December 13, 2005 - Belgian Beer

The Belgian Beer tasting was a great success. Introduced by the hostess with the mostest, Maria DeSimone, we were guaranteed a good time. Although her spread was always in danger of toppling over, it was fantabulous. And we were lucky enough to be edu-tained by Joe Dougherty, homebrewer, certified beer judge, and all-around know-it-all when it comes to beer. Although I think the beers themselves stole the show.

Beers tasted that night include (in order):

Hoegaarden Original White Ale: Naturally cloudy, wheat beer with scents of lemon, coriander, and banana. Purely gulpable; palate cleansing. A fantastic example of a Belgian witbier.
Lucifer: Golden Strong Ale - young style with strong aromas of bubble gum. A second fermentation in the bottle means that this is made using the Champagne Method. This is an expensive and time consuming process, plus it gets all those cool little bubbles.
La Chouffe: This spiced and fruity beer is extraordinarily good. With wheat and Pilsner malts, the result is very balanced and delicious. Not to mention it's super terrific label.
Corsendonk: One of the 6 trappist ales: Dubbel with sediment floating in it's ruddy liquid. Hoppy with candy and sugar-spiced notes. Those monks are really onto something here...
Fantom: This unusual bottle called to me from the refrigerated case, but the goods inside didn't measure up. Smelly, hoppy, and just plain bad, this very expensive "boutique" bottling is better left to the hipsters in the Foodery.
Boon Oude Geuze: Ok, so it's a funny name. And some imbibers thought it to be funny tasting. But let me tell you my friend, as a wine lover, I couldn't help but enjoy this complicated elixer. Aromas of cheese and "wet horse blanket" as was coined at Maria's, this balanced unusual creation had me asking for more. I can only imagine what it would taste like with a plate of steaming mussels and duck sausage....
Stella Artois: This beer gets the stinker award for most unimaginative beer brought to a tasting. This European version of Budwiser tasted even worse than normal following all of those supurb beverages made with excellence. Yuppies are so annoying...

...so apparently I got a few things wrong according to my fellow "know-it-all" members. I left out a few beers: Delrium Noel: tasty brew that knocks you on your ass; and both Saisons, which were extremely refreshing and my new favorites.

On top of that, Corsendonk is NOT a trappist ale, but an abbaye. I don't feel like explaining the difference...just read the comment board for more info. Hey, I can't be held responsible for the notes I take while I'm drinking.