Follow Sean Inman to the best in craft beer
Gueuzerie Tilquin has released what they claim is the first gueuze in a can ever. It is Petite Gueuze Tilquin, “a blend of 70% 1-year-old light Meerts and 30% 2-year-old lambics, all spontaneously fermented and matured in oak barrels. Unfiltered and unpasteurized, this beer was given 2 months to spontaneously refermented in the can. It will surely keep evolving but its ready to drink…”
Only 12,000 were “canned with the help of our friends from Brasserie Minne (Somme-Leuze).”
Chimay is marking their 175th anniversary of the Scourmont Abbey where they brew beer with an exclusive beer: Chimay 175, which is a blonde ale coming in at 6.5% described by the brewery as having “notes of citrus, red apple and spice — crafted in true monastic tradition.”
If you need to switch your beer palate up away from pilsners or IPA’s, then you should check out Lucky Baldwin’s over the next week+ for their annual Belgian Beer Week…
Collaborations are not just a U.S. craft beer thing, in Belgium St. Bernardus releases the 2025 Kombine a collaboration with Weihenstephan. An “unfiltered Helles blond beer that will be bottom fermented without bottle fermentation—while still staying true to the German Reinheitsgebot rules.” The hops are from both breweries while the famous Weihenstephan yeast will do the work.
We have quite the special brew to talk about today. Three Trappist breweries ( La Trappe, Tynt Meadow, and Zundert ) have banded together on a new beer: Three Rules of Authentic Trappist.
“The Three Rules of Authentic Trappist is a full-bodied, perfectly balanced Dubbel. The beer is characterised by a full, layered taste of sweet caramel, toasted malt, and a hint of peat, combined with subtle spicy and hoppy notes. This leads to an unparalleled taste experience with every sip.”
Part of the proceeds of the new beer will benefit Trees for All.
I should get punished for that headline but I just want to say that I think the Belgian design of modern art styled glassware and label design is just bright and fun in a way that American design seems to just lean into appropriating other brands IP.
This La Chouffe bottle would really look good on a Thanksgiving table.
One of my first favorite craft beers was the Thomas Kemper WeizenBerry. So, when I saw this can and saw that it was also a raspberry wheat beer, I immediately added it to my buy it if I see it list.
Bar.on is a new technology from a Belgian start-up that is basically a countertop brewer. Imagine the equivalent to one of the ubiquitous coffee pod machines.
Let me backtrack, first you should read THIS fair and balanced (really) piece by Evan Rail about it.
Since the tech has not made it to Los Angeles, I cannot give my opinion on the taste of the beer but the red flag that I see waving is that of oversimplification. I do not think that I will be able to tap on a touchscreen that I want a Hazy DIPA with all New Zealand hops. The following but wait for the next generation left me feeling even more strongly that way.
“But greater complexity might be forthcoming. While the current OneTap prototype has just six flavor cartridges and one container of malt mixture, Standaert says the next-generation OneTap Pro — slated for 2025 — should have at least 14 flavor cartridges and three malt-mix containers, which will allow it to reproduce a much larger variety of styles.”
Beer has four main inputs, it is true, but the combinations are endless just within malt, let alone hops, water and yeast. The device might be able to copy a specific beer but will it ever go further than just a flat two dimensional simulacrum? Could this make a Cold IPA? Or a Pastry Stout?
Let’s just say that I am cautiously pessimistic.
Add this beautifully packaged beer to your treasure hunter list…
La Trappe for their Oak Aged Batch 51 has matured their Quadrupel for 18 months on very fancy Pineau des Charentes Rouge Cognac barrels. Sounds quite luxurious.
There are numerous Rodenbach riffs from brewmaster Rudi Ghequire but one I just was made aware of is the Rodenbach Evolved Grand Cru at 6.0% and it has quite an age statement.
“Instead of the usual 18 months being matured in oak barrels, the base beer is a whopping 10 years! Then blended. Complex and mature. This Flemish red-brown mixed fermentation beer has the intense flavours of sour cherry, red fruit, balanced acidity and woody oak.”
