Beer Discovery: Estrella Damm Inedit

Beer: Estrella Damm Inedit
Brewery: Damm
Country: Spain
Style: Witbier (Belgian White)
ABV: 4.8%

"Crafted by Ferran Adria, The world's most award winning chef, and the Damm Brewmasters"

With a description like that on the label, my expectations were quite high. I first came across Inedit at my favorite Tapas bar in the Netherlands, Doncurado. But first, a little history...

Ferrand Adria started his culinary career as a dishwasher at the Hotel Playafels, here the Chef de Cuisine taught him about traditional Spanish cuisine. Afterward, at the age of 19 he served in the military as a cook. He continued to improve and at the age of 22 he joined the kitchen staff at El Bulli, 
just eighteen months later he became the head chef! (not too shabby). El Bulli closed its doors in 2011, and with 3 Michelin stars it was regarded as one of the best restaurants in the world.

Although it seems that Ferran Adria and Estrella take all the credit, it has to be noted that El Bulli sommeliers (Ferran Centelles and David Seijas) also helped craft this beer.

The creation of Estrella Damm Inedit (Source: Okathens) 

Estrella Damm Inedit was designed in 2008 specifically to accompany meals. A collaboration between Ferran Adria, his sommeliers and Estrella, the beer does a good job at what it is designed to do. A very light taste sensation and fruity aroma characterize this beer, very easy to drink and very pleasant together with Spanish tapas (trust me). Best served in a wine cooler, with glasses filled halfway to best experience the aroma's.

The glass is full, forgive my earlier ignorance

However when assessing the Inedit as a standalone beer, i was a little disappointed. Yes, the beer was designed to accompany meals (quite logical as it was designed together with a chef), but the fact that this was designed by one of the best chefs raised my expectations. I expected the beer to be very good, just like Ferran's food (i have never had the privilege but i expect that the food is extraordinary). It was purely this reason why i expected more than i did. Furthermore, Inedit means "never been done before", and im a bit skeptical as to the truth of that statement.

The taste is also very light, and so does not define itself as some other beers in the same category. But as previously mentioned it does what it was designed to do very well!

Glass half full, happy now?

The more drink Inedit, the more i seem to appreciate this very pleasant beer. The first time i drank it i was unaware of its purpose and as such did not appreciate it as much as i did before. If you ever get the chance to enjoy the Inedit together with some tapas or on a terrace in the sun, i highly recommend it.

(As I'm writing this, there is a closed bottle of Inedit mocking me from across the room, i'm really having a hard time resisting the temptation to just drink it.)

Previous Rating: 3.5
New Rating: 4

Cheers!

Brewery Visit: Hertog Jan

Brewery: Hertog Jan
Village: Arcen
Country: Netherlands

Sometime ago i visited, together with some friends, the Hertog Jan brewery near Arcen. Hertog Jan being one of my favourite pilseners and beer brands, i was really looking forward to this brewery visit. Located near the German border in the south eastern end of the Netherlands, and being located in the Dutch equivalent of the middle of nowhere, traveling to Arcen took quite a while.

However, it was well worth the journey.

Having booked tickets in advance for a brewery tour, and with a set start time, it was very important to arrive on time. Most of us did arrive on time, with the exception of one member of our group. He just missed the train as it was leaving the station, which was quite entertaining, he eventually arrived halfway through the tour.

The Brewery (middle of nowhere)

The first thing that was noticeable when nearing the brewery was the pipeline connecting the brewery with the brewery pub. The pipeline provides beer to the taps within the brewery, awesome!

The beer pipeline 

The brewery tour covered the entire brewing process, from raw materials to finished bottles. This was very informative and just a lot of fun to experience. Also there were multiple opportunities to taste, smell and feel the raw ingredients used to make Hertog Jan beers. This particular brewery mainly creates the specialty beers of Hertog Jan, with the pilsener being brewed in another Brewery, Dommelsch, which is also part of the same group which owns Hertog Jan (InBev).

The Brewery

As previously mentioned the tour covered the entire brewing process, and also the history of Hertog Jan which can be read about (Dutch only) here. During the tour we also had the opportunity to taste several beers such as HJ bock, also we had the chance to taste the Grand Prestige in two different stages of the brewing process.

No, its not espresso...

We also got a look at the brewery bottling line, it was quite hypnotizing seeing a never ending line of bottles being filled with beer and capped.

Toward the end of the tour, just before we headed over to the pub for some beers, we visited the brewery cellars. These cellars are exclusively used to store and age Hertog Jan's flagship specialty beer, the Grand Prestige. This is definitely my favorite specialty beer from this brewery, and if you get the chance i suggest you try it (fresh or aged). There is a special version of the tour that you can book, this will result in you receiving a bottle from the cellar on its conclusion. Unfortunately, we did not book the special version so we could only watch.

row upon row….

Tasting the finished product

After the tour's end we followed the beer pipeline to the Hertog Jan pub, finally it was time for some beer! Here we tried several of Hertog Jan's specialty beers, together with one…. or maybe two more glasses of Hertog Jan pils. The pub is definitely one of the nicest looking ones I've been to, in terms of interior and great location.

Yes!

All in all, we had a great day visiting the Hertog Jan brewery. The weather was great, the tour was great, and the beer tasted great! The only thing that wasn't so great was the fact that we now had to travel all the way back home.

A great day at the brewery

Cheers!

Beer Discovery: Trooper

Beer: Trooper

Brewery: Robinsons 

Country: United Kingdom

Style: English Bitter

ABV: 4.7%

Iron Maiden teamed up with Robinsons to create "Trooper" beer. With Iron Maiden being one of my favourite bands, i just had to try this one. The beer is named after one of their most iconic songs, "The Trooper". The song is based on the 'Charge of the Light Brigade' which took place during the Crimean war in 1854, at the battle of Balaclave. The battle is famous for the charge of 600 British cavalrymen (the light brigade) against massed Russian artillery. Charging on horseback into a valley exploding with artillery didn't go so well, and as such resulted in a massive loss of life. All because of a misunderstanding of an order issued by the commanding officer. If you are interested in the whole story, you can read about it here.

Probably one of the coolest label designs out there!

The beer was the brainchild of Iron Maiden's vocalist, Bruce Dickenson. Being an enthusiast of British ales, Bruce approached Robinsons, and together they created 'Trooper Beer'. And to be honest, they did good. 

Trooper is both available on tap (limited locations) and on bottle (500ml), and is quite enjoyable. Fruity aromas, lightly bitter and very smooth to drink, Trooper is an enjoyable English Bitter. 

My Rating: 3.5 / 5

Up the Irons!

Cheers!

Brewery Visit: van Kollenburg

Brewery: van Kollenburg
City: 's-Hertogenbosch
Country: Netherlands

Recently i paid a visit to 'Stadsbrouwerij van Kollenburg', City Brewery Kollenburg. Kollenburg is located in 's-Hertogenbosch, coincidentally also my home town. It is located in, and underneath, Cafe Bar le Duc. The brewery was founded in 1999 , and currently brews 8 distinct beers, 6 all year and 2 seasonally. Kollenburg currently brews 500+ liters of beer a week, both for consumption within the cafe and for limited distribution.

Source: Cafe Bar le Duc

The brewery was the initiave of Cafe Bar le Duc's owner, Jan van Kollenburg. This is evident in both the brewery name and a number of its beers. Most beers have both "'t Kolleke" (an abbreviation for van Kollenburg) and "Jan" (the owner) in its name. For example their wit beer is named 't Kolleke Jonge Jan (young Jan). Not previously knowing the owners name,  I initially thought that the beers were named after the Sint Jan (Saint John) cathedral in the city.

't Kolleke Jonge Jan (from a previous visit :P)

It is possible to observe part of the brewery from the Cafe, and tours/tastings can be booked. Unfortunately such tours required a minimal of 10 persons, and visiting the brewery with only 5, we negotiated an ad hoc tasting session.

Tasting a Kolleke Ome (Uncle) Jan

All together we tasted five of Kollenburgs beers, 't Kolleke: Jonge Jan (Wit), Ome Jan (Blonde Ale), Triple, Oude Jan (Brown Ale) and Winterbier (Winter Warmer). We had a great afternoon tasting all these beers, however, almost none of them really stood out for me. With the exception of Jonge Jan, which i quite liked, the other beers were very average. However I did enjoy drinking them, they were just missing a little extra in terms of taste, most were a little bland.

It was a great afternoon beer tasting at a brewery in my own home town!
(and the start of a fantastic pub crawl, but thats another story)

Cheers!

Website: www.cafebarleduc.nl

Beer Discovery: Delirium Argentum

Beer: Delirium Argentum
Brewery: Huyghe
Country: Belgium
Style: IPA
ABV: 7.8%

Delirium Tremens, the Belgian beer with the pink elephant, is famous around the world. Its distinctive taste, label, and bottle have conquered the hearts of many beer drinkers (including mine). Delirium Tremens is also a severe form of alcohol withdrawal that involves sudden and severe mental or nervous system changes, it can occur when you stop drinking alcohol after a period of heavy drinking.

But anyway,

To celebrate the 25 year anniversary of this beer, a special limited edition of Delirium Tremens was created: Delirium Argentum. Unlike the Tremens, which is a strong golden ale, the Argentum is brewed as an IPA.

Enjoying Delirium Argentum

Brewery Huyghe set up an international competition for the label design with an great prize for the winning design: one year of Delirium Tremens for free!! On the flip side, a year of free Tremens might cause an actual Delirium. The winner was Carolina Plano from Canada, who's winning design can be seen above.

I enjoyed the Argentum, however, i expected more from a special edition of one of my favorite beers. Similar in some ways to the Tremens, but definitely with more hop present. Sweet, spicy and fruity aromas but lacking the punch i normally associate with IPA's. Enjoyable, but less than i expected and not really your usual IPA.

Happy 25th Anniversary!

My Rating: 3.5 / 5

Cheers!

Beer Discovery: Koyt Gruitbier

Beer: Koyt Gruitbier
Brewery: Jopen
Country: Netherlands
Style: Gruit / Ancient Herbed Ale
ABV: 8.5%

"Gruit" refers to a medieval blend of herbs which were used to brew this beer, instead of hops. One of the ingredients, sweet gale,  had to be picked according to ritual. There is an actual legend surrounding this 'ritual': in order to avoid the hallucinogenic properties of sweet gale, it could only be harvested at full moon by nude witches.

anyway...

While i didn't encounter any nude witches, i did encounter this beer. It stood out for me, having never drank beer brewed with gruit. Koyt Gruitbier is brewed according to a recipe dating back to 1407. What is interesting about this beer is that it was brewed according to recipe prescribed by the city council of Haarlem, a city in the Netherlands. This ensured consistent quality, and made the beer famous in a number of countries.

All this back in 1407, who would have thought?

Drinking Gruitbier (no nude witches)

The  beer has a dark reddish brown colour with moderate foam. The alcohol percentage of 8.5% is stronger than the original recipe, so lets call it an Imperial Gruitbier shall we?

The herbal nature of the beer is clearly present in the taste and smell. Sweet, spicy and full body taste. 

Not bad for a blast from the past!

My Rating: 3.5 / 5

Cheers!

Brewery Website: http://www.jopenbier.nl/en/ 

Beer Discovery: Cuvée du Château

Beer: Cuvée du Château

Brewery: Castle Brewery van Honsebrouck
Country: Belgium

Style: Quad

ABV: 11%

I have had the pleasure of drinking both the 2011 (on tap) and 2012 (bottle) variants of this outstanding beer. It represents, in my opinion, the pinnacle of Kasteels (Castle Brewery) brewing. Based on the 10 year cellar aged Kasteel Donker (Castle Dark), this beer should represent a similar taste experience. This is great news if you don't have the patience to wait for 10 years for your beer to age. Unfortunately for me, I can't yet comment on the similarities between Cuvée du Château and an aged Kasteel Donker, but having drunk a regular Kasteel Donker, there are definite similarities. 

Drinking a Cuvee du Chateau

Cuvée du Château has a dark brown color and little foam. The beer has a great complexity: combining spicy, fruity flavors together with sweet caramel and roasted malts. There are also hints of port which can be identified when drinking this beer, giving it a pleasant sweet taste. The Cuvee is very smooth to drink, making it quite dangerous due to its high alcohol percentage. Having had the good fortune to be able to drink it from a keg, i remember the tap version to be slightly smoother (and more dangerous still).

On tap :D


Definitely one of my favourite beers, a great complexity of taste's and aromas, and being extremely smooth to drink even with its significant alcohol percentage. 

My Rating: 4.5 / 5


Cheers!


Brewery Website: http://www.vanhonsebrouck.be/en/