Style: Belgian Tripel
Brewery: Brouwerij Duvel Moortgat (Breendonk-Puurs, Belgium)
ABV: 10%
IBUs: unknown
Availability: year round

Ah, you crazy monks. How you make such good beer. I know I should be drinking syrupy sweet American barleywines this month but something keeps bringing me back to these great, golden brews. Maredsous Tripel, however, does not come from a Trappist Monastery. Instead, it is commissioned and brewed by makers of Duvel at Brouwerij Duvel Moortgat. The result is a beer brewed with bigger brewery consistency and pricing without sacrificing the subtle notes characteristic of Belgian beers.

Appearance: The Maredsous Tripel exploded (literally) after the cork and cage were removed. After the vigorous overflow of foam, it poured a light amber with a stately tan head that resided slowly to leave nice lacing on the glass.

Smell: There’s a full bouquet of floral and chamomile notes up front here along with hints of honey, toffee and dirty oranges that are a bit muted but still notable.

Taste: As expected, the flavor is sweet and full of golden malt. But there is also a unique, bright taste from spicy pepper notes, yeasty apple hints, and some subtle orange flavors. If you dig deep enough, there’s even a musky undertone distanct to Maredsous’ cousin brew, Duvel, but it is something that goes unnoticed unless you hunt it down. The alcohol is very well hidden.

Mouthfeel: Maredsous Tripel has a medium bodyand a very active carbonation that finishes clean with a bit sweetness.

Drinkability: Tripels tend to be a bit less easy-going than their lower-alcohol cousin, the dubbel. This one, however, is very drinkable. It’s got big sweetness and a bright, golden flavor that is not overpowering.

Overall: Maredsous Tripel is a extremely well made beer and a good transition for someone who has tried the more common Belgians (Duvel, Chimay, etc) but may not be ready to delve into the funky ones such as Orval. Since it comes from a rather large brewery, you can get this at a good price and it’s well worth trying.

Style: Winter Warmer
Brewery: Birra del Borgo (Lazio, Italy)
ABV: 9.5%
IBUs: unknown
Availability: unknown

Back across the pond today for the big beer of the day only this time I am giving the Belgians a break and heading to Italy for Birra del Borgo’s 25 Dodici. I first became aware of Birra del Borgo through their collaboration with Dogfish Head on the My Antonia. Leonardo DiVencenzo, head brewer at Birra del Borgo, is often compared to Dogfish Head’s Sam Calagione for his adventurous brewing techniques and use of non-traditional adjuncts. And while there spirit is the same, their equally-spectacular results are really quite different.

Appearance: Pours a deep brown with a rich reddish hue. There’s no head at all from the poor but it does leave a bit of residue on the glass as you drink. No lacing.

Smell: The nose is really tart here, almost like orange Starburst candies mixed with lots of fresh berries. There’s a good amount of chocolate and roasted notes as well with really subtle hints of honey and grass. Quite a bit going on once you get into it.

Taste: The flavor is very light but there are a lot of complex elements too it. The bitter orange peel comes forward as well along with some pepper, coriander and burnt caramel. Beneath the initial flavors are some pine and oak notes which make this taste like a cross between a saison and and a pale ale. The orange flavor lingers nicely in the finish.

Mouthfeel: 25 Dodici is dangerously light bodied for a 9.5% alcohol beer. It comes across slightly watery with almost no carbonation and finishes slightly sweet on the tongue.

Drinkability: This is highly, highly drinkable for a big beer. It is light, dry and refreshing. The only off-putting element is the lack of carbonation but it could have just been my bottle. Otherwise, I could easily put back a few of these with dinner (dangerous).

Overall: 25 Dodici is really unique. At first I thought it was way flat but then the lack of carbonation grew on me. It’s a nice introduction into the world of Italian craft beer and the high level of drinkability makes it worth hunting down for a try.

Brewing Notes: Malt: Pilsner malt, munich malt, vienna malt, cara munich malt, cara
weizen, chocolate malt. Hops: Hallertau Northern brewer, Hallertau hersbrucker, styrian golding, simcoe.
Spice: Bitter orange peel

Style: Strong Golden Ale
Brewery: Hair of the Dog (Portland, OR)
ABV: 10%
IBUs: 65
Availability: year round

Okay Belgium, let’s take a break and turn our taste buds to the Pacific Northwest, home of the adventurous brewers at Hair of the Dog. I mean, you have to like a brewery that is on a first name basis with their beers, right? This particular brew, Fred, was named after the breweries first patron; beer writer and historian Fred Eckhardt. Fred is a golden special ale which could be considered the baby brother of a barleywine with its paler color and slightly less assertive hop character. (note: this Fred was from batch 4)

Appearance: Fred pours a deep red with a slight cream head. The head dissipates quickly and leaves no lacing on the glass.

Smell: There are a lot of, well, golden notes on this one. Hints of straw and light caramel and even some apricot hints.

Taste: Surprisingly, the flavor is much more complex than the nose. There are notes of raisins and prunes as well as a nice woodsy hop character. Beneath it all is a layer of golden honey flavors.

Mouthfeel: Another thick and syrupy offering. The fine carbonation here leaves a bit of a tingle on the tongue and it finishes even but definitely not dry.

Drinkability: This is a pretty big beer despite the light color and softer malt flavors. As with all these rich flavored beers, Fred is not meant for a session so enjoy one and perhaps split a second with a friend.

Overall: A nice, unique take on the big beer category. I’d call this a fine barelywine if Hair of the Dog did not offer Doggie Claws, a bigger brew with even more malt and hops. This is a nice introduction into big beers that embraces their thick, rich character.

Brewing Notes: Fred was created to honor beer writer and historian Fred Eckhardt. This golden strong ale incorporates ten hop varieties from five different countries. Through the use of aromatic and rye malt, the beer achieves a unique balance of flavor. We hope that Fred will inspire you to share your knowledge with others as Fred has with us. Fred is 10% alcohol by volume. (source)

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Style: Belgian Abbey Triple Dark Ale
Brewery: Brasserie Des Rocs (Montignies-sur-Rocs, Belgium)
ABV: 10%
IBUs:
Availability: year round
Pairing: vanilla ice cream, glass of water, Carbonnade Flamande

You can’t go wrong with Belgian beers. That’s my logic at least and so today I am continuing my love for those classic big beer styles with Triple Imperiale which comes from a more modern Belgian brewery, Brasserie de Rocs. Founded in 1979 on the border between France and Belgian, Brasserie de Rocs brews in the traditional style and all their beers are double fermented without additional sugars, bottle conditioned, and unfiltered. Triple Imperiale – the brewery’s strongest offering – is a unique dark tripel that straddles the line between an abbey dubbel and a British barleywine.

Appearance: Pours a deep reddish-brown with a vigorous tan head that recedes slowly to leave little lacing

Smell: There’s a big nose on this one. Lots of burnt caramel malt notes mixed with crisp apple and orange peel… some peppery spice as well.

Taste: Lots of malt flavor here. Tastes of maple syrup and golden delicious apples. Behind that there are nice pepper elements and an underlying hint of oaked vanilla. You can taste the 10% alcohol here but it manages to finish out very even.

Mouthfeel: You could almost call this one oily as the rich, thick mouthfeel and vigorous, fine carbonation result in a syrupy mouthfeel.

Drinkability: The thick mouthfeel, assertive malt, and big alcohol here would overpower a lot of drinkers but I could sip one slowly on a cold day. While it finishes dry, cracking another bottle would be a reach for me.

Overall: The Triple Imperiale is an ambitious beer, the heaviest of all the Brasserie de Rocs offerings. It is a little too massive for my tastes but would probably serve you well during the winter months of monastery life or in the French Alps. Sip slowly, perhaps with a glass of water on the side, and enjoy.

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Style: Belgian Abbey Dubbel
Brewery: Brasserie de Rochefort / Abbaye de Notre-Dame de Saint-Rémy (Rochefort, Belgium)
ABV: 9.2%
IBUs: 22
Availability: year round
Pairing: soft cheese, s’mores, small game, fish with butter or cream sauce

The tough thing about Big Beer month (besides the intoxication after two or three beers) is that a lot of these brews need to be laid down for a bit. Because we are talking about beers in the 10 or 11% alcohol range, a lot of them need at least a year to mellow out. Other just become too syrupy to get through 12oz (let a long a 750ml) unless you are out camping in the cold. So, since I fell short of a beer a day last week (note: I had them, just didn’t want to talk about them) I figured I’d start the week off with some tried and true big beers. These are favorites that I fell in love with years ago and still drink regularly to this day. To me, there is something to be said groundbreaking brews but there is also something to those perfect beers that have been brewed for decades (or centruries). With that, I tip my cup to a personal favorite, Trappistes Rochefort 8

Appearance: Pours a deep brown with rich, tan head with lots of carbonation from the bottle fermentation that slowly resides to leave little lacing

Smell: The nose has lots of vanilla and toffee notes up front along with some marshmallow, sweet apples, and a bit of plywood.

Taste: The taste goes right along with the nose as there are lots of vanilla and deep caramel flavors. Behind that there are some tart flavors of dark fruits and a bit of unassuming spice.

Mouthfeel: There’s lots of carbonation on the Rochefort 8 which leaves a nice tingle on the tongue but with a medium body creates a dry finish. This is a much more palatable brew when compared to others of this ABV.

Drinkability: With its lighter mouthfeel (for 9.2% ABV), the Trappistes Rochefort 8 is a very drinkable strong beer. This is one that you could easily have with dinner and pair with small game, rich cream/butter sauces or even a soft cheese. It’s more of a casual drinker than a sipper.

Overall: Trappistes Rochefort 8 is, to me, the quintessential Abbey. It’s big bodied, sure, but with a perfect balance of flavors that come across as like-minded rather than competing. It’s heavy and sweet without being overwhelming and finishes clean and dry.

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Style: Barleywine
Brewery: Otter Creek Brewing Company (Middlebury, VT)
ABV: 12%
IBUs: 38
Availability: unknown
Pairing:

Big Beer Month kicked into high gear the other night as I got a chance to taste all the new offerings from the Otter Creek Brewing Company at their NYC relaunch. Each of the new beers was impeccably crafted but their new barleywine, the Quercus Vitis Humulus, was my hands down favorite. QVH is an amber sipper somewhat akin to a strong Belgian Ale but with a load of complex flavors from the use of two yeast strains (including warm fermented lager yeast) and Sauvignon Blanc grape juice.

Appearance: Pours a rich orange with light head and very nice lacing

Smell: There is no overpowering nose on the QVH and comes across bready at first. As it warms, subtle notes of honey and citrus come forward along with hints of chalk and oak.

Taste: The taste here not overpowering but, instead, is loaded with several complex layers that change as the beer warms. Initially, there are honey and citrus notes in line with the nose as well as some limestone flavors from the use of lager yeast. But as the temperature changes, more pine notes come forward in the hop character along with subtle flavors of oak and dry red wine. The alcohol is balanced well and does not interfere with the flavor palate at all.

Mouthfeel: QVH holds a fine carbonation and – while a bit dense in the mouth – it is not as syrupy as you would expect at 12% alcohol. Crisp, dry finish.

Drinkability: The alcohol is hidden so well in this one that it creeps up on you. With its lighter mouthfeel, I could easily put a few of these back in an evening. They sit somewhere between a sipper and casual drinking beer but pack a punch at 12% ABV.

Overall: If QVH is any indication of what’s to come from Otter Creek then I’m fully on board. This is an incredibly complex ale with layer upon layer of subtle flavors that result from an intense and unorthodox, brewing process. I’ve never tasted a lager yeast perform this well and it combines flawlessly with Champagne finishing yeast. Quercus Vitis Humulus is an excellently crafted beer all around and one to stock up on and share with friends.

Brewing Note: “QVH is our brewers’ tribute to the mighty oak, luscious grape, and humble hop. The homage begins with a bold 27 degree plato barley-wine, warm-fermented with Bohemian lager yeast, then blended with Sauvignon Blanc grape juice and fermented a second time with a pure culture of Champagne yeast. When this intricate brew was complete, our brewers aged it on lightly toasted French Oak. The six week journey through our brewery results in a deeply complex ale which clocks in at 12% ABV, with 38 IBU.”

Style: Old Ale
Brewery: North Coast (Fort Bragg, CA)
ABV: 11.5%
IBUs: 35
Availability: annually, late winter
Pairing:

Appearance: Pours a musty red little cream that dissipates quickly and leaves no lacing on the glass

Smell: There’s a strong scent of powdered cocoa combined with sweet malts. Beyond this sugary upfront there are subtle undertones of sour cherries and some green apple notes

Taste: I can taste lots of chocolate and burnt sugar notes here. Old Stock Ale is a true testiment to the diversity of Marris Otter Malt. Beneath the sweet base are subtle notes of creamsicle, calvados, and pine needles combined with a distinct alcohol flavor. Both the woodsy notes and the alcohol should both smooth out with age.

Mouthfeel: There’s a lot of body to this beer but the tart hop notes keep this beer from being overly thick. The finish is surprisingly dry and leaves a slight tingle in the mouth.

Drinkability: If it weren’t for the mammoth 11.5% alcohol this beer would quite a drinkable beer but as it stands, these beast go straight to the head so be weary after more than one.

Overall: This is a heavy honker of an old ale that will probably mellow out nicely with age. As it stands right now this is a monster beer with a nice hop bite and balances sweetness… definitely worth a try and worth cellaring a few for years to come.

Brewing Note: “Like a fine port, Old Stock Ale is intended to be laid down. With an original gravity of over 1.100 and a generous hopping rate, Old Stock Ale is well-designed to round-out and mellow with age. It’s brewed with classic Maris Otter malt and Fuggles and East Kent Goldings hops, all imported from England.” source)

Style: Belgian IPA
Brewery: Green Flash (Vista, CA)
ABV: 9.2%
IBUs: 101
Availability: year round
Pairing: apple salads, funky cheese, creamsicles, mussels in white wine

Appearance: A healthy off-white head tops this wildflower honey colored beer. The head dissipates quickly leaving strong lacing on the glass.

Smell: Strong yeast notes with lots of clove and nutmeg. But there’s also some funk to this one with scents of orange rind, limestone and old sock.

Taste: This is a hop monster with woody notes upfront and orange and grapefruit flavors in the back. There are some grassy flavors and some resin as well as lighter honey notes from the malt.

Mouthfeel: Green Flash Le Freak is tart and dry with a medium body and light carbonation. This is a highly drinkable beer that hides its 9.2% alcohol very well.

Drinkability: This one almost too drinkable. The body is light enough to to put a few back and the nice, dry hop flavors leave a clean finish. This beer opens up a lot as it warms so don’t hesitate to let it rest a but

Overall: Le Freak is my favorite offering thus far from one of my favorite west coast breweries. The balance of woody hops and citrus ones creates a nice balance and there are enough golden malt notes to create an even body. The unique Belgian yeast creates subtle fruity, tart undertones that bring this beyond a standard IIPA. Highly recommended!

Brewing Note: “This Belgian Style IPA is an ‘out of the box’ convergence of beer styles where American Imperial IPA meets Belgian Trippel.” source)

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Style: Scottish Ale brewed with Maple Syrup
Brewery: Dieu du Ciel (Montréal, Québec)
ABV: 9.5%
Availability: annually, late winter early spring
Pairing: Hannah Teeter Maple Blondie Ice Cream, pheasant, rabbit, portabella mushrooms

Kicked off my Big Beer Month with a nice bottle of Dieu du Ciel’s Equinoxe du Printemps, a heavy Scotch Ale with maple syrup. This is a classic strong ale with lots of sweet flavors but never loses its classic scotch ale character to unique flavors. Equinoxe du Printemps brewed only once a year in January, aged for two months in order to attain a perfect balance in taste, and then sold until out of stock.

Appearance: Pours a hazy rust color with little head that dissipates quickly and leaves no lacing on the glass

Smell: Notes of burnt caramel, evergreen trees, melted marshmellow.

Taste: There are maple syrup for sure backed by a heavy malt palate characteristic of Scotch Ales. A Strong Alcohol flavor is present combined with notes of caramel and earthly flavors. This is a big, sweet beer

Mouthfeel: This is one thick and syrupy brew with barely any carbonation. It finishes smoth but leaves quite a sweet coating on the mouth.

Drinkability: Balanced and drinkable but with a high ABV and thick mouthfeel, one is enough.

Overall: Thick, syrupy, this is a true big beer full of lots of alcohol, sweet flavors and definite sipping status. Enjoy, but tread lightly.

Brewing Note: “Équinoxe du Printemps (French for “spring equinox”) is the quintessential marriage of two great traditions: beer brewing in Scotland, and maple syrup production in Quebec. At the first draught, the mouth is overcome by woody, malty flavours, sustained by a discrete touch of sweetness. The aftertaste brings about the flavours of maple, which are sufficiently present to be appreciated, but never overwhelming the typical flavours of a Scotch Ale.” source)