Will Drink Beer for Yeast

This is a slightly hypocritical entry to follow the last write up that emphasized the importance of supporting local agriculture. Unfortunately my ideals are not strong enough to give up drinking Belgian beers anytime soon.
No classes are held on Wednesdays, so Tuesdays always feel like Fridays. Therefore Tuesday was a perfect night to hold a beer tasting. A couple of my friends, who are also home brewers, are trying to harvest a variety of yeast strains, so we justified spending the extra buck on a few awesome Belgian-style beers. In the line up we had a sample from five of the seven Trappist breweries--brewed by Trappist monks--a ten year old sour beer, and a special edition Allagash from Portland, Maine. I wrote down our tasting notes to make sure I'd remember the subtleties of each one. And for the record, we shared all of these, and I walked home.


A Tripel brewed by the Belgian Trappist brewery Westmalle. This beer is often regarded as the standard for Tripels but personally, I prefer Karmeliet's version. The Westmalle Tripel is 9.5% alcohol by volume but goes down like a light beer.
Appearance: Nice golden color. Good head retention--this refers to the foam.
Aroma: Bubble gum/cantaloupe, dough, spicy phenols, and citrus.
Taste: Phenols up front, and a spicy hop finish presumably from the saaz hops. As it warmed up the alcohol became apparent.
Mouthfeel (viscosity/carbonation): Medium bodied.
Drinkability: Very easy to drink.


Brewed by Orval--another Belgian Trappist. This beer contains Brettanomyces which lends a dry barnyard sourness to the beer. Saccharomyces is the yeast involved in the fermentation of most beers; however it can only ferment 65-80% of the available sugars. Brettanomyces on the otherhand can ferment over 90% of the sugars, which dries out the beer.
Appearance: Hazy orange.
Aroma: Smells like brettanomyces and a fusion of fruity horses?
Taste: Crisp flavor that tastes a lot like the aroma. Has a slightly astringent aftertaste.
Mouthfeel: Thin and dry. Well-carbonated.
Drinkability: Easy to drink. A good beer to follow most sour beers.


Rochefort 8 is another Belgian Trappist. Thanks to my dad it was served in its righteous chalice. The "8" used to signify an original gravity of 1.080--as read on the hydrometer--but the number system has fallen through the cracks over the centuries. I once tried the Rochefort 8 against my own version of an 8, but I preferred the Rochefort.
Appearance: Dark brown with large yeast flakes in solution.
Aroma: Roasted grains, and candied sugar.
Taste: Plums, birch, raisins, and some phenols.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied.
Drinkability: Very smooth and easy drinking.


The 8's older brother. It is very similar to its sibling but a bit bolder in all regards. This was a new one for me.
Appearance: Dark ruby brown with a tan head.
Aroma: Raisins, caramel, and roasted grains.
Taste: Earthy tones, plums, dark sugars, and a slight alcohol finish (not too bad for 11.3%).
Mouthfeel: Still medium bodied.
Drinkability: I could drink this regularly.


Limited edition series of Oudbeitje Lambic. This beer is 10 years old, which is the oldest beer I've tried to date. Lambics are sour beers that originated in Belgian farmhouses. Open air fermenters were used, and the beer was left be fermented by wild yeasts. Lactobacillus bacteria are one of the main cultures involved in producing the sour notes. While lactobacillus can be harvested from the air, or purchased online, it is also found on most barley and can be cultured by allowing the moist barley to sit at room temperature for a few days. I am a sour beer addict.
Appearance: Orange with no head.
Aroma: Musty strawberries.
Taste: Strong lactobacillus and brettanomyces flavor followed by a musty and powerful sourness. This beer is very complex.
Mouthfeel: Dry and flat.
Drinkability: Not for most beer drinkers, but I could drink a six pack.


Yet another Belgian Trappist! The Premiere by Chimay is their mid strength beer. While the Grand Reserve is my favorite Chimay, this one is also very tasty.
Appearance: A beautiful red when held up to the light.
Aroma: Sweet, maple syrup, and bread.
Taste: Raisins, plums, bubble gum, and grapes.
Mouthfeel: Full bodied.
Drinkability: I don't know why I included drinkability as one of the criteria since all of these beers go down so easily. But yes, this beer is very easy to drink.


Allagash's Hugh Malone is the local Maine beer for the night, and actually the beer I was most impressed with. This was another first for me, but I knew I would like it since it is a Belgian IPA and I love both Belgian beers and IPA's. Hugh Malone refers to the molecule in hops known as humulone, but apparently Hugh Malone may also be a real person--we googled Hugh but weren't sure if our findings were legit: http://hughmalone.com/. Allagash is a great brewery, but the Buck Special Edition series are extraordinary--the Hugh Malone is part of this series.
Appearance: Light orange with a nice head.
Aroma: Sweet, hops.
Taste: Fruity hops, phenols, Belgian yeast. Michael Arnsteen always judges IPA's by their burps, and this one had phenomenal ones.
Mouthfeel: Light but not dry.
Drinkability: Perfectly well-rounded, and one that I look forward to drinking again.


The night finished with a Quadrupel from the Trappist brewery Koningshoeven. The Koningshoeven brewery is located in the Netherlands and it is the only Trappist brewery outside of Belgium. Its always good to end the night on a dark beer, and this one hit the spot.
Appearance: Dark ruby.
Aroma: Sweet plums and dark sugar.
Taste: Almonds, pitted fruits, and cherries.
Mouthfeel: Full bodied.
Drinkability: Still easy to drink after a night of good beer.