Beer - #167 - Berthold Keller - Super Strength

Well this was a gift. A Can of beer. A Can!!! Berthold Keller - Super Strength - Brewed by Martens in the style of a  Strong Pale Lager/Imperial Pils and they're in Bocholt, Belgium.

9% ABV 500ml can, being 3.6 Standard drinks of,  this is as far from craft as Noah's Ark would be from an American Cup Yacht.

So A Belgium beer, which should rock my boat, but 9% ABV which will make my world spin.

And a can. I have to admit that the quality of beers in cans in NZ is lacking.

But I'm game so here goes.....  Sweet aroma on opening, pale golden yellow, lots of carbonation, but the head settles to a film and doesn't hold, the aroma settles to a base malt. It's really fizzy.

Now to be fair, I thought that initially this carries itself ok, there is that nice malty sweet taste, and a small kicker of alcohol at the end. But this is thin as rice paper, with no depth of flavour or carry. The after note of sour makes this slightly odd.

However I've had worse Belgium beers than this. What's interesting is that you don't get an overt indication that this is a very strong beer. But at the end of the day a lack of any taste means that there isn't a lot to wrote home about.

The pdubyah-o-meter says 5.5 of it's things of things, and I'm not overly unhappy. I really have had beer that's been sold as being a thing, this comes in a can with no fanfare, and there is no downside to no marketing.  It's not all bad, it's just not a beer you might want your mates to see you drinking, as there appears to be no benefit or reason for the high ABV count other than "it just is" perhaps they have a different audience.

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 - #125 - Moa - Five Hops

Brewed by Moa Brewing Company in the style of a  Premium Bitter/ESB  brewed in the Marlborough region , Blenheim, New Zealand

Premium! none of the riff-raff. All cage and Cork too , you get a premium delivery for such a small bottle 330ml of what is described on the label as a winter Ale of 6.2% ABV beer.

Moa Five Hop winter ale shows the unique signatures of traditional North European bottle conditioning. Displaying a Nelson-dominant hoppy nose with a subtle oak character leaving extra smooth and creamy, honeyed characters on the palate. A well-balanced companion to eastern style spiced foods. Traditionally served just below room temperature.

Nelson Dominant?  Moa Five Hop Winter Ale utilises pilsner, Vienna, Munich and crystal malts to produce a distinctive mouth feel and flavour. New Zealand grown B Saaz and Hallertau aroma hops are used.

To me this says "We have a few bags of a few things left over let's just chuck them in"

I have no idea why Moa beers carry a cachet of quality, taste, and remarkable, but I fall for it every time.

And back to earth this has nose-full of hops, which is somewhat re-assuring, it's well carbonated, carried a decent head, which tinges orange coloured. and is decent beer orange colour (they're not related I hope.)

The aroma portends a sour taste... here goes.... and ..... that's interesting. It's quite lovely, the hoppy combination is a bit of a joy, nothing that it going to shock you, and as a taste it's not at the extreme end of the scale.

I like beer, and although I enjoy the sweeter beers, getting back to a hoppy taste is something that makes me smile, and somehow resolve to have more of it. I'm entranced by this small bottle of apparent magic. It's quite mellow offers up a slight bittery finish and does not crease the brow with a difficult combination of things. It's alright by me.

After the sweeter Belgium beers this is a welcome and remarkable beer,  lots of tastes despite the apparent initial  lack of aroma, which arrives as it warms, and in that weird way matches the taste that you get.

This is good enough for an 8 on the pdubyah-o-meter, I could get carried away and say that it's as good as your money back, but it isn't. It's nice, very nice, nicely delivered, sense of occasion and does what it says. Impress your friends and get some, it'll  be expensive and you should have a stand-by or alternative to go to.

For me it leads me back to the hoppy beers... and when you start to think about the types of beer and how they fit on sliding scale should bring joy to the heart.

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Beer – #58 – Pauwel - Kwak

Pauwel Kwak - Brewed by Brouwerij Bosteels, and it's a Belgian Strong Ale from Buggenhout, Belgium.

A Tiny 330ml of 8.4% ABV Full-bodied Belgian Specialty Ale.

Amber in color with beautiful foam (yes I got a head on it!) and slightly to moderately sweet,  an intriguing malt character. And with all that it's promising a Rich, satisfying Belgian experience.

And yes, I have to say, that it's that, and a bag of chips.

Brown, malty, creamy, fruity of  fruits, this is a pretty classy beer.Sweet and moreish and yet holds back something.

Usually served in a contraption of indescribable, I just had it in a normal glass, and tell you what, it tastes just as good if not gooderer. You get to focus on the beer and not the delivery.

Pauwel Kwak is somewhat known for it's quirkiness of delivery , and yet it typifies the Belgium Beer, of this genre,  and as such you can you can taste the  many things that underly a Belgium, Beer. You can tell it's a strong beer as it hints quite strongly of alcohol as a backwash when you drink it,  but this is  also a beer who's flavour and aroma come through the more you enjoy it.

No surprises then that I like this, after all I have developed a bit of a soft spot for Belgium beer over the months, and the pdubyah-o-meter wavers at about 7 ish on the arbitrarily numbered scale of things.

I like this, it's a beer you can contemplate and measure against, it's not a giant amongst the Belgium beers, and I'm suspecting that this is a beer brewed for it's market, and not a beer that's just brewed for itself. The Kwak lovers will love it, the pub goer will thrill at the pretentious delivery of a beer. I like it because I expect to like it, but I enjoy it's colour, aroma and sweetness.

I've had this in the Belgium beer cafe in Ponsonby, and I'm glad I had this at home where it becomes more honest and has to stand on it's own. Hats off to he chaps at the Liquorland in Forest Hill who know their stuff, and after all this is a fine departure from the Chimay and the Duval and the Hoegaarden, or the Leffe. It's not like this is a limited production market.

I'm sorry I rambled on, I wanted to 10 from 10 this beer, I want to like it because that's what I want. I don't love it, I wouldn't not drink it, but I would not drink it for something else it all.

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