Given the title of my blog, I think I am long overdue for a posting about one of my favorite Belgian things: beer.  I love that chocolate, cheese, beer, and wine are an art in French/Belgian culture.

The presentation and service are often just as important as the beer itself.  Each beer in Belgium comes served in a glass unique to that beer.  It is sacrilege for the Belgian’s to drink beer out of the wrong glass. The streets of Brussels are lined with cozy cafes and bars filled with hundreds of varieties of beer.  The Belgians love to lounge for long hours sipping on beer and chatting the day away.

One of my favorite Belgian beers is Tripel Karmeliet. Tripel Karmeliet is still brewed using the same recipe from 1679 developed in a former Carmelite monastery.  It is made with three kinds of grain: wheat, barley, and oats.  The beer has hints of vanilla and citrus.  Try it if you ever get the chance!

My other favorite beer is a classic Trappist monk beer called Westmalle Tripel. Westmalle Tripel is a clear, golden yellow Trappist beer that undergoes a secondary fermentation in the bottle (9,5% alcohol). It is a complex beer with a fruity aroma and a  hop scent. This beer is much newer and only dates back to 1934 when the new Trappist brewing hall came into use.  This beer also has a light touch of vanilla.  I guess I like those vanilla beers!

My favorite bars in Brussels are Brasserie De L’Union in St. Gilles and Bar Des Halles in the trendy Saint Gery district of Brussels.

If you ever have a chance to sample a Belgian beer I highly recommend it.

This beer was voted “Wold’s Best Ale” at the World Beer Awards, with good reason. I have a mixed relationship with strong Belgian beers, a fair amount have too much alcoholic heat and are too sweet for my taste. This is not the case with Tripel Karmeliet it is a perfect balance of sweet, alcoholic heat and the unique flavors of Belgian brews.  I will make an analogy that I hope makes as much sense to you as it does me, for me alot of Belgian beers are like a CD with a second of silence between tracks, first you get one flavor then there is a break and then something else comes along. Triple Karmeliet is like a CD where one song seamlessly transitions into another, all the flavors are in a perfect mix but with unique notes.

Upon first meeting you are greeted with a scent of citrus and oranges, which translates into the flavor as sweet candied oranges on the open with a hint of sweetness and flavor unique to Belgian beers and I contribute to the fermentation and yeast used. As the beer warms the notes of candied oranges intensifies but never overwhelms. The beer only had an alcoholic heat on the initial swallow, after which  the sensation started blending in with the overall experience. The finish was a lingering sense of candied fruit moments of sourness with a hint of dryness and a good warmth spreading from your stomach.

This bottle of beer had sat in my fridge at least 5 months now, which not a bad thing, depending a beer turning it once in a while will help any sediment redistribute through the beer. The reason why I had it sitting in the fridge so long was party because I had forgotten about it, to be honest, and partly cause I wanted an occasion to taste it when my palate was clear.  While the flavor of a lot of beers is enhanced by food, sometimes choosing a food you would think would go well with a beer ends up being not successful. Since I had a real hard time finding this beer I did not want to take chances.  I did now notice that Karmeliet is more widely available so I might buy another bottle or four to try with a meal.  On that same note, my wife and I had a happy surprise the other night. After a meal of  Hungarian style pork stew  we had a bottle of Southampton Double White Ale, quite by accident, she was in the mood for a light beer and this was the only one we had at the time. The Double White, as you may have guessed is a Belgian White style beer, I found it very delicious but subdued compared to some of the other Belgian Whites I’ve had. After the stew however, the beer developed this intoxicating delicate peach flavor. I am saving the rest of the stew and the beer to have together. It’s little accidents like this that keep me trying different foods and beers, my wife seems to have a good sense for pairing so I’ll rely on her recommendations.

While at Redlight Redlight last Saturday I tried a glass of Weyerbacher Imperial Pumpkin Ale. I had previously tried some of Weyerbacher’s Merry Monks, Belgian Tripple and I was not totally impressed, it suffered from the problem I was describing above with strong Belgian ales.  Their Imperial Pumpkin Ale on the other hand was near perfect! The official website describes it as spicier, more caramelized, more pumpkiny than any other pumpkin ale. I would not say that it was spicier or more pumpkiny than any other such ale I tried, but it was certainly much better made. With Weyerbacher’s the flavors where a perfect roller coaster ride, starting with a nice natural pumpkin flavor traveling on to notes of brown sugar and back to a pumpkin finish.  I got the sense that there might actually have been some natural ingredients used in the making of this ale, nut just chemicals to simulate the flavor. Being an Imperial Ale it was strong hitting, about 8%ABV, but none  of that came through in the flavor. The alcohol was not overwhelming the rest of the flavors and while the pumpkin was the overall king, the beer had a very pleasing balance.  I hope the bar keeps it on tap for a while, cause I could certainly go back for a second…and third.

So last night was my very first initiation with the Barley Engineers. I have to say it was a blast!  Everyone was very friendly they all came up to us and introduced themselves plus we got to taste so many brews . . .  I took my sister with me so I would not feel out of place and although there were some of the wives of the engineers we still were outnumbered.   So this whole new adventure started with Dean inviting me a while back and of course me with my exploring and adventurous mind frame said, Why Not?  So I have never brewed myself but have always wondered about it.  Have a couple friends that have been making their own brew and once in a while they will send me a sample of their creations.

Last Night I have to say I had four favorites.  One was the Tripel Karmeliet which happens to be a Belgian Abbey Style Triple Ale.  Seems I tend to like the Belgian Beers .. . It has a robust very smooth and fruity taste as soon as it touches your tongue you can taste hints of vanilla and some bitterness that makes a perfect balance.  It is also topped with a huge white bubbly head of carbonation. Yummy loved the sweet carbonation!  Causes excitement and joy to my mouth . . . .Very refreshing.  It has 3 grains- oats, barley and wheat.  I think that gives it character.  So I was told by a fellow brewer last night that this beer receives its final fermentation in the bottle.   Wow that is totally amazing History has it that is was brewed after the Carmelite Monks tradition dating back as far as 1678.  Totally impressed!  Craving one right about now . . . .

Second one I really enjoyed was Dean’s sweet Cactus Pear Brew.  Guess it’s technically not considered beer??  Not a beer said Dean but a mead.  Well I got my education on Mead’s.  From what I remember from last night is that Mead is made with honey instead of grain.  It was very tasty and made me capture good memories that were floating in my head.  It was bubbly and sweet-  great balance. By this time I was kinda floating already and feeling very happy  and warm inside. Keep in mind we had been tasting different beers for the past hour or two.

My third ch0ice was Ken’s special brew Kona Coffee Macadamia Coconut Porter Brew. I actually got to meet him last night at the meeting. Very funny man came over to say Hello and see how we liked his brew.  It was delicious! My sister could not believe how beer could be so good . . she is more of a wine girl but I think all has changed since last night-

And last but not least we come back to Mr. Dean . . . who would of known?  Well yes indeed we liked his brews.  The last little bottle he brought out of his cooler was an icy cold Blueberry Beer.  This blueberry ale had a medium amber color and created a fizzy head which I liked.  Not much smell of the Blueberries themselves  but it had a bit of  blueberry scent once we we drank it.  But nothing over the top which is a good thing I think.  Mixed in with the blueberry aroma I could pick up perhaps something sweet like caramel, but just faintly.   Overall we loved it . . . Increible  Magnifico . . .  I mean Incredible!  That definitely took us by surprise. I mean I had never even heard of a Blueberry beer but my goodness was this good.  Thank you Dean! : )   And thanks to all the members of  The Society of Barley Engineers, you guys really made us feel at home! And by the way we should inform Tom that we found the book by Papazian on Amazon!  We officially have our own little beer “bible” now  . . . Thanks Tom!

Although we are still wondering why the other members came up to our table asking Dean if we were his wives and if Dean was now Mormon?   . . .  Hmm must be beer humor- J/k  we had a blast!  We will definitely be there next meeting!

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Beer review:Brouwerij Bosteels Tripel Karmeliet

Ölen kommer i alla fall från Brouwerij Bosteels och är en tripel på 8,4%. Den har en söt doft med en aning jäst, skummet smakade exotisk frukt och själva ölen var fyllig, söt och en aning eldig med smak av kanderat apelsinskal, ljus torkad frukt och lite jäst. Eftersmaken var lite bitter och en aning eldig.
Den får 8-9 av oss, en klar favorit!

We were also lucky enough to be sharing our dinner with famed Chef Pascal Olhats as our guide. Pascal is the chef /owner of many restaurants, not the least of which is the famed Tradition by Pascal in Newport Beach, Ca, which has been rated the #1 restaurant in Orange County for over ten years by the Zagat Guide. He studied and lived in Belgium for 4 years and took us on a nostalgic trip that only the sense memories of food and beer can provide.

Noah is a great writer and wrapped up the evening on his blog. Click here to read the narrative of the evening. My job is beer – so I’ll get to talking about those and my favorite pairings.

Chimay Tripel paired with Des de Fromage de Chimay.

So Chef Pascal said that we should start out with some cheese. So start out with cheese we did. The cheese, however, was made by the same Trappist monks at the same brewery that makes Chimay. It turns out that since 1876, Chimay has been making a semi-hard cheese made from milk from their farm and matured in the vaulted cellars of their abbey, the very same cellars where Chimay beer is fermented. There’s something to be said of the marriage of flavors when things come from the same place. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, but the beer and cheese harmonized perfectly with something that can only be described as “je ne sais quoi.”

Triple Karmeliet paired with Belgian Onion Soup with Petites Croquettes de Crevettes du Nord et au Fromage

I am a lover of French Onion Soup, so when we were presented with a creamy Belgian Onion Soup, I was intrigued and oh so pleasantly surprised. This soup was velvety smooth with notes of citrus rind. Sweet and rich with melted Gruyere cheese swirling around, the soup was served with two little fried croquettes – one stuffed with cheese and one stuffed with baby shrimp. (BTW, the croquette might be my new favorite food style, second only to the dumpling.) It was a total no-brainer to pair Triple Karmeliet with this pairing. Malty and lemoney, spicy and super effervescent, this beer worked well with both the soup and the two croquette styles.

Tripel Karmeliet, Buggenhout, Belgium – 8.25% abv.

Hoegaarden White Ale paired with Moules Frites

Moules Frites means mussels with fries. There aren’t many better combinations out there. When I think of Belgian food, Moules Frites is what immediately comes to mind. Belgian moules are usually steamed in beer instead of white wine, in this case the mussels were steamed with an un-named Belgian white ale. And sometimes its good to just go with what is really working, so I didn’t fight it. I paired the mussels with the Hoegaarden white ale and Pascal, Noah and I all did a little happy dance in our seats. Refreshing and grassy with coriander and bitter orange peel, the beer breathed fresh air into the mussels and the mussels provided depth to the beer. Amazing.

Hoegaarden Original White Ale, Brouwerij van Hoegaarden, Belgium – 4.9% abv.

Orval paired with Cote de Parc Al’Berdouille with Croquettes de Pommes de Terre

Cote de parc al’berdouille literally translated means pork chop cooked in mud, which in this case is actually a large pork chop in a mustard and cornichon sauce. The Orval is a trappist ale that is known for being very earthy, having a farmhouse, horse blanket quality. (I mean this in the best way.) This to me was the perfect pairing of the evening. Mud, mustard, farmhouse, earth, potatoes (whose name translated in French means “apples of the earth”) Served with a side of a tart and refreshing slaw made with razor thin slices of delicate endive, this combination touched heaven with all of its earthly goodness.

Orval, Abbaye de Notre-Dame d’Orval, Villers-devant-Orval, Belgium – 6.9% abv.

Written by The Beer Chick, December 6, 2008

Get Beer for Chick’s Feed

Triple Karmeliet van de brouwerij Bosteels uit Buggenhout is uitgeroepen tot het beste hogegistingsbier ter wereld.
Het Britse blad Beer of the World vindt Triple Karmeliet van de brouwerij Bosteels dus het beste bier van het jaar.

Bosteels is een familiebrouwerij die kan buigen op een traditie van zeven generaties.

Triple Karmeliet is gebaseerd op een drie eeuwen oud recept. Het wordt gebrouwen op basis van gerst, haver en tarwe.

Bron: www.deredactie.be

Dat wat ik allang wist, wordt vandaag nog maar eens bevestigd door mensen die hen professioneel bezig houden met bier drinken.

…..

Hé, waar kan ik solliciteren?