The beer sizing us up instead of us sizing up the beer.

Charles: Lindeman’s Lambic Pomme is a truly ridiculous beer. Screw cider from this day forward. This is bloody delicious in every way possible. It has that hoppy undertone, but manages to throw a huge apple taste in the mix without cloying. Its… genius

Lionel: F*** apple cider! This is better, hands down! Great apple beer. (Ed. Note: Eloquent as usual)

Andriis: Now this beer… I’ll agree with both reviewers on this one. You will love this beer. In fact, it may be wrong to call this beer. As much as it pains me to say: not everyone likes beer. They say it’s nasty. I say “fuck ‘em”. Excuse the language, but I feel that strongly about it. I say they’re not drinking the right beers. I say they haven’t met us. That’s why you’re reading these reviews. You wanna get on our level. I commend you. You’re on the right track. And as a reward, I’ll lead you to this: Lindeman’s Lambic Pomme.

If you know a bit of french, you know “pomme” means “apple”. That’s right, my man (or woman. If so, we must meet.), apple beer. Apple cider just lost all purpose. This is the only apple alcoholic beverage you should drink. Notice how I didn’t really describe the taste of the beer. To do that is an injustice, the same way you can’t properly describe love. If you’re so fortunate to find a beverage supplier with this in stock, grab ‘em by the bushel, and don’t waste time looking apologetic. You know what you want.

Price: $8.95

ABV: 4%

Astonishment

Satisfaction

Hey Beer lovers,

Today, I’m getting back to the basics with a good ol’ fashioned beer rating. However, unlike previous posts, the ratings have been determined by four of my friends. Using the brew guys 5 mug scale, they rated each beer and provided commentary on each.

Tim’s post about Cider got me wondering about what other alternative beers exist and if they are any good. As you may have read in my Houston post, I have tried Lindeman’s Framboise and found it to be pretty good. My friends and I are going to try two other of Lindeman’s fruity creations. If you do not like the taste of the average beer, this post is just for you!

Now for beer number one: Lindemans Pomme Beer

Pomme, which is French for Apple, described perfectly the smell of this beer. Although perhaps the french word for sour, “aigrir,” should have been use as well.

Here are some of the descriptions:

“Smells like sour apple juice mixed with beer…tastes very sour.”

“This one smells a lot more like beer…the taste is very sour, almost like a sour candy.”

“Bubbly.”

Bottle Opening – when beer bottlers go mad

One thing I should note about these beers is that they were packaged more like wine bottles than beers. As such, here is a quick video of how to pop the top if you run into this problem with one of these crazy beers. Also, I apologize for my friends in the background, they will likely be at Chuck E. Cheese tomorrow trying to relive those grade school days.

And now for beer number two: Lindemans Peche Beer

Peche, also a French word, means Peach. Like the Pomme, this beer is brewed (malt based), after which fruit is added to create a second fermentation and add the taste of fruit.

Here is the commentary on this beer:

“This beer is like Welch’s juice”

“I can smell the hops but it tastes sweet and the residual taste is bubbly, almost like flavored sparkling water or wine.”

“Reminds me of a sparkling Cider, maybe a champagne.”

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Overall, my friends enjoyed both drinks, but only requested a second serving of today’s winner…

Peche!

Here are the ratings from today’s tasters:

Pomme: 2, 2.5, 3, 3 (all out of five)

Peche: 4, 4, 4, 4.5 (all out of five)

Thanks again for reading and be sure to come back for our posts on Monday!

Finally getting around to finishing up the review for the Ambrosia – Vann Reef cigar from Drew Estate I had recently.

Drew Estate Ambrosia Vann Reef

These were part of a gift sent over to me. Prior to receiving them I had yet to hear of the Ambrosia line which struck me odd as I am such a huge Drew Estate follower.

The Good Stuff: Jonathan Drew, founder and  Production Director of Drew Estate is always looking for new blends, spices, oils, and aromas to concoct his next infused cigar. The Ambrosia line is nothing short of his best. Ambrosia is very similar to the ACID line in construction but is infused with only the best spices and botanicals found throughout Europe and Asia giving it a very unique taste. From Clove to Star Anise, Ambrosia cigars are nothing short of masterpiece.  Each Ambrosia Vann Reef Cameroon Cigar is carefully blended with sweet, mild tobaccos from Drew Estates’ own hand – tended fields in the mountains near Esteli, Nicaragua and wrapped with rich Cameroon tobacco. It is said that these infused cigars are in fact the toughest blends produced by Drew Estate to date.

Size: 5×50  -  Wrapper: Cameroon  -  Flavor: Medium  -  Country: Nicaragua

Prelight: Upon unwrapping the cellophane you are hammered with a smell of fresh cloves, hints of pine, and sweet ginger. The wrapper is a creamy medium brown with very small veins. The construction is as close to perfect as it gets. There are no soft spots. The Ambrosia Vann Reef cigar sports a very rounded cap and its wrapped very tight, maybe even a bit to tight for my liking. The construction reminds me very much of the ACID liquid.

Drew Estate Ambrosia Vann Reef

First Smoke: One noticeable difference between the ACID Liquid and the Ambrosia Vann Reef is lighting. The Liquid took quite a bit outta my little colibri butane torch to get started where as the Vann Reef lit up right away. The first tastes are a little hard to nail. The clove by far is the most overpowering flavor, followed closely by notes of ginger, pine, toasted nuts, and even green tea. The draw is really tight, which I am not a fan of. I’d rather burn the heck out of my hands than deal with a tight draw, but for sake of the review I’ll deal with it. The draw itself is pretty large and incredibly thick, this part I do like. The Vann Reef isn’t very strong at the beginning, hopefully that adjusts a bit further in the smoke as well. The cigar begins burning very evenly. I got over an inch and a half before the ash first gave way which was pretty far considering it was a windy day out on my patio. This cigar was paired up with a Lindeman’s Peche Peach Lambic beer. An almost perfect combination. One note is the Ambrosia line banding is very un-like all the other Drew Estate cigar lines. Most of the others are very detailed, and embossed with hints of metallic silver and gold ink. A lot of time goes into their banding. The Ambrosia line, not so much. I can totally see where he was going with it (tiki – india, asia, Eurpoe spices) but it caught me a bit off guard.

Drew Estate Ambrosia Vann Reef

Halfway There: There are still absolutely no signs of any flaws. Drew Estate is known for the perfection in construction and this cigar represents that to its fullest. The strength has increased a bit, but not too much. The draw is still very creamy but much too tight. At this point I ended up giving the cigar another quick cut, increasing the draw drastically. Now that’s what I am talking about. The flavor doubled. More clove, Pine, and tea but what taste almost paired up with floral and leather-ish notes. It’s incredibly tasty. The draw has increased as well. I have yet to have to touch up this cigar and it is still burning perfectly. No unwrapping or cigar flaws whatsoever.

Finish: I took this cigar relatively close to the nub. My head began to hurt so I gave in a bit earlier than usual. The only taste that still remains is the clove, and it is strong. I’m not a huge clove fan, but I did enjoy this cigar. A big brownie point was the fact that I didn’t have to touch this cigar up once. Perfect burn. The Vann Reef finished off creamy, and didn’t increase in strength a whole lot throughout the cigar. All in all it was a great aromatic.

Drew Estate Ambrosia Vann Reef

Overview: The ambrosia line is definitely an acquired taste. I really enjoyed this cigar, however I wouldn’t recommend it if you weren’t a fan of infused cigars, or strong flavors period. The Ambrosia line is a great step-up alternative to clove smokers.

Ok, not all the wine I drink is expensive or exotic Grabbed a bottle of this for under 10 Euro in Copenhagen (where everything is expensive) so was slightly scared of what might happen to my taste buds… But good on ya, ya bloody Ozzy bastards, for constantly fllooding the market with cheap but damn tasty wine!!! I have to go with an ‘alright’on this one, but nearly desreves a “bloody great’ purely for the ability for it not to hurt my bank balance!

Colin and I have just got back from a wonderful day, grabbing a selection of Gueuze for all of you!

Beers, all great gueuzes from Cantillon, Drie Fonteinen, De Troch, De Cam, Lindemans, Girardin, Boon etc etc.   Anyway without wanting to spoil the surprise and I have a beer festival to go to, and it’s wayyyyy to sunny to be sat at a PC, here’s a few photos from yesterday. (i’ll post links to beermerchants.com as and when they are available, and of course I will put it over twitter too!)   Alll in all, it was an awesome day.   If anyone ever says to you, “all lambic breweries are alike…” poke ‘em in the ear and say, no. They are very very different to the next.   And, if you ever want a lesson in Passion, pure energy and commitment… watch Armand DeBelder, genius, legend, talent, commitment, pure passion… awesome moment.

Poured from 750 mL champagne bottle into flute

Poured from 750 mL champagne bottle into flute. Initially quite bubbly. Mild head, fine and white. Dissipates quickly but good lacing is left. A bit cloudy, like a lightly filtered hefeweizen. Very nice color, golden at its lightest, amber at its darkest (picture shows the colors slightly darker). Regardless, quite alluring.

Very sweet on the nose. Apples, as one might expect, but in a bit of an artificially strong way. Fruity, like something from my childhood that I cannot quite place. Perhaps the smell produced when making Jello (pouring the powder into the boiling water?). A bit grassy. Good balance of flavors. Very pleasant. Invigorating yet pacifying aroma.

First taste is very sweet upfront. Delicious green apples, sweet yet tart and tangy. Then comes a subtle bitterness from carbonation, almost like the quinine of good tonic water, but less bitter. Again, good balance of flavors, light malty sweetness, but apple surely is the idea here. Second taste yields a subtle citrus flavor just beneath the surface. I am not well versed in lambics, and so this one tastes sweeter than others I have had but not cloyingly so. As it warms, strong sweet apple taste fades slightly and a nice malt bass with some tart apple comes through.

Mouthfeel is soft and light. At first quite smooth and silky. Then, as carbonation builds, it floats nicely on the tongue, like a mousse. A cottony cloud, really. Extremely light. Thin but not too much so. Still very smooth, despite high carbonation. Feels a bit thicker as it warms.

Very easy to drink for its sweetness. A bit off-putting at first taste. Makes one wonder how many one can actually have, but seems a very drinkable beer after all. Generally a bit sweet for my taste, but would have another and plan on doing so. Still, not entirely sure how many I could have without tiring of the sweetness, or getting a headache.

All in all, a delightful beer. B+. And on The Drunkard’s Progress Scale, I would say that “Step 1: A glass with a Friend” seems a mighty fine idea.

Nothing gets our weekend started (after work, of course) like another installment of Ant’s weekly beer review!

Framboise Lambic – Malt Beverage with Raspberries added

Brouwerij Lindemans’ (Vlezenbeek, Belgium)

750mL

2.5% ABV

Bottle Description:

Lindemans Framboise is a lambic made from local barley, unmalted wheat, and wild yeast. After spontaneous fermentation raspberries are added creating a secondary fermentation and yielding a beer of exceptional flavor and complexity.

Usually an overlooked style, Lambics provide the most fascinating and uncommon flavors found in beers. Lambics (unblended)/Guezes are unique spontaneously fermented sour ales from the area around and in the Senne Valley (Brussels, Belgium) that still use centuries old farmhouse brewing. While Straight Lambics are unblended and single-batch, Guezes are produced by mixing one, two, and three year old lambics. These beers are characterized by their earthy, goaty, and barnyard like aromas and have sour/acidic flavors that should balance with the malt and wheat. Because wild yeast and bacteria ferment all the sugars, they tend to be bottled when they have completely fermented. Lambics and Guezes are dwindling in numbers due to their “unique” attributes. Not many commercial examples can be found in the U.S. (I’ve had a hard time finding any). However, lambic blenders began adding fruits and sugar post fermentation to make them more palatable to the wider audience. The sweetness and fruitiness of these Fruit Lambics balance and sometimes blanket the lesser-enjoyed sourness.

Contrastingly enough, Fruit Lambics are definitely easier to find especially on the shelves of Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s. I bought mine for around $9 at BevMo! The Fruit Lambic sampled today is brewed by Lindemans’, the first brand of Lambic imported to the U.S. (1979). Framboise, meaning raspberries, was the fruit of choice blended with this beer. This beer pours deep purplish-red with magenta highlights and rises with a strong dark pink head. The carbonation is reminiscent of champagne. The aroma is overflowing with raspberries but finishes with a strange earthy/barnyard funk with hints of acidic character. No hop or malt aroma dominates in this fruit lambic. Lindemans Framboise has good clarity when poured carefully, but yeast sediment from the bottom of the bottle can make this beer very cloudy. Raspberries are strongly evident in flavor but is well balanced by a high level of sourness/acidity (which may also stem from the fruit itself). A slight oaky character carries through but are very minimal. Medium-bodied and highly carbonated, its high level of fruitiness almost makes it hard to call this a beer (lacking malt and hop characteristics) and more like a sparkling wine. Although this beer is quite enjoyable, I find it lacking in lambic complexity. The flavors lean a little too much towards the raspberries and can confuse people in thinking they’re drinking sparkling raspberry juice.

Category 17F: Fruit Lambic

Aroma: 10/12

Appearance: 3/3

Flavor: 15/20

Mouthfeel: 5/5

Overall: 8/10

Total: 41/50

- Ant

Brewed up a Northern Brewer kit beer yesterday, their dry Irish stout.  

6 lbs. Gold Malt Extract Syrup
1 lb. Simpson’s Roasted Barley (Steeped for 30 min at a pretty constant 165 degrees)
1 oz. Nugget (12-14 percent AA)

Wyeast 1084 Irish Ale yeast

It was a hot DC day, so I picked up a bottle of Saison Dupont and some Legacy Midnight Wit, my first try of both. More on the wit in a later post. The Saison was great.

It smelled like a pilsner to me, kind of spicy, slight malt hint. It was just slightly hazy and a brilliant, bright gold color. Most folks say “brilliant” beer is clear, but that’s the best way I could describe the golden color of the saison. Lemony? in the mouth. Smooth and spritzy. 

To add a little something, I put in an ice cube my roommate made by freezing some Lindemans Framboise in an ice tray. 

The one cube gave the saison a slight fruity hint. It really was just about the perfect amount. I’m not a huge fan of really fruity beers, but if they have some fruitiness in good proportion, then I’m all for it. 

Didn’t have any issues with the brewing, pretty straightforward. I got to use my wort chiller for the first time though. Some pictures and a video of wort chilling.

I only let the yeast pack swell for about four hours, but it was more than fully inflated by the time I pitched. Pitched at 68 degrees. I’m definitely going to have to put the window A/C unit in today or tomorrow to keep my room a decent temperature. 

You probably shouldn’t watch these next videos. I was bored while the wort was chilling, and you will probably become dumber for watching them.

Hoogdag voor de lambik- en geuzeliefhebber op 26 april.

Aansluitend op de vorige post maak ik graag wat reclame voor de zevende Toer de Geuze op zondag 26 april 2009.  Tijdens de Toer de Geuze zetten 9 leden van de Hoge Raad voor Ambachtelijke Lambikbieren (HORAL) hun deuren open voor het grote publiek. Er zijn doorlopend rondleidingen aangevuld met informatie omtrent het productieproces. Uiteraard kan je ter plaatse genieten van lambik, geuze, kriek, framboise en andere lambikbieren.

Dit jaar stelt HORAL ook de MegaBlend Geuze voor. Deze geuze werd speciaal ter gelegenheid van de Toer de Geuze 2009 gemaakt en kan die dag gedronken worden in de deelnemende brouwerijen, in restaurant “De Heeren van Liedkercke” (Denderleeuw) en in herberg “In de Verzekering tegen de Grote Dorst” (Eizeringen).

Sinds begin deze week kan je hier jouw plaatsje reserveren voor één van de acht bussen van de organisatie. Wees er snel bij!  Het is ook mogelijk om op eigen houtje de brouwerijen en stekerijen te bezoeken en dit van 10:00 tot 17:00 uur. 

Bus 1: De Oude Cam, De Troch, Timmermans, 3 Fonteinen, Oud Beersel
Bus 2: 3 Fonteinen, Hanssens, Oud Beersel, Boon, Mort Subite
Bus 3: Mort Subite, Timmermans, Lindemans, De Oude Cam, De Troch
Bus 4: De Troch, De Oude Cam, Boon, Lindemans, Timmermans
Bus 5: Oud Beersel, Mort Subite, Lindemans, Hanssens, 3 Fonteinen
Bus 6: Timmermans, 3 Fonteinen, Hanssens, Oud Beersel, De Oude Cam
Bus 7: Hanssens, Oud Beersel, Mort Subite, De Troch, Boon
Bus 8: Boon, Lindemans, De Oude Cam, Mort Subite, Hanssens

Twee jaar geleden had ik de eer om zo’n TDG-bus te mogen begeleiden.  Een schitterende ervaring!  Dit jaar moet ik helaas passen, maar ik mag allicht vele bieriefhebbers verwelkomen op ons 14de Vilvordia BierProefFestival in Jette de dag voordien.  Vele (buitenlandse) bierliefhebbers combineren de twee evenementen tot een bierrijk weekend. Slim!

Flashback:
Mijn fotootjes van TDG 2007 kan je bekijken op deze slideshow. 

I chose this Australian Lindemans Bin 45 Cabernet Sauvignon 2008 for our Monday evening “happiness hour.” The nose is deeply cherry and the taste is filled with berry fruits and oak. Talk about a fruit-forward, luscious wine — this is it!

For dinner tonight I have prepared pork tenderloin, mashed potatoes, and a vegetable mix of asparagus, green beans, corn, and baby carrots.

We are trying to decide: Do we watch Obama’s press conference or do we watch my favorite show “House”? Hmmmmmm. I’ll let you know tomorrow who wins.

It is Wednesday night — a mid-week, very cold night in Michigan — and we are enjoying a glass of wine while reading the paper and listening to music. It is -2 degrees right now. I have leftover soup (that I made over the weekend) on the stove for dinner tonight.

This Lindemans South Africa Shiraz 2006 is a wine that Tom bought on sale at our local grocery store. The nose is dull but the flavors are rich with chocolate, licorice and fruit. I have to hand it to Tom, this was a good value. I think most red-wine drinkers would enjoy this rich, fruity quaff.

Stay warm everyone. February will be over before we know it and then there will only be 6 more weeks of winter!

Jag är en sån som älskar att få kataloger från diverse postorderföretag på vintern såväl som på sommaren. Att drunka i kläderna och drömma om hur snygg man ska vara till sommaren i sina nya dressar men så småningom när halva maj har gått inse att man aldrig kommer att beställa några av kläderna. Men det är underbart att drömma sig snygg. Man tycker att ens liv skulle bli såååå mycket bättre. 

Idag kom Bon’a parte. Det är en katalog som jag verkligen gillar som har precis den sorts kläder som jag älskar. Bläddrar lite förtstrött när en sida kommer upp. Men hur ser han ut egentligen? Vad har dom tänkt med? Alltså killen står iförd shorts, skjorta, en långärmad tröja med krage och cyklop. Japp, ni läste rätt. Cyklop! Hade han tänkt att snorkla fullt påklädd eller vad är poängen? Helt fel enligt mig i alla fall. Bilden kan ni se här.

Ikväll så njuter jag av Lindemans och Daim. Ingen superkombination direkt men gott säkert var för sig.

We have had this Lindemans South Africa Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 many times. Tom purchased this on sale at our local grocery store. It is a Thursday night of a busy work week and we are reading the paper, listening to music, and having our “happiness hour” as my mother calls it.

This wine is fruit forward, somewhat jammy, with a predominant taste of strawberries and a smooth, velvety finish. If you are accustomed to Italian wines, this wine may strike you as extremely fruity and soft.

But this is a great value and, if you like fruit, an excellent quaff.

A bold, fruity yet light wine.  Jen says “refreshing”.  Pretty darn good for about $10.

A very fruity nose (yeah, I said it), followed by a very strong, bold, fruity taste.  But surprisingly not heavy at all.  And I’d have to agree with Jen.  It is refreshing.  A subtle finish.

We enjoyed this wine with some very dark chocolate.  Hey, it can’t always be cheese.       ;^)