Friday, May 23, 2008

10 Best Beer Names. Ever.

Ah ... why not? Then again all of them are non-Belgian.
So here is your homework :) for the weekend: what are your top 10 Belgian Beer names? Spread the word on this top ten and let me know. If we have enough answers (well at least 10 of them) I'll compile a top 10 Belgian Beer names next week.
Have a good (beery) weekend everyone.

Friday, May 16, 2008

Belgian Beer no.228: Dragon

I mean, common', only for the name and you'd get this beer. The Dragon!
And now comes the best part: this beer is green. Yep, green. Besides the colour, it's a 6.5% malty and herby tasting beer. Herbs? Green? You get the picture. Not my thing really.
From Brasserie Saint Monon.

Belgian Beer no.227: Cuvée Ermesinde

Another brewery present was the Brasserie Saint Monon. If you recall we already tasted two beers from this one - the Belgian Beer no.11 and one of the Belgian Beer no. 116.
The Cuvee Ermesinde is another beer brewed by them. A 8% strong pale ale. Orange amber colour, with hints of citrus fruit. Easy to drink despite its 8%.

Belgian Beer no.226: Troubadour Obscura

As just mentioned, the second beer from the Brasserie De Musketiers. The Troubadour Obscura. this one is a stout ale, at 8.5% stronger than the blond. Pretty dark and colour and malty taste. Hints of liquorice perhaps?
I am not a very big fan of stouts, so I'll leave this one to stout lovers.

Belgian Beer no.225: Troubadour Blond

Moving on. Another brewery, the Brasserie De Musketiers and their two beers: the Troubadour Blond and the Troubadour Obscura.
The first is an ale style beer, a 6.5% golden, clear blond beer. Refreshing and then followed by a mild bitterness. A fun beer, and an even funnier stand and staff.
(Impossible to find the website of the brewery so if you know of it, new url, moved perhaps? Let me know)

Belgian Beer no.224: Saison d'Erpe Mere

Next beer, same brewery. The Saison d'Erpe Mere. I remember something a little biter about this beer. A 6.9% blond beer, yellow and hazy with bitter aftertaste. Not my favourite in De Glazen Toren bunch.

Belgian Beer no.223: Cuvée Angélique

May. May isn't really computer friendly. Belgium sees a lot of days off in May (a Thursday there, a Monday here) which translates into a lot of long weekends. None of them spent at home in front of the computer. We've been to the Netherlands. We've been to France. We're off to the Czech Republic. So not much time left for beer blogging ... BUT: here Belgian Beer 223.
Cuvee Angelique. In case you're lost, we're still at the Zythos Festival.
Cuvee Angelique is a hazy brown coloured beer, with a creamy white head. At 8.5% quite a strong beer. Malt taste. Some toast. Fruits? Probably all a matter of taste. A nice beer. From Brasserie De Glazen Toren.

Thursday, May 08, 2008

Belgian Beer no.222: Ondineke

The second beer tried at De Glazen Toren was the Ondineke. A 6.9%, light yellow a little sparkling and with a heavy head. Again, citrus notes, quite dry and a soft bitterness to it. Not a bad beer.

Belgian Beer no.221: Jan de Lichte

A new beer/ brewery stand. Again, no idea before Zythos of the existence of these beers. The brewery? De Glazen Toren. The first beer tried? Jan de Lichte. The name gives away the beer (a little): a light beer, slightly hazy and with hints of sparkle. The beer is a 7% fairly citric beer, with a slight bitterness to it. I liked it. But not over the top.

Trivia: Jan de Lichter was the 'boss' of a famous robbers gang, end of the 18thC. He was killed at 23.

Belgian Beer no.220: Hofnar

Now this ... this ... this is my new favorite beer. Yep. It happened. I found a new one. From the Brasserie 't Hofbrouwerijke. Try saying that.

Anyway, it's not the name that counts. The beer. And trust me this beer is absolutely great. We tried the Hofnar, an amber 9% beer. Somehow fruity, with very longer lingering taste, apparently of 'whiskey malt'. Who am I to aruge with that?

Fantastic beer. Now all I have to do is : try the other beers from 't Hofbrouwerijke to see if I find another favorite. And try to find Hofnar somewhere in Brussels.

Wednesday, May 07, 2008

Belgian Beer no.217, no.218, no.219: Valeir Blond, Valeir Donker, Valeir Diver

Neverending!

The Valeir beer range from Brasserie Contreras. The blonde, the dark and the divers.

The blonde - love it. Check Belgian Beer no. 105

The dark - nice, 6.5%, sweet, rich. Not too bad.

The divers - 8.5%, fruits and spice, somehow bitter I would say. Matter of taste I guess.

Belgian Beer no.216: Mars

Still at the Brasserie Contreras stand, still at Zythos. This time around the Mars beer. A 6.5% amber beer, slightly sweet (caramel?).

Apparently a March (Mars) beer, only brewed in spring, using flowery water. Whatever that is.

Belgian Beer no.213, no.214, no.215: Tonneke, Contra Pils, Extra

Three beers from another brewery this time, the Brasserie Contreras. This explains as well the numbers I would guess 213 to 215.

Tonneke: a 4.8% amber beer, fairly aromatic and soft if that is possible . Easy to drink.

Contra Pils: a 5% light blond beer, again very easy to drink and quite fresh. Probably best in summer.

Extra: another 6.5%. Don't remember this one though, sorry.

Another beer from the Brasserie Contreras previously reviewed here, the Valeir Beer.

Tuesday, May 06, 2008

Belgian Beer no.212: Sasbrau

I wish I would remember more about this one. The Sasbrau Leroy (on the left). A very light blond at 5%. Not too great as I don't remember it ... or maybe it is?

This is it for tonight, Brussels time. More tomorrow. Good night!

Belgian Beer no.211: Bruin Leroy

The Bruin Leroy. Obvious I would say. They call this 'table beer' ... sort of like the French have the table wine. And at 1.8% I can honestly say we didn't even feel it. Soft drink? Beer? Who knows.

Belgian Beer no.210: Special Katje

The Special Katje (special Kate?). Another one from the Brasserie Leroy. An amber beer, fairly smooth, and at 6% resonable. Soft feel beer.

Belgian Beer no.209: Paulus

The Paulus. A Flemish Red as they call it. Or an old brown beer. Only 5% but from what I remember, bitter. So not my style really.

Next!

Belgian Beer no.208: Yperman

I think there are just too many beers in Belgium ... only the Brasserie Leroy produces around 20 beers or so.

The next one: Yperman. A blond 5.5% it was a welcome, light change from the other beers at the festival. Still uneventful.

Belgian Beer no.207: Stout Leroy

Moving on to the stand of the Brasserie Leroy in Boezinge. First one up the Stout Leroy.

A 6% stout, dark brown, hints of grilled hops and fairly sugary/ sweet. Not a wow beer, that much is for sure.

Monday, May 05, 2008

Belgian Beer no.206: X-Mas Blond

Moving on. The X-Mas Blond. An ale type beer, at 8% very much a Christmas strong beer. Ales are not really my type, but an ok beer. Probably best to drink it when it's really cold outside.

Belgian Beer no.205: Ultramour

Ok, there is cheesy and there is cheesy. Don't get me wrong I am all up for a little cheesy. I'm a girl after all. But this beer is just a little bit too much. The Ultramour. It might make a nice Valentines gift? Eh.
A very sweet beer at 5%. You have to be into sweet a lot to drink this beer.
Cute, perhaps. Still at Brasserie d'Eucassinnes.

Belgian Beer no.204: Ultradelice

Sorry. With all the days off in May it is difficult to just stay in Brussels :) Sorry.
We have been abroad, now back. Many, many beers to get through on the reviewing side. Plus got some extras from regular readers so ... on to 204: the Ultradelice. Still at the Zythos Beer Festival.
A very dark brown 8%, slightly sweet and toasted. Hints of spice.