chimay, I am finding I like Belgium beer, I bought a six pack of six different beers made by Brouwerij Van Steenberge, they make Gulden Draak, Piraat Ale, and Bornem beers triples and doubles, they were very good.
The Gulden Draak was powerful!
very thick, chewy beer, wow, what a wallop! 10.5 Alc
next time I will sip it slowly...

Does anyone know if it is ok or recommended to pour the sediments of live beers into your glass?
Some of these Belgium beers have sediments on the bottom of the bottle, and I wondered what are the rules about pouring the sediments, is it personal preference?
I had a bottle of Bornem tripple, at first the beer looked clear, but when I twirled the last remaining beer in the bottle and poured it into the glass, the beer turned cloudy, I belive the beer smelled different to, I just wondered on the thoughts of pouring the sediments into your glass??

Also, anyone have advice for a really sweet beer, my father-in-law has a knack for sweet beer, he likes to add a packet of artificial sweetner to his beer to sweeten it up

He says he has a sweet tooth and wants a sweet beer, can any of you give me advice on what beer to buy that would be already sweet and not need sweetener?
I am thinking maybe a Honey Lager or something similar, thanks for your help.

Bill

 

[johnsmith]

quote:

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he likes to add a packet of artificial sweetner to his beer

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Aaack! Say it aint so...

My favorite "budget gourmet" beer right now is Young's Double Chocolate Stout. Very easy to drink, a little bit sweet and very dark-chocolaty. (No missing the chocolate in this one, that's for sure). Roasted coffee, and light hopps. Great "I need a beer" beer. You can get it in those nitro cans too, although I'm not such a big fan of those things. The bottles are much better, IMO. Your dad (and everyone else) would probably like it. Not expensive at all.

If you can find it, try something called "New Holland Dragon's Milk". A bar I frequent had it on tap @ $4.00 a glass for a while, and everyone was lovin it. (Took it off tap, and now it's $10.00 a bottle

... time to sober up I guess). Anyway, it might just be one of my favorite beers now. It's absolutely amazing. I could write you out a list a mile long of all the things we were getting, but the two big ones were strawberries and dairy. Chocolate malt, vanilla, and coffee too. Lightly sticky-sweet, and strongly hopped, but in an herbal way, not bitter at all. It's a winner. Easy to drink despite the 9% ABV.

A warning though: the [online] reviews on this NHDM stuff are all over the place. Might be one of those beers where it's always a little different each time for whatever reason (especially sensitive to light, heat, etc). Makes it all the more fun in my mind! Give it a try and see; if you get a good batch, it's great.

The only pointlessly sweet beers I can think of are the fruit ones (whoever makes those lambics with the gold foil, and Leinenkugel berry-weiss). Doesn't even taste like beer to me, but they're good all the same. They'll get ya drunk! Might want to put one of those on your grocery list too.

 

[Bill]

Johnsmith,

I have tried two bottles of the New Holland Dragon's Milk, I do not think it is sweet to drink, I like it, it is heavy, chewy, has the vanilla flavors, etc., a big flavorful drink, I did not find NHDM to be sweet, it is not bitter, I could try giving him a bottle to see if he likes it...

Thanks for the suggestion, maybe he would find it sweet.

 

[NovaMan]

Bill, your dad might like Blue Moon with a slice of orange.

 

[Chimay]

Bill, The Ales from Van Steenberge are really good I like the Bornem Triple, and the Augustijn. I have had the pleasure of visiting that brewery a couple of times. They gave us a tour and then took us out for a beer dinner, and then out to several pubs that serve their beers as the house ales. Check out WWW.Globalbeer.com

As far as the yeast in the bottom of the bottles that is a personal preference I prefer not to pour it in at first then to add it to the glass after about half has been drank. It will give it a different taste sometimes I prefer.