1001 Beers

Beer No: 74
Page No: 909
Category: Specialty

It's really a shame that this bottle, like the Duchesse I had yesterday just didn't hold up at some point in its journey from Belgium to my fridge.  I don't think it was an exceptionally old bottle, so it's confusing as to how two almost identical sour beers both ended up ruined in my fridge.  They hadn't been exposed to any extreme temperature changes and have been in the same box as many other beers I bought at BevMo for these tastings.  Yet both were drain pours.  It's odd, unexplainable, and just as crazy as Anheuser-Busch making a hot air balloon...

That bottle — a hot air balloon — was being inflated on the grounds at Cameron Balloons, which designs and constructs custom-made hot air balloons.

Their recent creation was commissioned by Anheuser-Busch, Inc.

Being called Flight 55, the balloon replica of a bottle of Select 55 beer will be used to promote the product at festivals around the country this summer, according to Anheuser-Busch. The tour will be "a summer long journey to find the most interesting festivals and foods in the country."

http://www.annarbor.com/news/giant-beer-bottle-spotted-in-dexter/

Yes, because what says great taste, complex flavors, and wonderful beer like a custom made hot air balloon?  I guess when the Wall Street Journal reports:

Light beer is in a slump. Advertising Age reported this week that U.S. sales of the biggest brands are in an alarming slide, with Bud Light down 5.3% this year and Miller Lite off 7.5%. Is this but a recessionary blip or are we finally witnessing a great consumer revolt against shamefully bad beer, shamelessly promoted?

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704875604575280522341919974.html#articleTabs=article

Lite beer has to do something outrageous and crazy, so why not a giant balloon?  I guess with so much of the market it doesn't really matter.  InBev competes with Molson-Coors and that's about it.  Leave the craft beer making to the craft breweries.  Keep making your fizzy, yellow crap, and we'll all be happy.

My review, cross-posted at RateBeer.com:

Bios Vlaamse Bourgogne by Brouwerij Van Steenberge

Aroma: 6/10
Appearance: 3/5
Taste: 5/10
Palate: 3/5
Overall: 11/20

Rating: 2.8 / 5.0

Re-Rate June 6, 2010
Poured from 11.2 oz. bottle. Dark brown/red pour with tan head that leaves just a film behind. Aroma is sweet, fruity, with slight sourness and hints of vinegar. Taste is slightly off. Very sweet, sugar, sour apples, orange, vinegar, and just a bit of tartness. Finish is astringent, sticky, sour, and vinegar. Perhaps not a bottle representative of the beer, but I remember having another bottle after my initial rating and before this one that I was not impressed with at all, so it seems my initial rating was just off, or the quality has decline precipitously.

March 28, 2009 Rating:
A pleasant sour ale. Small bottle, pours a light reddish yellow with an adequate head and slight lacing. Aroma is fruity, cherries, sugar, a bit musty as well. I like the flavor of this ale, better than the Flemish Primitive I had before. Sweet with a cherry, earthy finish. Not too sweet or sour, just right for a Flemish in my opinion.

Original Rating (Mar. 28, 2009): 7/4/7/3/16/3.7

Beer No: 73
Page No: 877
Category: Specialty

It really is a shame when good beer goes bad.  I can't quite remember where I picked up this specific bottle of Duchesse de Bourgogne, but in the process of shipping it to Belgium, stocking it on the shelves, and waiting to be purchased, something went horribly wrong.  And, judging by the reviews on RateBeer.com, I'm not the only one it's been happening to.  The problem is, when I originally rated this beer back in January of 2009, I liked it.  The bottle I bought back then must have been fresh, exhibiting a malty sweetness that balanced the tart sourness perfecty.  Unfortunately, this time, the taste was completely off.  There were heavy alcohol flavors and vinegar off-flavors that just shouldn't have been there.

The real problem I have is that printed right on the bottle is "Best Before Feburary, 2011."  Now, I'm way short of that "Best Before" date and still the beer was rancid and an immediate drain pour.  I even offered it up to someone else at the house and he knew right away that something was wrong with it.  There's usually always two different sour ales available at most beer stores in the area - this and the Monk's Cafe Flemish Sour Ale (review tomorrow).  This is clearly the better of the two, but only when you get a good bottle, and it seems there's been a rash of bad bottles and it will easily turn people off from ever buying this brand again - and perhaps from ever buying sour ales again - which is the true shame.

Since I know this bottle had gone bad, I will not be re-rating it, instead here's my review from January, 2009 when I know I had a good bottle.  If I were to rate it today, it would have been a 2.3 (or maybe a bit lower when I put the ratings in category by category).  But hopefully my original rating still represents the bottles that the majority of people are able to buy here in the U.S.

My review, cross-posted at RateBeer.com:

Verhaeghe Duchesse de Bourgogne by Verhaeghe

Aroma: 8/10
Appearance: 3/5
Taste: 8/10
Palate: 4/5
Overall: 15/20

Rating: 3.8 / 5.0

2009.01.11 - From Bottle. I’m a fan of sour ales and found this one to be a welcome departure from the norm. The smell is tart fruits with malts, a very pleasant aroma. Color is reddish-brown (more brown) with little foaming and good lacing. I expected a bit more tartness when I tasted it, but it ends with a sweetness that was quite unexpected. The more I got into it, the more I enjoyed it. Though a bit more sourness would have been a welcome addition. In all, a very strong beer, and I’m glad I picked it up.

Beer No: 43/1001
Page No: 900
Category: Specialty

After last night's Cinco de Mayo festivities, I had planned on having more Mexican-inspired beers featured, but, alas, the margaritas took over and the beers stopped flowing.  So here is the first of two Jolly Pumpkin features - after which, I'll head back south of the border and finish off two more Mexican beers.

As I browse through 1001 Beers, it's been great to read all the articles on the different breweries, brewmasters, and origins of each beer.  As the book is broken down into five categories - Amber, Blond, White, Dark & Specialty, I think the specialty beers are really starting to grow on me - but that's probably because the specialty beers include all the sour beers - one of my favorite beer styles.  In fact, if you're going to be down in SoCal in July, you have to try and make it to the Stone Sour Fest.  I went last year and it was spectacular.  There were countless beer stations, all serving 5-15 sour beers, the weather was perfect (albeit a bit hot, but still...that's what beer is for), and the setting in the Stone World Bistro and Gardens was delightful.  If I had to attend one festival a year though, I'd be torn...Belgian Beer Festival at Pizza Port or Stone Sour Fest?  A very tough decision, luckily, one I don't have to make.

But back to La Roja, this "Amber Ale" seemed more like a Red to me - it's even called "The Red One" in Spanish.  But, it's labeled as an Artisan Amber Ale on the label, so an Amber (Specialty) beer it is.  Making full use of the oak aging, La Roja is a complicated beer.  Malty, tangy, sour, it's a wonderfully complex beer that finishes wonderfully sweet and sour at the same time.  If you can get your hands on this (or any of Jolly Pumpkin's fine aged beers), I'd say go for it.  Even if you don't like the beer itself (which is unlikely), it'll be a different experience and broaden your beer-drinking horizons.

My review, cross-posted at RateBeer.com:

Jolly Pumpkin La Roja from Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales

Aroma: 8/10
Appearance: 4/5
Taste: 9/10
Palate: 4/5
Overall: 16/20

Rating: 4.1 / 5.0

Had from bottle from Total Wine & More. Pours a wonderful reddish-brown, featuring more red than brown and a slightly off-white head that lingers until the finish. Aroma of sour cherries, oak, yeast, and fruit. Taste is complex - sweet and sour, a bit funky with hints of cherries, apples, oak woodiness, and malts. Finishes less sour than the nose would indicate with a bit of hops at the end. Wonderfully complex and tasty.

Beer No: 24/1001
Page No: 911
Category: Specialty

As I mentioned previously with my recipe for pizza, I had planned on having a few slices of homemade pizza with a Hop 15 from Port Brewing, however, I knew something was wrong when I took the cap off.  The cork underneath was soaked through...I gingerly removed the cork and miraculously didn't get pieces of it in the beer, however, one whiff and I could tell it was bad.  I poured some into a pint glass and took a few sips, but it was just not to be.  Off flavors abounded and I knew this poor ale had gone from bad to worse.  I guess cellaring this beer for 8 years just wasn't the best idea.  Also, over the years, I know it wasn't always cellared properly, but still, it's a bottle I'll keep as it is hand-numbered and a wonderful souvenir from the best pizza place in SoCal.  And at least the pizza turned out pretty well.  I'll probably go back to the pan method since trying to get it onto the pizza stone was a chore.

So I went out to the fridge searching for something else that would go well with my pizza.  I pulled out this Geuze, not even knowing that it was in the book and enjoyed it immensely.  Tart beers like this are hit or miss and this Oud Beersel really hits the mark.  It's got a great story as well.  1001 Beers notes that brewing was halted in 2002.  Gert Christiaens and his father Joe purchased the brewery in 2005 and contracted out to have Brouwerij Boon brew their wort.  It's then transported to the brewery where they age it, combine it, and make this wonderful geuze.  Wonderfully tart with hints of citrus, hops, and yeast, I really enjoyed this beer and need to get a few more...I just can't remember how much it cost, but it probably wasn't cheap.

My review, cross-posted at RateBeer.com:

Oud Beersel Oude Geuze from Brouwerij Oud Beersel

Aroma: 8/10
Appearance: 3/5
Taste: 9/10
Palate: 4/5
Overall: 15/20

Rating: 3.9 / 5.0

Pours cloudy yellow with good sized head which sticks around for a while. Aroma of citrus and sourness. A very refreshing taste with a nice sour finish. Hints of citrus, apples, hops, and yeast. Carbonation is lively and adds to this very tasty beer.