September 3, 2010
In the discussion following my recent article about the 2010 IBC awards celebration, the subject of beers that punch above their weight, taste wise, came up. It then occurred to me that I hadn’t yet reviewed Rodenbach Grand Cru for The Brew Club.
This is an omission I am more than happy to address.
Rodenbach is a small family brewery in Roeselare, western Flanders (a province of Belgium). The brewery was founded in 1821 by four Rodenbach brothers, but after an initial (agreed) period of 15 years the brewery was taken over by Pedro Rodenbach and his wife Regina.
It was Regina who ran the brewery while Pedro served in the Belgian military; Belgium had only recently gained its independence and diligently fought to retain it.
Their son Edward took the brewery over in 1864, and his son Eugene continued the family tradition. Eugene had no sons, so the brewery became publicly owned (but remained largely in family hands) until it was bought by Palm breweries in 1998.
It was Eugene that introduced the brewery’s now trademark skill of aging beers in oak barrels and then blending the results to produce consistent results. Eugene learned this skill during an extended trip to Britain before taking over the brewery. Interestingly, in 2008 the English brewer Greene King turned to Rodenbach to advise them on oak ageing and blending when they introduced Old Crafty Hen.
What goes around comes around.
Rodenbach’s ales are ‘Flanders (or Belgian) Red Ales’ – there aren’t many of these, but one noteworthy one is Duchesse de Bourgogne which I gave 4 stars when I reviewed it for The Brew Club in 2008. So while a small group, it’s pretty select. They’re oak aged, which gives a rich, almost ‘balsamic vinegar’ quality against the sourness that the complex blend of (up to twenty) yeasts gives, but they’re a blend of old and young ales to give a consistency.
So… it pours with a creamy, pale caramel couloured head that disperses slowly, with very little lacing; the brew itself is a rich garnet colour.
The nose is sharp, verging on sour – definitely balsamic vinegar (and that’s not being wine-snob poncey, it really smells like that) with the tiniest hint, deep down in the mix, of black cherry.
The flavour is less sour than the nose would suggest, it’s sharp but not too sour; it almost fizzes on your tongue.
It’s dark, rich and deeply fruity, sour cherries or plums, with hints of dark wood.
The Grand Cru has a lower percentage (one third) of ‘young’ beer blended with two thirds older beer (two years in oak casks), that gives it additional depth and richness.
Michael Jackson described Rodenbach’s brews as “perhaps the most refreshing beers in the world” and who am I to argue with the master?
Four Stars
Rating: 
Posted in 4 Star Reviews, Belgian Beers, Views from a Brit 
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September 1, 2010
Recently, here at The Brew Club we’ve run a couple of articles about beer glasses – Do Beer Glasses Matter and Beer Glass Styles. The articles stimulated a healthy discussion and I expected the whole ‘glasses’ thread to finish there.
Until I visited a fairly chic wine bar in the City of London last evening. It’s close to the heart of the London insurance industry, and while they tend to sell bottles of expensive wine to insurance brokers and underwriters, they sell the legendary Pilsner Urquell on draught.
The glasses the beer is served in were developed for SAB Miller as part of their International Master Bartender competition which seeks to promote the ‘perfect pour’ and, in my opinion the particular glass is a work of art.
From its base – embossed with the words ‘The original Pilsner since 1842 Plzen Czech’, through its short, almost art deco stem, to its graceful ‘tulip’ shaped bowl this glass is simply beautiful.
It’s over sized, offering over an inch of space for a full head above a full (English) pint, and it bears the Pilsner Urquell logo embossed on the front, and the brewery’s distinctive ‘brewery gates in gold on the reverse. (You can click on any of the images below to ‘embigify’ them for closer inspection.)
I thought that this particular glass was well worth a contribution to the bar’s charity box, and now takes its place in my glass collection.
Well, that’s my opinion. What do YOU think?
Posted in Other Stuff, Views from a Brit 5 Comments »
August 30, 2010
August 30th 2010 marks the third anniversary of the passing of ‘The Beerhunter’ – Michael Jackson.
While his death was marked with less pomp than the passing of the other Michael Jackson, I suggest that anybody who enjoys quality beer (and why are you here if you don’t enjoy quality beer?) owes a debt of gratitude to the Beer Hunter.
For some forty years he promoted the cause of quality beers, and is credited with helping kick start the American craft brewing movement.
As I wrote here two years ago, the world was diminished by his passing, the world of beer even more so.
So, this evening, if an excuse is needed, settle down quietly with a beer you enjoy and drink a toast to the Beer Hunter.
Cheers Michael!
Posted in Other Stuff 8 Comments »
August 27, 2010
Recently we asked you about your favorite Summer beers, and one beer style that was mentioned a few times was the Saison or ‘Farmhouse Ale’.
I’m still getting used to this style, and as of this writing I’ve only had the one from Victory Brewing which was really good. I’ve got a few more lined up, but today we’re going to check out Colette, the Farmhouse Ale from Great Divide Brewing out of Colorado.
What makes a Saison, or Farmhouse Ale a great beer for Summer? Well I suppose its got something to do with the style’s origins. Apparently, if you were a worker on a Belgian farm, this was often brewed to keep the farmhands motivated and happy. Maybe as part of their compensation? I don’t know. The beer was brewed to a lower percentage of alcohol, which makes a lot of sense because the last thing you want is a bunch of drunken farmers wielding reapers and such!
Colette is a little stronger than what our farmhand friends might have drank – at 7.3% ABV you want to be careful with your tomatoes! The beer looks like it could be from the amber waves of grain we hear about – its a nice straw color topped by a short-lived, but pure white head.
The label informs me that Colette is “brewed with barley, wheat, and rice…with a special blend of four different yeast strains…” sounds complex enough, right?
While I don’t necessarily pick up on any of that in the aroma, I do pick up on some spices and fruity notes that I suspect are from those four yeast strains. It reminds me of a Hefeweizen’s slightly crazy brother if you know what I mean.
I get that in the taste too. A bit of a prickle on the tongue, and while its a bit fruity tasting (banana-ish) is definitely got a bit of a sour thing going on. Its 
fruity, spicy and tart – how’s that?
The finish is a little odd – for me anyway. Its crisp and dry which is actually appreciated on a hot day like today (it was almost 100!). None of the heavy sticky mouthfeel here.
Being a Saison noob here, its going to be hard to rate Colette except on how its making me feel at this moment, which is pretty good. The beer is light enough tasting to be good for a hot day, yet its complex enough to stop and make you think a little bit about every sip, and be thankful that you aren’t out hand-picking potatoes someplace on a day like this.
If you are though, Great Divide Colette is where its at!
Rating: 
Posted in 3 Star Reviews, Ales, American Beers, Seasonal Beers, Wheat Beers 4 Comments »
August 23, 2010
Saranac Summer Brew, (not to be confused with the Saranac Summer Ale) is one of these Shandy type beers where lemonade, or lemon soda is added to a lager to create a lemony beer hybrid. Typically enjoyed during the warm summer months, these beers sport low alcohol levels (3.5% ABV in this case) and blur the lines of if its really a beer, or if its really alcoholic lemonade!
You may recall that The Brew Club recently reviewed the Stiegl Radler out of Austria which was made with lemon soda as opposed to lemonade. The idea is the same I guess, with slightly different results.
The Saranac Summer Brew created a decent sized white head when poured, but it didn’t last long and I was left with a pretty flat looking beer in my glass. No lacing to speak of.
The aroma was mostly lemon, but you can tell that this is not just lemonade. There is a beer component, but just barely. The smell of Summer Brew was a bit more on the sweet side and it reminded me a bit of both apple cider and lemon pledge.
Which isn’t bad, but you might not want to drink it, right???
Well, the taste was OK. Again, mostly lemon flavors, but you can tell there is beer buried in here someplace. The lemon flavors are at the same time tart and sweet, but I keep going back to the lemon. Its definitely lemon-biased even though it very well may be 50% lemon, and 50% lager. A bit too sweet overall for my taste.
As I mentioned, Summer Brew ended up looking pretty flat in my glass, and it ended up feeling pretty flat in my mouth as well. A little more carbonation might make this beer a bit more interesting, although it turned out to be a VERY easy drinker. I wasn’t crazy about it, but I finished the ‘beer’ in only a few minutes!
I’d also like to add I think this ‘Shandy’ is best nice and cold. I would drink this right out of the fridge – none of that warming up for this brew!
OK. Overall, I thought that the Saranac Summer Brew, with its lager and 
lemonade DNA was alright. Its light on the alcohol (undetectable really) so perhaps it would make a refreshing treat on a hot summer day.
On the other hand, I thought it was a little too lemony, slightly artificial lemony flavor, and at the same time, too sweet. I’m glad I tried it, but I think the Stiegl Radler from Austria with the lemon soda was a little better.
Still, its not a style of beer that I’ll be seeking out during the summer or any other time of year! It isn’t necessarily a bad beer, I could see people liking it – its just not my taste. Give it a try and see what you think.
Rating:
What about you? Have a favorite lemon/beer brew that you’d like to suggest or talk about?
Posted in 2 Star Reviews, American Beers, Lager, Seasonal Beers 7 Comments »
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