Leroy Stout - 5%
I'm a fan of stouts and porters. Roasty, smoky flavours can't beaten for big flavours and they're the perfect antithesis to insipid lager. I'm a fan of something a little quirky too, so a stout named Leroy was too tempting. I'll have two, please. Plus, this wasn't any stout, it was a Belgian stout.
It then struck me that I hadn't had too many Belgian stouts in my time; I suppose they're not so common. Guinness Foreign Export classes as a 'Belgian Stout' in some people's eyes (even though some of it is brewed in Nigeria!) and my other experience of note is Hercule Stout, a seriously fine ale. Expectations were high.
Pouring the drink out presents no surprises; it's a dark, fairly fizzy beer with a tightly packed, light brown head. As soon as I took a sniff, the game changed. It actually took me two glasses of this beer to work out what the smell was, so much it took me by surprise. It smells like a sweet, aromatic lager. There's no bitterness in the smell and the hops come through strongly. It was certainly interesting.
On sipping, you're presented with huge and instant sweetness. Sweetness you wouldn't expect in such a dark beer. And it builds! That saccharin keeps coming. Initially, I loved it; it had such an original taste and was as quirky as I hoped. As time goes on though, it really needs something to balance out that sweetness. Alcoholic strength would probably help (it's only 5%) but really (and unsurprisingly) a good roasted barley sharpness is what's in order!
Its lack of balance prevents it from quenching your thirst and the stickiness it leaves in your mouth (which I'm often keen on) is too sweet to enjoy. If you burp you get a light, lagery hop aroma; it's fairly pleasant but just a bit peculiar.
It's a conundrum; I'm not sure where they've managed to get their colour from. To get dark beer like this you need to add malt which has been fairly highly roasted and this adds bitterness. As this beer is bitter-free I can only guess that some dark sugar has been added and the beer has been on a long boil in the kettle to add colour. I'm probably wrong but I'm not sure how else you'd get the colour.
There'll be someone out there who will love this beer, but it's a bit too sweet for me. I had to eat really strong and bitter cheese with it to get through the second bottle (ooh, it's a chore!). P.s., if you know how this beer would be made, I'd love to know!
Leroy Stout - 5.5
http://www.brouwerijhetsas.be/en/assortiment/leroy-stout
Tuesday 17 April 2012
Tuesday 3 April 2012
Dobbel Tripel
Dobbel Tripel. That sounds an awful lot like 'double triple'. Exciting times...
Once again I find myself in front of a bottle of beer which I'd usually not even have noticed. Forcing yourself to drink (well not exactly 'forcing', but...) everything on a list has its highs as well as lows. My first discovery was to be whether this beer was dark or light: was it 'dobbel' or 'tripel'?
It was a dark offering, dark indeed. With a bubbling beige head it sat enticingly in the glass, waiting to be sampled. It had a really rich, fruity and deep scent; this beer clearly had lots to give. There was a definite edge of cinnamon and nutmeg spice ('woody', one might say if one was in the marketing department for Hugo Boss Fragrances) and it reminded me a little of the magnificent Westvleteren 12. We're not getting carried away but it's fair comparison.
Onto a sip, and what I would usually discover is that these strong beers often lull you into a sense that they're weaker than you'd think. The Oostendsebier has a fantastic warming sensation that you associate with nice boozy things. This beer was quite reminiscent of sherry in its taste, rich with fruit and spice. It always makes me laugh that sherry is so poo-pooed, generally speaking, yet countless whiskies would be nothing without it and its flavours coming through anything always put a smile on your face. Perhaps we're all closet Nannas.
Once you've taken your heady sip there's more to come. The aftertaste is thick and pleasingly sweet without being cloying. If you like dark beers with malty, sweet flavours there's not a lot else you can ask for than a beer like this. Compared, say, to Kasteel Donker, it has a much better balance and is much more palatable and easier to drink. I may not be the most critical critic but there are times when the glass is empty and you have to ask yourself what more would you have wanted from the beer you've just finished. In this case, I'd have to say pretty much nothing, except perhaps a prettier bottle for it to sit in. Harsh, I know.
Keyte Oostendse Dobbel Tripel - 9.5
http://www.brouwerij-strubbe.be/start/bieren/en
Once again I find myself in front of a bottle of beer which I'd usually not even have noticed. Forcing yourself to drink (well not exactly 'forcing', but...) everything on a list has its highs as well as lows. My first discovery was to be whether this beer was dark or light: was it 'dobbel' or 'tripel'?
It was a dark offering, dark indeed. With a bubbling beige head it sat enticingly in the glass, waiting to be sampled. It had a really rich, fruity and deep scent; this beer clearly had lots to give. There was a definite edge of cinnamon and nutmeg spice ('woody', one might say if one was in the marketing department for Hugo Boss Fragrances) and it reminded me a little of the magnificent Westvleteren 12. We're not getting carried away but it's fair comparison.
Onto a sip, and what I would usually discover is that these strong beers often lull you into a sense that they're weaker than you'd think. The Oostendsebier has a fantastic warming sensation that you associate with nice boozy things. This beer was quite reminiscent of sherry in its taste, rich with fruit and spice. It always makes me laugh that sherry is so poo-pooed, generally speaking, yet countless whiskies would be nothing without it and its flavours coming through anything always put a smile on your face. Perhaps we're all closet Nannas.
Once you've taken your heady sip there's more to come. The aftertaste is thick and pleasingly sweet without being cloying. If you like dark beers with malty, sweet flavours there's not a lot else you can ask for than a beer like this. Compared, say, to Kasteel Donker, it has a much better balance and is much more palatable and easier to drink. I may not be the most critical critic but there are times when the glass is empty and you have to ask yourself what more would you have wanted from the beer you've just finished. In this case, I'd have to say pretty much nothing, except perhaps a prettier bottle for it to sit in. Harsh, I know.
Keyte Oostendse Dobbel Tripel - 9.5
http://www.brouwerij-strubbe.be/start/bieren/en
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