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I know that it was an oversight to not post Craft Beer Week which happened earlier this month and then compound the error by posting about another countries special week.
But I am going for it anyway, why, because we could all do to talk more about Belgian beer and drink more Belgian beer. And maybe do it during…..
…so walk past the cold case of IPAs, then walk past the DIPAs and go get a Belgian beer.
Need to add a little Belgian beer to your craft diet? Well, the Landing in Burbank has an event for you.
Get your tickets HERE, space is limited.
My bad. I was late to posting about the Lucky Baldwin’s Belgian beer salute. But there is still time to head to Pasadena to check out what is pouring. It will probably be either an old favorite you can re-visit or a perhaps a new sour to sip.
I know that Belgian beers and sour beers are at low ebb now but my gut tells me that is a passing phase.
That means now is the time to research and the upcoming book, Hidden Beers of Belgium. The book is still being written but mark it down in your future to read list.
This is the elevator pitch of the book, “Not only is this a useful guide to unheralded Belgian beers, but you’ll learn about the remarkable places these beers are produced and uncover the stories of the inspiring people who make them.”
I don’t usually buy variety packs unless I am really jonesing for a specific beer that I cannot get anywhere else. But this…
…pack from Duvel, is all bangers. Old and new.
Belgian brewery Boon has some cherries waiting for you. Cherries that have been patiently waiting since 2020. Here are the details for the Boon Millésime 2020.
It “is an “Oude Schaarbeekse Kriek”. In the summer of 2020, the cherries were harvested with which we made this delicate, traditional fruit beer based on Belgian Schaarbeek cherries and lambic. We had the fresh cherries fermented with lambic beer that had already aged for 18 months in wooden barrels. We used a total of 270 grams of cherries per litre. We then allowed the resulting cherry lambic to mature for another 6 months in oak casks. After this additional aging, we bottled the beer in these bottles on Oct. 19, 2021. The Boon Millésime is re-fermented in the bottle and can safely continue to age for several more years.”
Just to broaden the scope from Los Angeles, how about looking out for a Belgian Quad from Kasteel’s? A chocolate Quad no less named Barista. And if that does not intrigue enough, there is also a nitro canned version.
Belgian brewer Lindemans has two new mixed fermentation beers coming out under the Tarot name. Both are low in sugar and have no sweeteners or colorants.
“The brilliant, golden blonde Tarot d’Or has a beautiful white foam collar. The pleasant, sultry aroma refers to mango, lemon and honey melon, among other things, with nuances of ripe pear. The flavor is full, juicy and round with hints of ripe exotic fruit. The beer has a nice sweet and sour balance and a pleasant, smooth drink.
Tarot Noir is also a blend of high-fasting beer and lambic to which blueberries, blackberries and black elderberries have been added. The beer colors dark purple in the glass and has a full, compact foam collar and a sultry and intense aroma of dark and red fruit (black berry, cherry, cherry, strawberry… ). The natural flavor is juicy and round and reminiscent of red and black berries with a hint of cherries. Tarot Noir has a nice acidity and a surprisingly soft and fresh drink.”
d’Or would be my first choice but Noir sounds great too.
I hope to encounter the Duvel Barrel-Aged Irish Whiskey Barrel Edition in a fine beer shoppe, and I hope you do too, because it sounds excellent.
“This Duvel Barrel-Aged has matured intensively in the very best whiskey barrels of the Irish distillery Teeling. These barrels enrich the exclusive beer with notes of vanilla and oak, but also with a smoky hint of peat fire.”
Do you think you know everything about Lambic beers? You might want to read Lambic by Raf Meert. You will probably have some myths busted.
Don’t let the plain blue cover fool you, this book covers, “The historic origin of lambic had already been lost by the middle of the 19th century. This gave rise to patriotically inspired legends, and recently also marketing-driven stories.
This book aims to deconstruct those fictions, and offers an overview of the historical origin and evolution of lambic beers through painstaking and meticulous research done in various historical archives and documents.
For the first time, the origins of lambic are linked to historical events and their contexts. It provides surprising new insights into where, when and why lambic came into being, North-America’s role in it, and the most original faro, lambic and gueuze and their etymology. This book is a must-read for the lambic enthusiast who is genuinely interested in this unique and world-renowned beer.”