Drink. Blog. Repeat.

If you weren't already aware, I've moved my blog from Tumblr over to my own domain with WordPress. (I made the switch a couple weeks ago but neglected to mention that here.) Same blog as before, just at a new home.

I'll keep my Tumblr account active for pictures and links, but all future updates will be at my new site - http://drinkblogrepeat.com

I’m taking a break from reviews this week to focus on my recent honeymoon in Brussels, Belgium. During the next few days, I’ll be covering my thoughts on the culture, the craft and - of course - the amazing beer and breweries my bride and I enjoyed while on our trip in what many consider to be the mecca of beer.

-----

After a long night's sleep to help recoup from the jetlag, my wife and I decided to spend our second day in Brussels sightseeing and checking what else was around the city. We took a bus ride over to the Atomium, a science exhibit built for the 1958 World Fair, and some other various historic places throughout Brussels.

After grabbing lunch and trying to plan the rest of our day, we were relieved to realize that not more than a five-minute subway ride away was one of the most popular and sought-after breweries among folks in the states: Cantillon.

Founded in 1900, Cantillon is one of original purveyors of traditional lambic beers, including krieks and gueuzes. During the last century, Cantillon's brewing methods have stayed nearly the same: Brewing in only the cooler months of the year to cut down on contamination, using only fresh fruits in their fruit-flavored beers, and continuing to use the original brewhouse.

It's likely you know someone that is a Cantillon freak, and someone who makes it their life's mission to track down and crack open any bottle they can find. I was lucky enough to enjoy a taste of their Classic Gueuze a little while back, so I can understand what the fuss is about. But while the beer is great in its own right, the physical brewery itself is also a marvel.

After walking through the big wooden doors at the brewery's entrance, you step into the tasting room, where you're greeted by either the owners, Jean-Pierre Van Roy and his wife, Claude, or their daughters Jean and Julie. On the day we went, we were met by his daughters (I believe) who took our €6 admittance, gave us a short five-minute introduction to the brewery and then let us on our way.

It's hard to believe in a brewery as historic and sensitive as Cantillon, visitors are allowed to tour the entire place by themselves and at their leisure.

The first stop is the brewing area. The wheat and barely are milled on the floor above, then boiled two hours, decanted and filtered. The wort is then pumped up to the floor above and the solids are collected to sell off as animal fodder.

From there, we took a narrow staircase to the second floor where the hop boilers and crushing machine are located. The hop boilers use a propeller to mix the aged hops (about 3 years old) with the wort. Next to that is the crushing machine, which mills the grain, and the hot water tanks, which hold 5,000 liters of water used for brewing.

Up another narrow staircase is the granary, where all the wheat, malted barely and hops are stored from the middle of October through April, which is the period of time Cantillon brews all its beer. What was really interesting to learn about was how they aged hops instead of fresh hops. Older hops have more tannin, a natural preservative, than fresh hops do, which helps keep the beers fresher. Since we were there in the middle of summer, the granary was sadly void of delicious hops.

Above the granary is the coolship, the shallow open copper tray that helps quickly cool the wort and mix it with the ambient air. The wort is pumped from the hop boilers and allowed to cool in the open air overnight. The wild yeast in the brewery has been cultivated for years, and the openings on the other side of the coolship are used to help keep it thriving. And during the cooler months, there's less chance of wild agents getting mixed in.

From there, we moved on the barrel room. The wort is pumped into oak and chestnut casks where fermentation takes between three weeks and a month, after which time the cask is sealed and allowed to sit. The lambics undergo spontaneous fermentation as the wild yeast reacts with the sugars as it sees fit. During our walkthrough, we saw barrels that had been there for three years, and would later be used in gueuzes. 

When the beer is ready to be bottled, the brewers taste around 10 barrels and select between six and eight of them to bottle. (Lambics are finicky, so the brewers want to make sure to get the best, one-, two- and three-year batches for bottling.) The beer is pumped into tuns for filtering. For fruit beers - krieks, peches, etc. - 150 kg (330 lbs) of fresh fruit is mixed with 500 liters (132 gallons) of lambic and allowed to sit for another three months.

Down below the barrel room is the barrel cleaning room. After being pressure washed as needed, the barrels are steam cleaned to remove microorganisms, then filled with chains and hot water, sealed and hooked up to a machine that rotates it. The chains scrape the inside surface and the water rinses it. After being cleaned one more time with hot water, the barrels are drip-dried and then ready to go again.

The beer in the tuns above the barrels cleaning room is pumped through a reservoir to a machine that can fill 1,200 750 ml. bottles an hour. They're then plugged with a cork, capped, put on a conveyor belt and stored horizontally in their cellar. The cellar holds about 13,500 bottles of all the lambics they make, most of which sits there for at least three years before being sold.

I suggest you have a clean pair of pants ready before looking at this next photo.

And that concluded my tour of the brewery. All that walking with a gaping mouth left me plenty thirsty, so my wife and I hit the tasting room to enjoy the spoils.

Each tour comes with two free beers: The Gueuze 100% Lambic Bio, their organic gueuze, and then either the Kriek 100% Lambic or their signature lambic.

The gueuze was amazing. Slightly biting and not nearly as tart as the Classic Gueuze, with a slight sweetness, easy drinkability and just enough sourness left on your lips to leave you wanting more. My wife is no fan of sours, but she loved it, so that says something.

While I opted for the classic lambic, my wife went for the kriek. Both were picture-perfect versions of their respective styles. The lambic was soft on the palate, yet with a good tart sting and a smooth mouthfeel. The kriek absolutely exploded with rich, tart cherries. Both were just phenomenal. We both opted for an extra glass, this time of the Rose de Gambrinus - an amazing cascade of delicious raspberries - as we marveled in what the day had brought us.

Cantillon is without question the most amazing and eye-opening brewery I've ever had the luck of visiting. For people who are really passionate about beer and beer history, it's hard to not wax poetic about the place. The history coupled with the importance it held and still holds to the lambic style and Belgian beer history is unmatched. Walking through the physical brewery and knowing you're in the middle of a century-old institution - one that still does what it set out to do in 1900 - is humbling. The brewers are meticulous, perfectionists and clearly people who put heart into every drop of beer they make, and that perfection is clear in every sip.

As I said after my first taste of Cantillon earlier this year, I now see what all the fuss is about.

I'm taking a break from reviews this week to focus on my recent honeymoon in Brussels, Belgium. During the next few days, I'll be covering my thoughts on the culture, the craft and - of course - the amazing beer and breweries my bride and I enjoyed while on our trip in what many consider to be the mecca of beer.

-----

On Aug. 5, I found myself aboard a plane heading across the ocean. Beside me was my newlywed wife, Whitney. Behind us was Columbia, where the day before we were married. And ahead of us was our honeymoon destination: Brussels, Belgium.

Whitney and I are both big beer geeks, and we both love Europe and have traveled the country extensively with our families. So when I first suggested Brussels as our honeymoon locale, she was quick to second the thought.

"Why, of all the places in the world, did you pick Belgium?" was a question I was constantly asked. The answer was easy enough: Great food, great history, great sights. And of course, great, great beer.

For beer geeks, Belgium is a bucket list location. There are approximately 178 breweries scattered throughout the country and some 450 different kinds of beers produced. It's the birthplace of lambics, gueuzes, krieks, dubbels, trippels and quads. It's the place where every restaurant and brasserie has dozens of beers on tap, each served in its own specific glassware. It's a place where beer is ingrained in its history. It is - in a word - heaven.

So, Brussels is was. After checking in to our hotel on Monday, Aug. 6, we showered and went to explore the city. We were located directly across from the main train station and less than five minutes from the main eating and shopping districts. After exploring for a couple hours and deciding to crash for a bit, we returned to the hotel to find a welcome gift waiting for us, courtesy of my parents.

Along with boxes of chocolates and cookies was a sort of Belgian beer sampler, including two bottles of Stella Artois, two Chimay blues and two Leffes. (I would go on to find out that Stella, Leffe and Hoegaarden are the Bud/Miller/Coors equivalent in Belgium. They're everywhere.) Nothing too fancy, but a great gift to come back to.

We decided to crack open a bottle of Stella and see how it differed from the stateside version. Suprisingly enough, it was noticeably different. And better. It was still crisp and bubbly, but had a peppery note instead of the sweetness of the one prevalent in the U.S. (I guess that's because it's fresher?) Still definitely a Stella, but with a bit more bite.

After napping for a couple hours, we ventured out to find a place to grab dinner. We didn't have to go far. About 10 minutes from our hotel was A la Mort Subite (translation: "Sudden Death"), a cafe in Brussels named after a series of lambics produced by the Alken-Maes brewery.

The food at A la Mort Subite was good enough, but the beers they had on tap were stellar. There was the gueuze - my first ever on draft - which leaned more to the sweet side than the tart side; the peche and kriek, which were both rich, sweet, incredibly flavorful and just phenomenal; and the witte lambic, a sweeter, fuller version of the traditional lambic.

After dinner, we wandered the streets until we ended up at the Delirium Cafe, which I had heard was a bit touristy, but still a place you want to be if you love Belgian beer. There cafe is divided into three levels: The floor level is a taproom with some 30 different draft Belgian beers; the top floor is the Hop Lounge, which showcases American and European craft beers; and the bottom level is where you can have your pick from a literal phone book of beers.

For a Monday night, the bar was packed and rowdy. There were definitely a lot of younger European tourists on hand and the music was blasting, but it still had a relaxed and chill atmosphere to it. And the bartenders seemed to be enjoying themselves, too, what with the grab ass and flicking bottle caps at each other.

There was so much to choose from and it was getting harder to fight sleep, so I opted to try the Floris Honey from Brouwerij Huyghe, which also makes Delirium, and the Cookie Beer from Brasserie d'Ecaussinnes. Both tasted exactly as you would expect them to and made for a nice dessert.

Westbrook Brewing Co.

Mt. Pleasant, SC

Citrus Ninja Exchange Double IPA

9% ABV

About a year ago, Westbook got a little hot and heavy with the guys at the Charleston Beer Exchange. Both were turned on by their mutual love for citrus-forward IPAs, and when their love was consummated, they birthed a beautiful - and delicious - bundle of joy known as Citrus Ninja Exchange. The Cascade single-hopped DIPA was stuffed with 50 lbs. of grapefruit, then dry-hopped four times. Needless to say, it was hoppy, juicy and heavy on the citrus.

Or so I've heard. The first born was a draft-only concoction that I never got to try. But this year, they got together again and gave that first brew a younger brother, this time with a simpler malt bill and a blend of American and New Zealand hops for Citrus Ninja 2.0.

Ninja pours a classic deep, hazy orange color. There's about half a finger of head that disappears pretty quickly, as you'd expect a 9 percenter would. That's coupled with some very nice lacing and alcohol legs.

If they were going for a citrus-foward beer, they achieved it in spades. The grapefruit wafts out of the glass as you're pouring, and there's just an epic grapefruit note on the nose.  It's very astringent and a tad boozy. Just imagine sticking your face in a freshly cut grapefruit and inhaling. It's like that, but with less pulp.

Tastewise, there's a slight bitterness on the tongue and a medium mouthfeel. There's sort of a syrupy sweetness and a New Belgian-esque bready maltiness to it. Of course, that's all taken over by the gigantic explosion of grapefruit on the back. It seriously tastes like eating pure grapefruit. The alcohol burn on the middle and back of the palate are exactly what you'd get from a fresh grapefruit. There are also hints of other citrus - lime, lemon, orange - but it's overwhelmingly grapefruit centric. There's also sort of a pulpy aftertaste and a dry finish. The beer, in a word, is amazing.

Westbrook Brewing Co.

Mt. Pleasant, SC

Brett & No Mices Belgian-style Pale Ale

6.4% ABV

I really do love what Brett can do to a beer, imparting a good funk but a nice, rich taste and sweetness. I also love barrel-aged beers, what with their oakiness and slight bite. And, I love Westbrook, easily South Carolina's most adventurous brewery, which continues to crank out one awesome beer after another.

So when Westbrook puts out a Belgian-style pale ale brewed with Brett, aged in barrels for 10 months and then dry-hopped, well ... I'm probably going to love it. That's just what Brett & No Mices is, another entry in the Mt. Pleasant brewery's barrel room series (and quite a barrel room it is).

This baby pours a murky copper orange color with about two fingers of a tight white bubbly head. There's a really nice carbonation streaming up the edges of the glass. The lacing's pretty weak and it's got some mild alcohol legs to it, but it's quite a nice looking brew.

A big Brett funk and a major oak character punches you in the nose on first whiff. There's a touch of fruits, maybe a slight pineapple or orange. Definitely some wine characteristics, and a bit of apple and pear.

On the tip of the tongue you get a slight pinch of tartness. It's got kind of a lighter mouthfeel and really good carbonation throughout. The funk is very prevalent on the end and the oak really shines through right at the back. I got a very mild toffee and raisin flavor toward the middle of the palate. It's got a dry finish, which is a nice way to end it.

On Monday, after returning from our honeymoon, my wife and I sat down to unwrap and organize the mountain of gifts we received at our wedding a couple weeks ago. There was a lot of the standard fare: place settings, silverware, serving dishes and entertaining goods, etc. But mixed among those were a couple gifts that stood out. One was a photo of my wife and I from the night we first met about two-and-a-half years ago from the friend who introduced us. It's a great little memento that means more than any of the higher-priced gifts we received.

And then, there was this:

That is a gift from our friend Josh, his girlfriend and two of our other friends. The time and effort that went into the box was impressive enough, but it's what's inside the floored us.

Josh, a burgeoning homebrewer - along with the three others who helped bankroll the effort - brewed us a Russian imperial stout aged with oak chips and Four Roses Single Barrel bourbon, and then bottled it in 22 oz. bombers. (I got to try a little bit at my bachelor party, so I speak with authority when I say it's really, really good.) In the box we received were six bottles and simple instructions: to enjoy one bottle of the beer every six months and think back on our wedding day. Therefor, the bottles in the box have us covered for the next two-and-a-half years.

But it doesn't stop there. In total, there are 24 bottles, each to be enjoyed six months after the other. That means that my wife and I will be able to sit down, crack open a bottle and reminisce over some great homemade beer every six months for 12 years. Twelve. Years.

We got some really expensive gifts, mostly from friends of our parents. But our friends opted for the fun, funky and original gifts, which mean more to me than the $300 knife block or the $100 serving trays. But this ... this takes the cake. I've always been the kind of person to appreciate original and self-made gifts, mostly because it's kind of flattering to know someone took the time to make something specifically for me.

That makes this easily one of the best gifts I've ever received.

To know someone - anyone - took the time, effort, patience and skill to not only think of, but also put together a gift such as this is humbling. We've always known Josh is a great friend of ours, but this will be a constant reminder of just how great of a person he is, and how much he and the others behind the gift love us.

Affligem Brouwerij

Opwijk, Belgium

Belgian tripel

9.5% ABV

With my honeymoon to Belgium quickly approaching - and with my wife and I being big beer geeks - we were bombarded with bottles of all shapes and sizes, with many of them coming from the country we would soon visit.

Affligem, while a solid Belgian tripel, is a bit misleading. The beer promotes itself as an abbey ale (one being brewed at a monastery) but is actually a subsidiary brand of Heineken brewed at an offsite brewery. I guess it's kind of like Blue Moon promoting itself as an independent craft beer, yet being owned by MillerCoors. Shame.

Whatever. It's rude not to appreciate a gift.

The beer pours a gorgeous crystal clear sunset orange. There's a very bubbly head on top but it doesn't last for long. The beer almost looks like a champagne with tons of carbonation streaming up the middle and sides of the glass. The lacing falls off fast but the alcohol legs stick around. It really is a gorgeous looking beer.

It's an unmistakable classic Belgian tripel on the nose. There are big pear and banana notes with a really effervescent, bubbly smell. There's definitely a lot of malt and sort of a muted sweetness as well.

The body is very light and crisp and there's a huge wash of carbonation throughout the mouth. As that fades on the back, a really sweet bread and strong maltiness shines through, as do flavors of green apples, pears, bananas and a little clove. At 9.5%, you don't get the alcohol at all. It's got a very dry finish.

Shmaltz Brewing Co.

Saratoga Springs, NY/San Francisco, CA

Funky Jewbelation American Strong Ale

9.8% ABV

I've had mixed results with Shamltz's "bigger is better mentality." Sometimes, it's left me disappointed and wanting me. Other times, it's left me staring at the bar top wondering how I was going to make it home that night. But most of the time, they fall into the "not good, but not bad" territory.

Regardless, I respect what they're trying to do and the originality they bring to the brewing universe with beers such as Funky Jewbelation, a barrel-aged strong ale that comes in just shy of 10%. But it's not just any barrel-aged beer; it's one aimed at putting others to shame.

Six of Shmatlz's different beers are aged in different barrels, with 73% ending up in whiskey barrels and 27% being put in bourbon barrels. Those beers are:

Jewbelation Fifteen (aged for three months);

Vintage Jewbelation (aged for nine months);

Bittersweet Lenny's R.I.P.A. (aged for one month);

Origin (aged for 14 months);

Reunion Ale '11 (aged for 7 months); and

Messiah (aged for 14 months).

Damn. All right, let's get to it. 

The beer pours black as night. It's a little lighter brown toward the top but really murky throughout. Topped with a finger of a blink-and-miss-it head. The lacing falls off fast but alcohol legs go for weeks.

It's super boozy on the nose (duh). Like stick-your-face-in-a-bourbon-barrel boozy. Just incredibly strong and almost overpowering. There's definitely a whiskey character as well, but the bourbon is the stronges. There's dark chocolate and dark fruits as well, but the booze is what hits you the most.

But oh, the taste. There's a surprisingly strong carbonation on the front and a medium body mouthfeel follows, but the flavors on the end are spectacular. That booziness from the nose is masked with big globs of caramel, plums, figs, tart cherries, nuts and dark chocolate. It's like a bouquet of deliciousness. To boot, it's got a decadently smooth finish, like velvet. The booze is there, but it's all bourbon coated and incredibly smooth.

I unfortunately couldn't make it through a whole bottle of Funky Jewbelation, but I'm OK with that. It's definitely something I would recommend sharing with a few folks, if only to see what different flavors and notes they pick up on. The barrel aging is unmistakable on the beer, and the blending techniques and various ages really brings out an impressively complex beer. L'Chaim once again.

-----

New Belgium Brewing Co. - Fort Collins, CO

The Lost Abbey (Port Brewing Co.) - San Marcos, CA

Lips of Faith: Brett Beer American Wild Ale

7.5% ABV

In my recent review of Brux I talked about collaboration beers and how they give drinkers a chance to sample something from a brewery they might not otherwise get to try. One of those beers was the Lips of Faith Brett Beer, an American wild ale cooked up by New Belgium in Colorado and The Lost Abbey in California. (The version brewed by Lost Abbey is called Mo' Betta Bretta.)

Brett Beer is - surprise, surprise - brewed with Brettanomyces, a yeast strain any beer geek worth their salt knows all too well. For a brewery with "Belgium" in its name, it's not surprising they decided to give the finicky Belgian yeast a chance to shine, along with Sorachi Ace, Target and Centennial hops for added pop. The result is a bready, Brett-y and juicy beer.

The pour is a really nice deep golden yellow color. It's a bit hazy as a beer of the style would look. Topped with a finger of a head, though it dissipates quickly, and some really nice lacing and alcohol legs.

The nose is unmistakable. There's definitely a strong Brett funk that hits first. It's that classic wet hay kind of smell backed with a bit of tartness. You definitely get a good bread character to it, as well a sort of a sweeter green grape and citrus note as well.

There's a nice wash of carbonation over the front of the palate first, followed with just a very mild tartness that pinches the front of the tongue and back of the throat. The taste buds really open up, and the flavors really pop on the end. Big juicy fruits - orange, a bit of apricot, some papaya - are the most prevalent. There's also a nice lemon note to it as well. The sour notes aren't around too long, and the solid mouthfeel mellows into a juicy aftertaste.

Brewery Ommegang

Cooperstown, NY

Art of Darkness Belgian Strong Dark Ale

8.9% ABV

While Ommegang's year-round offerings are all pretty great, I've found their limited edition beers to be some of the New York brewery's best, and ones that put a really great twist on their Belgian-style beers.

Art of Darkness is one of the newest of those limited edition beers. According to the label, the only thing that went into brewing this nearly 9% strong ale was a variety of barley and wheat malts and some flaked oats. Seems pretty simple, but the result is magic. (Sorry, I had to stick with the Harry Potter vibe.)

The beer pours a deep, dank brown that's more of a black toward the bottom, but there's no light getting through. There's barely a half finger of head that's gone quickly. Very strong lacing and alcohol legs, as expected.

On the nose, there are these big globs of brown sugar, molasses and figs. Definitely a thick sticky sweetness to it as well. There are also those traditional Belgian notes, with a little bit of banana and clove. Only a slight booziness to it.

The taste starts off like a champagne, with big, strong carbonation on the front of the tongue. It does a good job of opening the taste buds, which is good, since Art of Darkness has a huge range of flavors to it. Plums, figs, molasses and burnt caramel are the most prevalent tastes. But what's the most surprising is the roasted character. There's a big coffee flavor that really lingers on the end. It is a bit boozy, but the carbonation makes it really drinkable. And for a rich beer, the mouthfeel is surprisingly light and bubbly.

Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. - Chico, CA 

Russian River Brewing Co. - Santa Rosa, CA

Brux Domesticated Wild Ale

8.3% ABV

One of the things I really like about collaboration beers is that it gives people the chance to sample an offering from a brewery they might not otherwise get to try. Recently, there's been the New Belgium/Lost Abbey Brett Beer collaboration, and of course all the collaboration offerings from Stone. In South Carolina, we don't get Lost Abbey or most of the breweries Stone team up with, so it's nice to say you've tried something that at least has the name of an out-of-reach brewery on it.

And while 'round these parts we get plenty of stuff from Sierra Nevada, we're a long way away from anywhere that stocks Russian River. (Although that hasn't stopped me from getting my hands on most of their sours and Pliny the Elder.) Fortunately, we can now count Russian River among the ranks of East Coast beers thanks to Brux, the "domesticated" wild ale they cooked up with Sierra Nevada.

Coming in at 8.3% and bottle conditioned with  Brettanomyces bruxellensis, Brux is a cellerable sour that promises to develop nicely over time. But I have little patience, so let's get into it.

Brux pours a gorgeous sunset orange color that's beautifully clear. There are a couple fingers of a head on top but it barely lasts long enough to appreciate it. No lacing on it but some fairly strong alcohol legs.

A big punch of Brett funk hits you first on the nose, exactly what you'd expect from a beer that trumpets the yeast of its label. It smells very effervescent, bubbly, light and crisp. There's a big yeasty note to it and a chewy breadiness as well. That's topped with a touch of sweetness, a bit of grass and a wisp of peppers, apples and lemon.

On the front of the tongue is a big pinch of tartness. The carbonation completely washes over your mouth and pops open the taste buds. It's got a medium but bubbly mouth feel. The tartness is very mild on the back at first but then explodes into this sweet yeast, along with some light raisins, green apples and grapes. There are very mild hints of apricots, bananas, honey and some citrus. It's topped with a nice dry finish on the back and a slight white wine note.

Sours are a new territory for Sierra Nevada, but the folks at Russian River know what they're doing when it comes to making a great tart beer. Brux is a departure from many beers in the style as it's pleasantly tart on the front, but settles more on the back, stopping just shy of being lip-puckingly sour. The "domesticated" part of the name makes sense when you look at it that way.

Dogfish Head Craft Brewery

Milton, DE

URKontinent Belgian-style Dubbel

8.0% ABV

Dogfish Head keeps cranking them out, I keep drinking them up.

URKontinent is a collaboration between Dogfish and, of all people, Google, who set up a forum of sorts on their website to crowdsource ingredients to brew with. What they came up with was wattleseed from Australia; toasted amaranth, an herb from South America; green rooibos tea from Africa; myrcia gale, a flowering plant from Europe; and honey from Google's own farms in California. It's kind of like Pangaea - sans Antarctic water - insofar as it's a worldly beer, and fitting for two worldly companies.

The beer pours a s lightly hazy deep brown color, kind of a murky dank-looking color. There's a finger of head that's gone pretty quickly, leaving behind a nice film of small bubbles. Good lacing and decent alcohol legs as well.

The smell is a class dubbel. Those big sweet plum and fig notes are really present on the nose. There are bits of coffee notes and chocolate as well. There's a sweetness from the honey, a slight bread note and a little bit of an herbal touch as well. Interesting slight twist for a dubbel

Toward the front and middle of the mouth, it's a classic dubbel. You get those big sweet fig, raisin and plum notes that linger nicely. But on the back end, there's this big burst of herbs and honey. The herbal notes really shine through on the back as well. The rooibos really gives it a tea taste.

Stone Brewing Co.

San Diego, CA

Smoked Porter (w/ Vanilla Bean and w/ Chipotle Peppers)

5.9% ABV

I'm quick to pick up anything new that Stone puts out. I'm usually at the store the week something new comes out to pick it up, and it doesn't usually last long in my fridge. And when it comes to their year-round slate, I've had everything before, and multiple times at that.

Except for one: their 5.9% Smoked Porter.

It was always one of those beers I'd see and think, "Maybe I should pick it up this time," but I never did. I wasn't against trying it - I love porters and smoked beer - but I just never bothered to grab a bottle. Of course, now that Stone's gone and made two new variations of the beer, it was the perfect time to finally pick it up.

The names of the beers speak for themselves. The brewery took the base of Smoked Porter and added fresh vanilla beans in one batch and chipotle peppers in the other. Both variations have been available on tap and cask at the brewery for a while, but this is the first time they've bottled them.

The pour on all three is the same: A very deep, dark brown verging on a black, with a finger of a bubbly head that dissipates quickly, along with some mild lacing and nice alcohol legs.

On the original, the nose has a big campfire smoke with a little bit of bacon and smoked meats to. There's sort of a very dull sweetness on the back, like a really dark chocolate or cocoa. The vanilla bean on that variation hits strong. There's more smoke at first but the vanilla really shines as it warms. Same with the chipotle. It's really smokey at first but there's a lot more heat as it warms up.

The smoke absolutely explodes on the tongue on the original. There's a huge lingering smoked wood taste. It's verging on a rauch beer but slightly more subdued. Dark chocolate is present on the back as well as a definite espresso or dark coffee too. At just under 6%, it's a much lighter and easy drinking porter.

On the vanilla bean variation, that same smokiness is what's present at first, but the fresh vanilla bean just explodes on the back end. It lingers for a good long while, too. It's a good clean vanilla tasty, not overly sweet or artificial. Same with the chipotle. The smoke and the peppers blend together perfectly. The heat is very present, but not overpowering, and it becomes a lot more prevalent as it warms.

The consensus among reviews that I've seen is that the vanilla bean variation is the better of the two, but I lean a little more toward the chipotle version. I generally hate chipotle beers, but the smoke and the heat on this one was perfect and extremely enjoyable. The vanilla bean was definitely great as well, and the sweetness of the beans mixed with the smoke was a great idea.

Dogfish Head Craft Brewery

Milton, DE

Pangaea Belgian Pale Ale

7% ABV

And again we go back to Dogfish Head, this time for one that's been around a while, but I've never gotten to try.

Pangaea is a Belgian pale ale originally designed to be a way to unite people during the holidays as one would unite the continents before they shifted into the world as we know it. And of course, with it being Dogfish, there's nothing simple about this beer.

The beer is brewed with an ingredient taken from each contient, including: Australian crystalized ginger; Asian basmati rice; Africa muscavado sugar; South American quinoa; European yeast; North American maize; and - my favorite - water from Antarctica. Again, another mouthful of ingredients.

(Note: The particular bottle I had was bottled in 2010 and has been in my cellar for about a year. Results may vary if you find a younger batch.)

The beer pours a really nice deep orange, almost brown in color. There's a slight haziness to it which fades as it warms. Topped with a finger of bubbly head. Not much lacing but some surprisingly strong alcohol legs.

Ginger's the first big thing on the nose, and that's backed with a musty sweetness and a big bread quality. The mustiness is a bit off-putting, but the honey does an interesting job of balancing it. The grains definitely give it kind of a fresh-baked bread quality. Overall, it's a big, thick, funky and bready beer.

The honey and ginger are the first tastes that really pop on the tongue. There's a nice medium body along with some slight carbonation. As it settles on the back, it's as if eating a spoonful of honey. Very thick and syrupy sweetness with a bit of caramel to it. A slight hop bite as well. That big bread note is very present as it warms and pops up on the end, lingering along with the sweeter flavors. Big grain quality and big rich somewhat cloying sweetness are what's the most noticeable.

Founders Brewing Co.

Grand Rapids, MI

Frangelic Mountain Brown Ale

9% ABV

Oh, Founders. How I love you so. Not only are your year-round and seasonal beers great, but your Backstage Series really shows just how awesome you really are.

First, there was Blushing Monk, the awesome Belgian ale brewed with raspberries. Then, one of the holiest of holies, Canadian Breakfast Stout, a chocolate and coffee stout which hung out in bourbon barrels used to age maple syrup. (Side note: One of the best beers I've ever had. Duh.) That was followed with Curmudgeon's Better Half, a take on your old ale brewed with molasses, aged on oak and then aged again for nearly a year in bourbon barrels also used to age maple syrup. All phenomenal, and I'm happy to welcome Frangelic Mountain Brown to the club.

The beer is, surprisingly, the brewery's first brown ale. It's brewed with hazelnut coffee - which I friggin' love - and then bottled for your drinking pleasure. No fancy aging, no bourbon barrels, just a straight-up brown ale with hazelnut awesomeness.

So, why is it part of such an illustrious collection of beers? Because it's so damn good.

The pour is - surprisingly enough - brown, but with hits of amber around the curves of the glass. Two fingers of a  creamy off-white head tops it and sticks around. Very nice lacing and alcohol legs as well.

I absolutely love anything with hazelnuts in it, so the nose on this was heavenly. There's a huge creamy hazelnut coffee right off the bat, along with a big chocolate note. It's a very creamy smelling. 

The taste is absolutely positively delicious. It's a little light on the front of the tongue and has a lighter body, but the flavor explodes on the back. It doesn't play around. It's just straight hazelnuts and coffee. There's a great roasted taste and a really smooth nuttiness from the hazelnut. It all settles into a surprisingly creamy chocolate taste. Just a slight hint of the alcohol, too.