Beer - #248 - Duvel - Tripel Hop 2012 (Citra)

I've been putting this aside, until now, because I wanted to get to 250 beers with a splash. I have an Epic Epicurean Coffee & Fig Oatmeal Stout, and a draft Epic Hop Zombie to get me there. I had to put off a couple of other beers too that I've been looking forward to drinking for the right occasion.  And I also picked up a Moa 10 Ale, which is a Cherry Lambic wild/sour beer.  It's like I can't control myself in the beer chiller.

Anyway, Duvel Tripel Hop 2012 (Citra), a beer no longer available, limited edition an all, Formerly brewed at Duvel Moortgat in the style of a  Belgian Strong Ale and of all places in Breendonk-Puurs, Belgium.

The first two batches of Duvel Tripel Hop were brewed with Saaz-Saaz, Styrian Golding and Amarillo. From now on Duvel Tripel Hop will have a different hop every year that will be added in the brewing process as well as being used for dry hopping.

For 2012 this hop is Citra.

 The aromatic Citra hop cultivated in the Yakima Valley of Washington State, USA. Citra is new world hop renowned for citrus fruit flavours such as lime and grapefruit along with tropical fruit aromas of passion friut, peach and lychee. It is also added differently in a process called 'dry-hopping' whereby whole hop heads are added at a later stage in the brewing process resulting in a rich, bold hop flavour with increased bitterness (IBU 44).

My 750ml bottle is  a 9.5% ABV beer, and with 44 IBU which is higher than for a normal Tripel which could come in put o 40 IBU.  In NZ this then is 5.62 standard drink units.

Presented in a well packaged and delivered foil covered cork and cage, lots of rich gold foil.  Justification for the cost :-)

Really nice burst of the Citra hops on opening this, pours pale yellow, with a small but interesting head, a really nice wash of aromas. I could of course be being lyrical because I think this is really good. Patience.

Settles to a subtly strong yeast note, really full mouthfeel, has lots of the character you'd expect, musty, sour, citrus, but has a very dry finish.

Does not have a warm malt carry that could be expected, and so then this is carried by the top sourness.

I'm not enjoying this as much as I talked myself into :-) and we've all done that before. So not as spectacular and fireworks as I thought, but then who knows what I thought, the only other person that I know who has drunk this said it was as good as the normal Duvel,  should have listened to them,.

The pdubyah-o-meter says that this is a 7.5 better than good, less than great. At this point I have to say that the alcohol might be kicking in and making me smile.

But I'm left with a few regrets and more observations. This might not have sat well, even though it can't have been a long time, it may have lost something in the couple of month in the fridge, yes I'm a complete n00b I kept it in the fridge, cold, like you do with beer.  It isn't as warm or malty as I might have thought it was going to be, it was paler and more yellow like straw than I thought it was going to be, it still has a head even though I drank that whole glass.

I shall sit an pander then, what was the best thing before sliced bread, and what would chairs look like if our knees bent the other way for a bit.

The background to my evening this evening has been the summer sunset, cats charging about after insects and the odd skink, and a very fine couple of album records from Lee Fields who's a bit better than James Brown - hush my mouth.

Off to incinerate some foods on the bbq. Enjoy the setting sun, and get my groove on. possibly in that order.

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Beer - #138 - Maredsous 8 Brune/Bruin

The second of a pair for this afternoon - a Maredsous 8 Brune/Bruin. Brewed by Duvel Moortgat in the style of a Abbey Dubbel Breendonk-Puurs, Belgium.

300ml of an 8% ABV beer - Bottle conditioned.

A brown or brune ale brewed under the supervision of the monastic community of Maredsous. Top fermented beer, brewed according to Benedictine tradition. Refermented in the bottle;, and conditioned for two months. Maredsous Brown should ideally be served at a temperature of 6-10 C

I'm really hoping for more malts and sweets in this and less alcohol note.

There is a fruit aroma, like sultana, and it's a very dark brown pour, with a magnificent fully head. The aroma settles to a rich malty note, but like the Tripel it carries a sourness about it.

There's nothing of anything in the palate for this, it's fairly soft, and unassuming. I could get why you loved this beer, it's not a challenge and it's fairly strong, you could impress your mates with it.

However when push comes to shove this is a struggle to get to the same 5 on the pdubyah-o-meter  that the Tripel did. This is a beer that's comes with a reputation, one that I might have even made up in my own head, but I was expecting something with a bang and got a whimper.

I can take that it's a beer brewed at commercial levels if it ended up being true to itself, but this isn't that, it seems to be brewed to be inoffensive and to maximise an audience. The dinky bottle and the indication that it should be special are just  not enough.

Beer - #137 - Maredsous 10 Tripel

Back to the Belgium beers with a Maredsous 10 Tripel - Brewed by Duvel Moortgat In the style of a Abbey Tripel in Breendonk-Puurs, Belgium.

A bottle conditioned  Golden beer with a characteristically fresh bouquet and sweet after-taste. 330ml of a 10% ABV beer.

There's quite an alcohol aroma up-front. It's a lovely chestnut golden with loud carbonation that gives up a decent head,

The aroma, as I can discern it changes to sour almost a vinegar.  There's a maltly sweetness that you expect but it's not prominent or pushy.

I'm a bit underwhelmed by the sour note in this, and by loudness of the alcohol. Not something that you expect to get, and frankly a bit difficult to enjoy. The strength of this beer does not make up for the shortcomings that are in it.

As a consequence the pdubyah-o-meter only slides to a 5, making this an also ran beer in the big scheme of things, which doesn't make me happy at all. But then I come to this expecting fireworks and that's not what I'm getting.

I'm having the sister beer the Maredsous 8 Brune next, I hope that puts more a smile on my dial

Beer – #124 – Mc Chouffe

Mc Chouffe. That's it's name. Brewed by Brasserie d’Achouffe (Moortgat) in the style of a  Belgian Strong Ale and that's all done in Achouffe, Belgium

750ml bottle of an 8% ABV dark beer - the Mc CHOUFFE is an unfiltered dark beer, which is re-fermented in the bottle as well as in the keg. Behind its fruity flavour a slight hint of bitterness may be found.

I have an expectation of a toffee coloured beer, with a similar taste, malty, sweet, and fruity.

It's a lot darker than I expected, but it is a "Brune" beer so that's not such a surprise, the head is nice foamy and dark, and stays with the beer. There is nothing in the aroma to give away what is to come, if anything it smells of musty yeast.

There is a fair whack of carbonation that surprises the palate and this seems to mask the taste of the beer that you're drinking. The malt isn't very strong and you can get the alcahol bitterness of this beer. It's not wholly unpleasant just surprising.

So where am I at with this. I think like the Le Chouffe this is a beer that isn't a leader, or setting a mark that others have to get to. It's a middle of the road offering,  nothing to see here, move along.  This isn't a beer that I'd share with others, it's not something that I'd be trying to impress you with. As a beer this lacks the sugary malty front taste, has too much carbonation and doesn't carry very well to a finish.

However! for an 8% strong ale this is guaffable and could get you into trouble if you let it get carried away with you. The pdubyah-o-meter says 7.5 is a good mark to give, and at that mark there are a lot of beers that I wouldn't dink in favour of this.

Given the beers of a similar  type that come to mind, such as Duvel, Chimay, Leffe or Maredesous this doesn't fare as well.  It's a likeable beer, well made and rounded, but it's not a "A" student

Beer – #30 – Duvel

Duvel - a Belgium Strong ale. I went the family sized 750Ml bottle of 8.5% ABV beer.



It's hard  to be expecting anything other than magnificent from this beer. It comes with a reputation and a promise.

And it's in a big bottle. And It's been one of those weeks, and frankly I deserve this.

Hazy, White head, fluffy, snappy,  and from the reviews this is solid but not spectacular as Belgium Beers go.

For trick beer you have to undo the cage and pop the cork, all part of the experience , and then set in for an hour or so of taste sensation. This is almost Albino Pale, and it really does get a head on. It might be that I don't own a "tulip" but I was impressed and amused at my result.

I thought this was a tad  'sour' as taste goes. Not really sure what it is I am tasting, it's grassy. (and here I pause to contemplate 'grassy').

It's almost a bit the opposite of what I expected which was a richer longer taste, and that's confusing.

It does have a myriad of flavor in this, and begs for a food to go with it, so I'm going to pause and get the blue cheese out.

On the arbitrary pdubyah-o-meter for some arbitrary stars out of an arbitrary number I'd give this a 3.5 out of 5 which is fairly solid and not a disgrace, which I might be after drinking what essentially is a wine bottle's worth of beer.

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