Beer Discovery: Hertog Jan Ongekend

Beer: Ongekend HJA15/1-3
Brewery: Hertog Jan
Country: The Netherlands
Style: ???
ABV: ???

Noticed the ?question? marks did you? No i didn't make a mistake, its exactly that what makes this beer so interesting.

Well not exactly one specific beer, but three!

Hertog Jan Ongekend (unprecedented) represents a three beer limited edition range from the Hertog Jan brewery. What makes these beers so special is not the fact that they are limited edition, well maybe a little, but the fact that they are brewed with the intention of discovering yourself whats inside. Each edition is a limited, one batch brew.

This also means that there is no label or indicator to give away the contents, the bottle itself is also pitch black (so no peeping).

See what i mean? no hints at all

Well there is one hint actually.

When you buy the bottle, a small booklet is attached to it. After tasting, and forming your own opinion, you can open this booklet and read the comments of the brewer.

I was lucky enough to try out the HJA15/1 recently at a beer festival, it was the same day that the HJA15/2 was released (so right on time). Loved the taste, I haven't yet read the brewers notes, but the taste was a bit like a dunkelweizen/strong dark ale mix (definite notes of banana)! Im also really looking forward to the next three editions, but as supplies are limited i will really need to keep an eye out.

I also recommend you to do the same, if you have the opportunity to try one (or all) of these creative brews!

Cheers!

My Rating: 3.75/5*

Beer Discovery: Pepperspray Porter

Beer: Pepperspray Porter
Brewery: Het Uiltje
Country: The Netherlands
Style: Imperial Porter / Chili Beer
ABV: 8.6%

Hot, hot, hot, hot, hoooooot!

That could be my entire description of this crazy beer, but i will be nice and will put a little bit more effort into it than that.

I have had only one other chili style beer before, so i don't have much to compare it with, but i wasn't expecting the sheer spiciness which i experienced (evidently the large red pepper on the bottle wasn't enough of a warning :P)

The beer is brewed by Het Uiltje, and is brewed at Jopen (both located in Haarlem, the Netherlands). They brewed an imperial porter and added an ingredient which makes this beer so distinctive and hot: The California Reaper.

Drinking a Pepperspray Porter 

For those of you unaware of what this vital ingredient entails, the reaper is the hottest known pepper on the planet!

The result: a beer which, in my limited experience, is spicy like no other. During the first few sips the beer presents a wide range of flavors and some significant spiciness. However, with each sip one takes, the spiciness gets more intense (much like eating spicy food), and you seem to get thirstier and thirstier (a very dangerous combination). And not to forget, this beer still packs a 8.4% ABV punch which is not to be underestimated.

However, this beer is not overly spicy and remains "drinkable", unlike some other spicy beers which i have heard about. Don't drink this beer first though, it will probably ruin your taste buds.

But like i mentioned at the very beginning, the word hot is all you need to know!

I highly recommend trying out this spicy monster!
(not in combination with spicy food, don't kill yourself)

Cheers!

My rating: 3.75/5*

Beer Style Discovery: Rauchbier / Smoked Beer

Beer Style Discovery: Rauchbier / Smoked Beer

When one thinks of beer, smoke isn't usually the first thing that comes to mind.
By method of drying malted barley over an open fire, Rauchbier gains its distinctive smokey taste.

And when i say distinctive, i really do mean distinctive!

Although varying in degrees of taste, some smoked beers really taste like drinking liquid smoked ham or eel, a strange but delicious experience!

Drying malted barley

Drying malt above an open fire was quite common before the advent of the 18th century, meaning that some early beers did have a smokey flavor to them, similar to smoked beers today.

Around the beginning of the 18th century, kiln drying malt (using an indirect heat source)  had become a common method, and by the mid 19th century near universal. This almost caused the disappearance of smoked beer around the world as modern techniques became more popular.

Drinking a Dutch Rauchbier

However, luckily for us, some breweries have maintained the tradition of drying barley malts above a fire. Two of these breweries located in Germany, Schenkerla and Spezial, have continued traditional Rauchbier production for nearly two centuries.

Drinking a Shlenkerla (weizen) Rauchbier

Thanks to breweries such as those two, the style hasn't faded away from history. A number of breweries all over the world have started brewing in the traditional method, creating some awesome beers!

So if you haven't already, try a smoked beer!

Cheers!