As I recently wrote (blog) I had acquired 10 different Belgian ales (ales as they're 'top fermented' and not lagers, which are 'bottom fermented' or the fermentation of ales is at a warmer temperature than lagers with yeasts that convert sugars to alcohol at the top of the wort in the fermenter, and the yeasts used to convert sugars to alcohol for lagers work in the wort at the bottom of the fermenter at cooler temperatures, straight forward so far!). Wort is the sugar rich liquid that is derived by 'mashing' malts, hops are added at various stages, mostly in the kettle that boils the wort; if you don't already know the brewing process I can do no better than CAMRA.
Anyway, most of those 10 ales I hadn't drunk before, and I added 2 more that I do like a lot, one is to compare with an ale I hadn't drunk yet, and the other is my favourite regularly available Belgian ale, Westmalle Tripel, which I have written about before (blog), you'll get why when I move on with this and the next blog. Another characteristic of these 12 ales is that they are all bottle conditioned, that is, have a secondary fermentation in the bottle, again see that blog for further information. Finally, before I deal with the ales individually, if you would like to read more about the types and styles of Belgian beers, I suggest either reading the Serious Eats Beginners Guide to Belgian Beer Styles (website), or read a copy of Michael Jackson's (not the singer, but the Beerhunter - see blog) The Great Beers of Belgium, or online (website).
The Brouwerij Duvel Moortgat, or Duvel Moorgat Brewery, is a Flemish family brewery (website) founded in 1871 by Jan-Leonard Moortgat, and now run by the 4th generation of Moortgats. A combination of yeasts from a Scottish ale (McEwan's Scotch Ale, very popular in Belgium at the end of WW1) was extracted and used by Moortgat's sons to help create a lighter ale, which, legend has it, was called a 'real devil' or Duvel, the local dialect for Devil.
This version (above) was created to celebrate the brewery's 150th anniversary last year, using 6 different hop varieties, and catchily called Belgian Blond Duvel 6.66% at 6.66% strength, a younger brother of the next Duvel I shall describe (below). It certainly has an aroma that I recognise in many Belgian beers (including lagers like Stella!), less body than its older 'brother' and a wee bit gassy, very easy to drink for a Belgian ale, as in speed-wise, if not for the gas, to be honest, I was a bit disappointed as it's not what I really look for in a Belgian ale, that is, a big flavoured ale to sup at a leisurely pace. Anyway, very decent, but compared to stronger Belgian ales, I could only give it 5.5 out of 10, didn't have a chance really, when compared to the rest!
So, to the 'big brother' that the Duvel story above really relates to, and at 8.5% a much more vigorous ale indeed! This is a multi award winning pale golden ale (my description), or Strong Blond ale (theirs), with lots of body and flavour, and a subtle bitterness, very good... I just wish they still sold it in the buffet on Eurostar, I used to love supping a couple of bottles of Duvel to and from Brussels! OK, we're getting into very good territory now, so I rated this 8.5 out of 10.
Next came an ale I definitely cannot remember drinking before, from the Brouwerij De Klem (website), which has been brewing for just 10 years, and their 7.5% Hellegat Super Blond, brewed with 3 types of malt. I quite liked this, nice flavours with a hint of vanilla, a wee bit sweet to start with, but dries out nicely in the finish, I wrote 'decent' in my notes, and gave it 7 out of 10.
Moving away from Flanders to the Ardennes, in the French speaking region of Wallonia, for the next ale, and to Brasserie D'Achouffe, or D'Achouffe Brewery (website), and their 8.0% La Chouffe (the Chouffe is the bearded gnome which became a symbol of the brewery from its inception 40 years ago, and is on the label). I must have tasted this in the past, surely, but I'm not sure (I lost all my notes for ales I sampled in Belgium quite a few years ago, sadly!). Called a Blonde (French, so an E at the end), although they describe it as golden, there you go, slight citrus flavour, full bodied, with a slightly dry bitter finish, I liked it! Scored 8 out of 10.
Apart from the 8.5% Duvel being fitted in early, my model was to gradually increase the strength of the ales reviewed here, so I'm back to Flemish breweries, unsurprising as 4 of the ales in this blog were supplied by my Flemish mate Frank, who brought them back following a recent trip to his home city of Antwerp, as mentioned in my earlier blog. So, this is from his local brewery, I suspect his favourite brewery from past conversations, Stadsbrouwerij De Koninck (website), named after Joseph Henricus De Koninck who bought a coaching inn in 1827 that was converted into a brewery after his death 6 years later. De Koninck actually tell us the hops used for this golden/blond ale (Saaz-Saaz), their Tripel D'Anvers (8.0%), which is full of body, a wee bit sweet at first, drying out with gentle bitter finish; I did like it, hence the 8 out of 10 scored.
The final ale I am reviewing for Part 1 is, as I said above, my favourite regularly available Belgian ale, Westmalle Tripel, which I have written about before (blog). I'll just say what I said before, the Westmalle Tripel, is a golden beer, subtly fruity, quite dry and bitter finish, quite frankly, excellent! There are a number of bars in Brussels where I would always drink this, the waiting staff in the magnificent Le Cirio in Brussels, by la Bourse, always taking care not to disturb the sediment, but leaving the bottle for people to add the sediment if they so wished. Indeed, the owner of the bar closest to where my brother used to live always called me "Monsieur Westmalle", but that bar, sadly, is no longer open, the owner having retired.
Westmalle Tripel is a 'trappist' ale, the brewery established at the trappist Westmalle Abbey since 1836 (website), and gradually updated over the years, in 1968 their own water purification plant was set up, their bottling plant was modernised in 1956 and again in 2000, and a few years ago a new brewhall was installed. Although the monks no longer brew the beers themselves, they are still in overall charge of the brewery, ensuring tradition is upkept, and pure ingredients used, their own water, 100% barley malt, hops, and yeast from their own culture.
For my latest tasting notes I wrote "so good!" I scored it 9.5 out if 10, unsurprisingly.
Belgian Ales Part 2 coming soon, cheers! 😉
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