Following up on Bob the Brit’s recent post about the ‘missing Trappist ale‘, I thought it would be appropriate to keep the theme going with an interesting video tour of where Chimay is born.
Slightly corny production, but very good history and visuals. Worth the time if you’ve got it! Enjoy!
In the past, I’ve have reported here at The Brew Club about the seven Abbeys in Europe that are licensed to brew authentic Trappist Beer. This gives these interesting brews a rarity and cachet that has encouraged other brewers to brew ‘Abbey’ style beers that have no Trappist connections whatsoever – examples of these being Maredsous, Corsendonk and Leffe.
I’ve managed to source and taste beers from six of the seven authenticated Trappist breweries, reviews are either here now, or will be soon!
But sadly one has evaded my attentions.
While most of the Trappist breweries have embraced the fame that their brews enjoy and have developed commercial organisations to use the brews to raise funds for their good causes, one Abbey - St. Sixtus’ Abbey, Westvleteren – near the beautiful Belgian town of Ypres – has turned its back on such commercialism and now only brews a ‘paterbier’ for its own consumption and that of its guests. Although by all accounts it’s sometimes available at a café adjoining the monastery.
And they’re getting stricter about whom they consider to be guests. These days you almost need to be wearing a monk’s habit before you can put a sandal clad foot in their door. To quote Father Abbott: “We are not brewers. We are monks. We brew beer to be able to afford being monks.”
Which is a great shame, as Michael Jackson rated the brew highly, and this rare and much sought after brew is widely regarded, by all who have been lucky enough to sample it, as the finest example of Trappist Ale.
Needless to say I will continue to search for it, and if I ever do lay my hands on a bottle, or make a pilgrimage to Westvleteren myself, then you’ll read about it here at The Brew Club.
Bob the Brit
In the past, I have been less than complimentary about Abbey ales from Belgium here at The Brew Club. Abbey Ales, you might recall, are brewed by regular brewers but called Abbey beers to piggy back on the cachet of Europe’s six Trappist breweries.
However, when I stumbled across a boxed set of Maredsous Ales, the 6 (Blond), 8 (Bruin) and 10 (Tripel) together with a brewery ‘chalice’ glass I found it difficult to resist. Particularly if you happen to recall (as I did) that Maredsous is the ‘Abbey’ brand of the Duvel Moortgat brewery.
I only gave Duvel 3 stars when I reviewed it back in 2008, but I did describe it as “a classic of its type”. In retrospect, maybe I was a little harsh and it perhaps merits 3½ stars.
For the record, the Maredsous Abbey itself is Benedictine, founded in 1872 and Moortgat were given licence to brew in the Abbey’s name back in 1963. And frankly, other than the word ‘Benedictine’ embossed on the stem of the chalice, that’s about as far as the connection goes.
It’s perhaps worth noting that while Trappist breweries such as Rochefort use an older Belgian system of measuring alcohol content, Maredsous and other Abbey brews simply list the alcohol content, so while Maredsous 6, 8 & 10 are 6%, 8% and 10% ABV respectively, real Trappist brews would be 7.5%, 9.2% and 11.3% respectively.
And with alcohol content like that, it’s wise to exercise caution but, at great personal risk, I tried all three in a single evening for comparison.
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This pours pale and slightly cloudy, with a full, cream coloured head. The head is slow to dissipate and there is some serious lacing down the glass.
The nose is bready, but slightly sour. Not unpleasant but nothing to write home (or here) about.
The beer itself is medium bodied, the flavour follows the nose, it’s sour rather than bitter, but refreshing. It certainly hides its potency well, I would not have suspected that this is a strong as it is.
I’ll give this 2½ stars – it’s okay but not something I’d turn to in the future. Rating: 
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As the name would suggest, this is altogether darker, a cloudy, colour – sort of coppery-brass, with a pale, caramel head. The head disperses quickly, but leaves a healthy lacing.
The nose builds on that of the Blond, there’s still an underlying bready/sour scent, but then some serious hints of dried fruit – raisins, dark cherries, plums and so on.
The flavour is more satisfying than the Blond, with rich fruit cake to the fore, those raisins and dark cherries showing up again. I was hoping for hints of treacle or chocolate but they were missing, but also missing was that threatening flavour of cane sugar – widely used to beef up the potency of Belgian Ales
I’d give this 3 stars, again it’s good but not great. Rating:
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The colour of this brew comes somewhere between the colours of the ‘6’ and the ‘8’ – it’s a proper copper colour with a crisp white head that leaves a rewarding lacing.
There’s not a lot of nose, but there’s a just discernable hint of honey and spice, these are the scents you would be looking for on an Abbey tripel, but this is way too subtle for me.
The flavour, while still on the subtle side, is rich and warming, there are hints of over-ripe apples, and maybe a touch of cinnamon.
3½ Stars – the best of the Maredsous brews, in my opinion.
Rating:
These were three interesting and surprisingly well balanced beers.
There was no sign of the cane sugar potency that I have come to expect from Begian Ales, particularly Abbey Ales, but at the same time I feel the flavours were less rewarding than the equivalent Leffe offerings.
So, an interesting experiment, I think I would turn to Leffe brews over Maredsous in future, but on the up-side I do have another cool chalice glass in my beer glass collection!
Bob the Brit
What do you do if you can’t find the Coopers Beer Kit instructions that came with your kit? Coopers provided instructions with the kit, but maybe they got lost, or maybe they got thrown out. You threw them out?
Thankfully, its not a big deal. There are lots of ways to get the answers you need to get back to brewing!
If you have a specific question regarding your Coopers DIY Beer Kit, you can email them at store@makebeer.net. You can also call them during regular business hours (M-F 9am to 5pm PST) at (888) 588-9262. An actual human who is an expert in all things Coopers Beer Kits can help.
You can also check out their How to Make Beer - Basic Instructions page, or if needed, their Intermediate instruction page on the Coopers website.
If you need the .pdf instructions to the old Coopers Microbrew Kit, you can grab them here. (You’ll need a .pdf reader to open it.)
You can also check out this little video, which might jog your memory too!
Heck, maybe you just want a whole new kit complete with whole new instructions! If you’re looking to buy an improved Coopers Beer Kit (complete with instructions 
) just click here now!
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Having recently written about being invited to judge at the International Beer Challenge 2011, a few days later I was invited to attend the launch of Sainsbury’s 2011 Great British Beer Hunt.
For any non-Brits reading this, Sainsbury’s is a major UK supermarket chain. They’re the third largest supermarket in the UK with 557 supermarkets, 377 convenience stores and around 16.2% market share.
And, it must be said, they’re classier than most as supermarkets go. They take their alcoholic drinks very seriously – not only sourcing fine ales from around the world, but occasionally commissioning their own take on classic brews.
As the name of this post suggests, Sainsbury’s hold an annual competition to identify a selection of British brews. They then promote those brews in their stores for three weeks from the beginning of September; the two most popular of those brews earn a coveted space on their hallowed shelves in 300 stores.
As you might imagine winning this competition represents a tremendous boost for any small brewer and this year the competition was judged by regional panels of ‘beer experts’ and Sainsburys’ own customers.
The final sixteen brews that will appear on Sainbury’s shelves in September are:
From Scotland, Northern Ireland and north east England:
Harviestoun – Wild Hop IPA
This I found to be really hoppy, closer to an APA than an IPA, really crisp and dry, I gave it a worthy 4 stars and will look out for it in September.
Williams Brothers – Caesar Augustus
I recently reviewed Williams Brothers ‘Kelpie’ seaweed infused brew for The Brewclub (it’s on Scott’s ‘to be published’ pile). This particular brew describes itself as a hybrid lager/IPA (so is it top or bottom fermented?) and frankly I was disappointed, it was neither IPA nor Lager and didn’t really do it for me.
Caledonian Brewing – Wild Dutchman Wit Bier
Despite coming from a Victorian brew house in Edinburgh, I found this brew to be an authentic Wit beer crammed with complex flavours. 4½ stars and on the list for September.
Williams Brothers – Profanity Stout
Having been unimpressed by both Kelpie and Caesar Augustus from this brewery, I approached this brew with some trepidation. I had no need to, it’s deep, rich and full of flavour, brewed to a mighty 7% ABV I deliberately left this brew until last, and wasn’t disappointed – 4 stars and on my list for September!
South East and Eastern England:
Ridgeway – Ivanhoe
Ridgeway was created after the closure of Oxfordshire’s ‘Brakspear’ brewery, and really wanted to enjoy this, sadly I didn’t, my notes read ‘disappointing’ and I gave it 2½ stars.
Ridgeway – Bad King John
This made up for the Ivanhoe, crammed with rich chocolate notes, this one hid its strength well, brewed to 6%, my notes read “3½ stars but dangerous”
McMullen – Stronghart
Another strong brew, CAMRA described this brew as ‘liquid Christmas pudding’ – very rich, dark and complex. Oh and brewed to 7% – 4 stars.
Oakham – Bishop’s Farewell
Sainbury’s tasting notes described this as ‘very moreish’ and frankly I can’t disagree; it’s a really well balanced and enjoyable brew, which I awarded a solid 3½ stars.
South West England & Wales:
Wye Valley – Wye Not?
My notes read “Why not? Because it doesn’t work for me!” despite claiming a delicate hop aroma, it just didn’t deliver for me, I gave it just 1½ stars.
Oxfordshire Ales – Churchill
I’ve enjoyed a few ‘old style’ and ‘modern’ IPA’s recently, and this one I found very disappointing, I just couldn’t find the hops that were promised. Ah well, 2½ stars.
Hunter’s – Full Bore
Hunter’s brew at 4% session brew called ‘Half Bore’, made with Devon honey. Full Bore was created by accident when the brewer got his quantities wrong. The resulting 8% brew is described by the brewer himself as a “Bloody strong pint but surprisingly fresh taste.” I can’t disagree and gave it 4 stars.
Cotleigh – Golden Seahawk
I’m trying hard to overcome my dislike of “Summer Ales” (I tend to like my Lagers to be pale and my Ales to be dark), and this brew is one that overcomes my prejudice, crisp, refreshing with hints of honey balancing the hoppy citrus.
North West England & the Midlands:
Wold Top – Golden Summer
I’ve previously reviewed brews from Wold Top – including their gluten free ale (Against the Grain) which I gave 3 stars. I found Golden Summer to be a well-balanced and refreshing brew that, at 4.4% ABV could prove to be deceptively potent. I gave it 4 stars.
Frederic Robinson – Frederic’s Great British Ginger Beer
I’ve previously given Robinson’s ‘Old Tom’ just 2½ stars in April 2009, but even though I found this slightly medicinal in taste, I enjoyed it and gave it 3 stars.
Sadler’s – Worcester Sorcerer
The first brew I’ve ever tasted from Worcester, I found this to be a good, solid ‘best bitter’ and worth 3 stars.
Joseph Holt – Two Hoots Golden Ale
While the flavour of this Golden Ale from Manchester disappointed slightly, it had a good hoppy nose, I gave it 3 stars.
Needless to say, these ratings were after a few sips of each at a two hour tasting session and so cannot be considered objective, but there are several brews in there that I will try and seek out for further ‘tasting’ for The Brew Club when they hit the shelves in September.
Oliver Chadwyck-Healey, the beer buyer at Sainsbury’s (what a job that must be!), said: “The fantastic quality of British beer was really highlighted by the success of the regional beer hunt events, which generated excellent feedback from brewers and customers alike.”
He added “One of the best things about the beer competition is the opportunity it gives to the brewers of the 16 winning beers – particularly the smaller brewers – to showcase their beer on a national level to an interested audience – our beer buying customers – who are looking for something new and exciting.”
I can’t disagree with Oliver; exposure in 300 supermarkets must provide an amazing opportunity – and challenge – for small brewers.
Bob the Brit
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