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ABV: 8%  Achel 8 Blond  1001 Beers You Must Try Before You Die A full review of this beer is featured in the book 1001 Beers You Must Try Before You Die, published May 2010 by Cassell Illustrated. Buy the book from amazon.co.uk Read more about this beer at ratebeer.com: http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/achel-8-blond/10050/ ABV: 7.5%  Du Bocq Corsendonk Agnus Tripel 1001 Beers You Must Try Before You Die Also known as Corsendonk Abbey Pale Ale. A full review of this beer is featured in the book 1001 Beers You Must Try Before You Die, published May 2010 by Cassell Illustrated. Buy the book from amazon.co.uk Read more about this beer at ratebeer.com: http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/corsendonk-agnus-abbey-pale-ale/995/ A shortened version of this piece appears in the book 1001 Beers You Must Try Before You Die (May 2010). ABV: 10.5%
 Van Steenberge Gulden Draak So the story goes, in 1111, during the First Crusade, the Norwegian king Sigrid Magnusson gave the Emperor of Constantinople a sculpture of a golden dragon to display on top of the ancient cathedral of Hagia Sophia. Almost a hundred years later, during the Fourth Crusade, Baldwin IX, count of Flanders, was crowned in that same cathedral as the first Holy Roman Emperor. Taking a liking to the statue, he followed the grand tradition of conquering art collectors by snaffling it back home to Flanders. For a while the dragon was in Bruges, but neighbouring Ghent, then the Flemish capital, claimed it, sparking a minor war between the two rival cities. Ghent emerged victorious, and for centuries the golden dragon presided from the top of the landmark Belfry in the city center. So the story goes. In fact it’s more likely that, despite its allegedly Viking style, the statue was made in Ghent in 1377 as the Belfry was completed. A bill for the copper used to make it has survived, and the current piece on the tower is in any case a reproduction dating from 1980.
The statue’s beery namesake, from the family-owned Van Steenberge brewery in nearby Ertvelde. is also more recent, but there’s no doubting its authenticity. Although historically a brown ale brewer, Van Steenberge now majors on strong specialities and focused on Gulden Draak (dialect for “golden dragon”) as well as its Duvel-a-like, Piraat, when it entered the export market in the mid-1990s, being well rewarded in 1998 when the American Culinary Institute named it best beer in the world. This dark, strong, spicy ale conditioned in distinctive white bottles is hard to classify – the brewery suggests it’s a barley wine, while some writers have described it as that seeming contradiction, a dark triple. And while “best beer in the world” could be a slight exaggeration, it might almost be worth starting a war over. Tasting notes Dark ruby with a big foamy pinkish head and a sharpish but malty gooseberry-tinged aroma, this beer has a rich tart fruity prune palate, a fluffy herbal swallow and gooseberry and custard on a herbal finish, tasting perilously less than its true strength. Read more about this beer at ratebeer.com: http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/gulden-draak/3958/ A shorter version of this review was first published in BEER February 2010 as part of a piece about beers to taste with chocolate. For more beers tasted with chocolate, see previous post. ABV: 5%  Hoggleys Solstice Stout More intense still [compared to the Elmtree mild reviewed in the previous post] is Hoggleys Solstice Stout, from a Northamptonshire micro that’s emerging as one of the real stars of British Real Ale in a Bottle – see my review elsewhere of their top class mild. A once seasonal treat, thus the name, the stout is now brewed year-round thanks to its well-deserved popularity. This excellent black beer with a light bubbly orange-beige head has fruit cake, cherries, raisins and spicy liquorice on the aroma, and a soft raisiny palate with creamy Schwarzbier-like dark malt, balanced with roast and tangy hop notes that emerge in the mouth. A long and drying roasty finish is lightly astringent with a masterful blend of roast and hops. As with Nightlight, chocolate lightens the flavour profile, lending an almost honeyed note. Read more about this beer at ratebeer.com: http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/hoggleys-solstice-stout/39468/ For more beers tasted with chocolate, see Red Squirrel American IPA. A shorter version of this review was first published in BEER February 2010 as part of a piece about beers to taste with chocolate. For more beers tasted with chocolate, see Sambrook’s Wandle. ABV: 5.7%  Elmtree Nightlight Mild A darker pairing [compared to the amber ales reviewed in previous posts] is Elmtree Nightlight Mild from the real ale hotbed of Norfolk, and from a brewery doing a good range of bottled conditioned beers. My sample was Gyle 1313009, with a best before end date of August 2010. This near-black mild with a thick yellowy-beige head, an award winner in draught form, has its own chocolatey caramel character with seedy hops (a single variety, First Gold, is used) and a casky malt note on the aroma. There’s a spicy caremelly palate immediately offset by complex herbal resin and roast notes, woodruff and fruit. A hint of artichoke is detectable in a chocolate and burnt ash finish that’s very well integrated. On its own it’s stern for the style, but bitter chocolate offsets the roast and hops, leaving a sweeter, kinder liquid behind. Read more about this beer at ratebeer.com: http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/elmtree-nightlight-mild/95125/ For more beers tasted with chocolate, see next post. A shorter version of this review was first published in BEER February 2010 as part of a piece about beers to taste with chocolate. ABV: 6%  Rulles JeanChris Numéro 1 Chocolate may seem a curious entry on the long list of foods that go better with beer than wine, but the two have in common a balance of bitter and sweet over a substantial mouth-filling body. Beer tasters talk about “chocolatey” beers while chocolatiers discuss the “maltiness” of their work. Some brewers even use real chocolate, as in Wells and Youngs’ (sadly not bottle conditioned) Double Chocolate Stout. But the first beer I’ve found specially formulated to match with chocolate is decidedly cocoa-free. Brewed in Belgian Luxembourg, Rulles JeanChris No 1 was commissioned by Chris Gillard of the excellent speciality beer shop Mi Orge Mi Houblon in Arlon, and his friend and colleague, artisanal chocolatier Jean-François Vaux. It’s brewed by Grégory Verhelst’s nearby Rulles brewery, one of the best of a new crop of Wallonian micros, and has since been joined by the darker JeanChris No 2 from the Sainte-Hélène brewery. It’s a warm amber beer with a thick orange-tinged head and a chaffy, slightly sweet, quite spicy and flowery aroma. A rounded malty creamy palate has balanced fruit and bittering Amarillo hops, and there’s a smooth fruity finish with mild hops, notes of roast and peach and a late powdery dryness. The beer is well worth drinking in its own right, but its rich texture matches chocolate’s mouthfeel, the hops cut through the confectionery’s strong flavours and compliment its natural bitterness, and the beer cleanses the palate for the next bite Read more about this beer at ratebeer.com: http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/la-rulles-jean-chris-numero-1/87755/ For more beers tasted with chocolate, see next post. ABV: 4.1%  Humpty Dumpty Bad Egg This beer featured as a British Real Ale in a Bottle on the bottled beer review page in the May 2010 issue of BEER magazine, sent free every quarter to CAMRA members, who can also view it online. The magazine is also available in selected newsagents. For more beers featured in this article, see previous post. Finally to the Norfolk Broads and a dip into the imaginative range of the Humpty Dumpty Brewery at Reedham, founded in 1997 although under new management since 2006. There’s a good lightish bitter on offer here too, Swallowtail, but you’ll find extra personality in recently launched darker bitter Humpty Dumpty Bad Egg (4.1 per cent). Thankfully the aroma doesn’t live up to the name, which refers to the ovular biker cartoon character on the label. Brewed from pale, crystal and chocolate malts and a single hop, Goldings, this is an amber beer with a fine beige head. A peachy, malty and biscuity aroma has notes of sulphur and roast, while a raspberry biscuit palate develops spice and twiggy hops, with some subtle fruity complexity and a hit of hops. The finish is more straightforward, but quite lasting, with a lightly hoppy dryness and some gentle fruit. I recommend you crack one open and enjoy a little eggstacy. Buy this beer from AlesbyMail.com as part of a special pack containing all the beers featured on my beer review page in BEER this month. BEER readers receive a special discount by entering the voucher code shown in the magazine. To download BEER if you’re a CAMRA member, see http://www.camra.org.uk/page.aspx?o=beer. To find out more about CAMRA membership, see http://www.camra.org.uk/page.aspx?o=joinus. Read more about this beer at ratebeer.com: http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/humpty-dumpty-bad-egg/104201/ ABV: 4%  Teignworthy Reel Ale This beer featured as a British Real Ale in a Bottle on the bottled beer review page in the May 2010 issue of BEER magazine, sent free every quarter to CAMRA members, who can also view it online. The magazine is also available in selected newsagents. For more beers featured in this article, see previous post. Another stalwart with an interesting and colourfully presented range is Teignworthy Brewery, based within major visitor attraction Tuckers Maltings at Newton Abbot, Devon. Teignworthy Reel Ale (4 per cent) is a straightforward but more than decent bitter, fresh and fruity with firm hop bite from Fuggles, Goldings, Bramling Cross and Challenger. It’s an amber beer with a little off-white head. A slightly applish autumn fruit and mineral aroma leads to a fine and light palate with nutty malt and pastilles. A slightly acidic palate has old book notes, and there’s a tangy and refreshing slightly astringent finish with burry hops and fruit pie flavours. Buy this beer from AlesbyMail.com as part of a special pack containing all the beers featured on my beer review page in BEER this month. BEER readers receive a special discount by entering the voucher code shown in the magazine. To download BEER if you’re a CAMRA member, see http://www.camra.org.uk/page.aspx?o=beer. To find out more about CAMRA membership, see http://www.camra.org.uk/page.aspx?o=joinus. For more beers featured in this article, see next post. Read more about this beer at ratebeer.com: http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/teignworthy-reel-ale/21999/ ABV: 3.8%  Itchen Valley Godfathers This beer featured as a British Real Ale in a Bottle on the bottled beer review page in the current (May 2010) issue of BEER magazine, sent free every quarter to CAMRA members, who can also view it online. The magazine is also available in selected newsagents. For more beers featured in this article, see previous post. From a brewery of similar vintage (to Teme Valley mentioned in previous post) but in another valley, near Alresford in Hampshire, comes Itchen Valley Godfathers (3.8 per cent). This is the lightest beer in a range well presented with colourful labels, reflecting the parent company’s main business of supplying pub signs. Brewed from pale and crystal barley malt, wheat malt, Progress, Whitbread Goldings Variety, Goldings and Fuggles hops, this is a pale amber ale with a soft foamy off-white head. A fruity spiced orange aroma has a pear note, and there’s strawberry and peach on a creamy and lightly biscuity palate with a whiff of rubber. A cleansing swallow sets up a mild, gently dry finish with a faint roast touch. Overall a balanced and very pleasing beer. Buy this beer from AlesbyMail.com as part of a special pack containing all the beers featured on my beer review page in BEER this month. BEER readers receive a special discount by entering the voucher code shown in the magazine. To download BEER if you’re a CAMRA member, see http://www.camra.org.uk/page.aspx?o=beer. To find out more about CAMRA membership, see http://www.camra.org.uk/page.aspx?o=joinus. For more beers featured in this article, see next post. Read more about this beer at ratebeer.com: http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/itchen-valley-godfathers/5623/ British Real Ale in a Bottle May 2010 ABV: 5%  Teme Valley Brewery This beer featured as a British Real Ale in a Bottle on the bottled beer review page in the May 2010 issue of BEER magazine, sent free every quarter to CAMRA members, who can also view it online. The magazine is also available in selected newsagents. For more beers featured in this article, see previous post. Teme Valley Brewery, founded in 1997 behind the Talbot pub at Knightwick in Worcestershire, is known for its “green hop” beers produced seasonally after each hop harvest, but I prefer its curiously named strong and hearty bottled bitter Teme Valley Wotever Next? (5 per cent). This is a burgundy-tinged deep amber brew with a yellowish head, produced from Maris Otter pale malt, crystal, chocolate and wheat malts and Northdown and Fuggles hops. An earthy, fruity aroma with notes of blackcurrant and toffee apple introduces a mouthful with a good sappy body and nutty and fruity autumnal flavours. There’s dry roast nuts in the pippy finish, with a smack of hops and lingering roasty coloured malt notes. This is one of those rich, chewy beers in the manner of Jennings Sneck Lifter. Buy this beer from AlesbyMail.com as part of a special pack containing all the beers featured on my beer review page in BEER this month. BEER readers receive a special discount by entering the voucher code shown in the magazine. To download BEER if you’re a CAMRA member, see http://www.camra.org.uk/page.aspx?o=beer. To find out more about CAMRA membership, see http://www.camra.org.uk/page.aspx?o=joinus. For more beers featured in this article, see next post. Read more about this beer at ratebeer.com: http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/teme-valley-wotever-next/18384/ |
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