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!

Beer Style Discovery: Bock/Bok Beer

Style: Bock/Bok

Bock beer is a seasonal beer which nowadays is enjoyed right around this time, fall. The earliest records of bock go back to the 14th century in the German town of Einbeck. There the beer enjoyed great regional popularity.

A couple of centuries later (no big deal) the style was adopted by the brewers of another German city, Munich. You might have heard of Munich, they have a small annual october gathering where a few people drink a couple of beers.

But back to the point

These brewers adapted the style to a more advanced method of brewing, and something similar to what we know as bock beer today was born!

But why the name?

This had to do with the bavarian accent of the people of Munich, and the town where the style was adopted from: Einbeck. Einbeck is pronounced in bavarian as 'ein bock', which translates to male goat/billy goat. This explains why a number of bock beer brands still symbolize the beer with the image of the goat.

Bock Beer, always a party...

As can be derived from the slightly disturbing image displayed above, Bock beer was traditionally drunk at parties, back then called religious festivals.

The beer is also very season bound, with in the fall/winter the traditional bock and in the spring a variant named 'lentenbock'. I highly prefer the traditional version.

There are a number of variants of bock: Traditional (Darkish / 6.3-7.2%), Doppel (Dark gold to dark brown, 7-12%), Maibock (Light golden, 6.3-7.4%), and Eisbock (dark amber to dark brown 9-12%)

Enjoying a Bock

There are a number of variants of the Bock beer style, making this a very interesting style of beer to discover. The beer is most popular in Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Austria and the Czech Republic. These countries also host the majority of breweries which produce Bock. However, breweries that produce bock exist in many additional countries.

The Netherlands has even developed its own style of Bock beer, with the most notable trait being that Dutch bock beers can be both top and bottom fermenting. The style became popular in the Netherlands in 1868, and after experiencing a dip in popularity a number of years later, it came back in full force around 1978. The Netherlands now produces more than 50 different brands of Bock Beer!

Enjoying a Dutch Bock

All in all, an interesting and usually tasty beer style to discover!

Cheers!

Beer Discovery: DeuS Brut des Flandres

Beer: DeuS Brut des Flandres
Brewery: Bosteels
Country: Belgium
Style: Champagne Beer / Brut
ABV: 11.5%

Champagne Beer!?

yes, you heard that right!

DeuS is one of the few beers belonging to the Champagne/Brut beer style, and what a fantastic beer it is!

Me, enjoying a 2014 bottle of DeuS

This fantastic beer was introduced in 2002 by Brewery Bosteels, the same brewery which makes the outstanding beers of Pauwel Kwak and Tripel Karmeliet.

The beer is initially brewed by the master brewer at Bosteels, after its initial fermentation and maturation stage, the beer is actually transported to the Champagne region (yes, thats where champagne comes from..). This makes it unique even amongst other champagne beers!

There the beer undergoes the famous method de champenoise, a method for used for making sparkling wines. There, amongst bottles of Champagne, the beer slowly develops into an amazing fusion of beer and champagne.

Method de Champenoise. Source: Bloomberg

After enough time has passed for the beer to ferment a second time, the bottles are stored horizontally to mature for a minimum of 12 months. After such time, sediment has formed in the bottle, this sediment is then propelled toward the neck of the bottle by method of remuage.

The bottles are then placed in stillages, where they are turned around and brought from a horizontal to a vertical position. These turns are made every eight hours, for approximately 3 weeks. After such time the bottle will be standing upright, and the sediment which has formed during re-fermentation will have gathered in the bottle neck, from there the sediment is expunged and the bottle resealed.

So all in all, a very easy and simple beer to create…….

Appreciate that a whole lot of work went into creating that glass of DeuS, next time you're drinking it!

Enjoying a DeuS (2011)

There are some discussions around this beer regarding its ability to age, and become better over time. My own opinion is that this beer definitely does improve over time, i enjoyed the 2011 variant much more than the recent 2014.

DeuS definitely has some similarities to champagne, but has a much softer taste. Fruity yeast flavors coupled with a smooth light sweetness, the flavor of this beer is just awesome. Light in color, bubbly, with a medium amount of head. Enjoy by drinking from a champagne glass. Be careful with enjoying it too much though, it still packs 11.5% ABV.

Cheers!

My Rating:
2011 5/5*
2014 4.5/5*

Beer Style Discovery: Dubbel, Tripel, Quadrupel. What's the difference?

Style(s): Dubbel, Tripel, Quadrupel

Dubbel (Double), Tripel (Triple), and Quadrupel (Quad). These are familiar terms to beer lovers all over the world, but what does each style represent, where does it come from and what are the differences?

I have had my own answers to these questions, but i have never taken the time to really find out where they come from, and their exact definitions.

So if you were wondering the same thing, this is your lucky day!

Trappist Ales

So, lets start with the Dubbel.

A Dubbel is a trappist naming convention, the first to use this term being the Abbey of Westmalle, all the way back in 1856!

The monks of Westmalle originally brewed a light beer (which nowadays is often referred to as patersbier). Later on, the monks started brewing a stronger variant which was brown in color but still retained the sweetness of the original flavor. Later on, in 1926, the brew was altered and became stronger and more like the dubbel style that we know today.

The first recorded sale of the "dubbel" beer of Westmalle was back in 1861, but in terms of popularity, the beer really took off after World War 2. Due to its popularity, the Westmalle Dubbel was copied by other breweries (independent and trappist alike). This popularity and the following imitation led to the emergence of the style "dubbel". Dubbels are now characterized by being fairly strong in terms of alcohol percentage (6-8%), having a brown colour, and a fruity character.

Me, enjoying a Westmalle Dubbel!

So lets move on, time for the Tripel!

Our friends at Westmalle were at it again, they too were responsible for the emergence of this style of beer!

The Tripel was a naming convention used by the monks at Westmalle to rename their strongest beer, back in 1956! The original name of the beer was "Superbier" or "Superbeer", so lets all be glad that they changed the name. 

Is it a bird?, is it a plane? No!…. its SUPER BEER!!!

Source: Incrediblethings

Once again, the popularity of the brand Westmalle, ensured that this term was copied by other brewers, and once again led to the emergence of a new beer style. The Westmalle recipe was changed in 1956, and has remained essentially unchanged ever since. There were some recorded beers using the name tripel, prior to 1956, but low awareness caused these to have faded away into history (apparently some were also dark in colour). 

Enjoying a Westmalle Tripel

Last but not least, lets talk about the Quadrupel!

And no, it wasn't invented by Westmalle..

The Quadrupel is intended to be stronger than the Tripel, and as such should be stronger than the average Tripel. This is pretty much where the guidelines for the style end, making this the least defined beer style of the three. So a Quad will usually have an alcohol percentage of 10% or more. 

Therefore, Quadrupel or Quad is an umbrella term used to usually describe a (trappist) breweries strongest beer, the term Quad has become quite popular to describe such a beer. The term Quadrupel is used by La Trappe, a trappist brewery in the Netherands, as a name for their strongest beer. 

Me, enjoying a La Trappe Quadrupel

So, there you have it, the history behind each style and its notable differences!

Go out there and enjoy these great beer styles!

Cheers!

Beer Discovery: Sink the Bismarck!

Beer: Sink the Bismarck!
Brewery: Brewdog
Country: Scotland
Style: Quadrupel IPA
ABV: 41%

Yes, you read that right, a 41% Quadrupel IPA!

This extraordinarily strong beer is the result of a back and forth battle between Brewdog and 

Schorschbräu.


The two breweries have been having a back and forth battle to create the strongest brewed beers on the planet, Sink the Bismarck being a a product of this battle for supremacy.

The name, an veiled insult aimed at the German brewery, refers to the sinking of the German battleship Bismarck during World War 2. And although it isn't the strongest beer anymore, the name was probably intended to sink the German competition. 

The Bismarck!

So first, a little history lesson..

The Bismarck was only one of two Bismarck-class battleships created by Nazi Germany in WW2. The Bismarck itself was a monster of a ship, being 251 meters in length, weighing around 50.000 tons, and crewed by around 2000 men, this was one serious ship. In short, it was a heavy, impressive and very dangerous battleship…much like the beer that was named after it. 

Ironically the ship was never sunk by the British, but by the Germans themselves.

After multiple engagements, the ship was neutralized by sustained bombardment and was scuttled by her own crew. Multiple engagements is also the term i would use when describing my experiences with my own Bismarck. 

One of the attempts to Sink the Bismarck. 

7 times i drank one or two small liquor glasses of bismarck, usually whilst sharing with others. One or two small (2-4cl) glasses are, in my opinion, more than enough for one sitting.

The taste is extreme, both in its flavor and uniqueness. IPA is definitely present within the taste, and afterwards so is the extreme alcohol content. The fact that the beer retains such a strong IPA taste, with its extreme alcohol percentage, made this a unique experience for me. Therefore it really does earn the classification of being a Quadrupel IPA! 

But how does this beer get this extreme taste?

Brewdog Kettle hopped, dry hopped and freeze hopped a staggering four times to create this extreme IPA! And the great thing about it is, if you can handle the strength of the alcohol, it tastes pretty good for what it represents (one or two glasses at one time only though).

Extreme IPA tastes, very fruity, syrupy and with a strong alcohol and bitter aftertaste, this is definitely and impressive beer! So impressive they even made a movie about it!

Being so extreme, this is definitely a beer to be enjoyed over a period of time (if you have a bottle of your own). Brewdog in their Brewdog wisdom supplies a re sealer for your bottle, so you can try to sink the Bismarck over and over again!

Sink it if you can!

Cheers!

My rating: 4/5*

Beer Festival: Beyerd Beer Festival

Festival: Beyerd Beer Festival (Second Edition)
Location: Breda, The Netherlands

Last Sunday i visited the second edition of the Beyerd Beer Festival, in my college town of Breda.

The festival was held in the 'week van het Nederlandse bier' or 'week of Dutch beers', a week that celebrates beer and breweries from Dutch soil. It was held together with another festival, the burgundian boschstraat (street) festival, although i didn't really notice the presence of that particular festival :P

Cafe de Beyerd

Cafe de Beyerd is, in my opinion, one of the best pubs in Breda. The cafe always has a great atmosphere and a wide selection of craft beers. Furthermore, it also has its own brewery (Drie Hoefijzers) which is always nice. But i will stop advertising and get back to the main subject of this blog, the beer festival itself.

As far as beer festivals go, the Beyerd beer festival was quite small, with only 11 breweries attending. The great thing about this particular festival however was the fact that the majority of the breweries participating were from the city itself, or the surrounding area. This really provided a great opportunity to discover some fantastic new brews which were from, or close by, the city where i study.

Beyond beer festival in full swing

As you might have observed from the picture above, much like the last beer festival i visited, the weather was not very accommodating. It was raining most of the day and the temperature was not what it should have been, however this did little to deter me, my friends, and the fellow visitors to the festival.

As mentioned above, the beer festival hosted 11 different Dutch breweries, which ranged from aspiring home brewers to established craft beer breweries. What they all had in common however was that they poured some great brews. Once again, not a single brew i had was disappointing.

Enjoying a Galders Bokbier (Doppelbock) 3.75/5*

For those of you who use Untappd to keep track of your brews, you probably know it is quite hard to find a beer, especially at a beer festival, which is not yet present on said app. Surprisingly i did manage this at the festival, i actually added the above beer on Untappd, a first for me since I've started using it.

But back to the main topic.

There were also some interesting things to discover at this particular festival, for example, there was a beer taste guessing game present. This game was played by trying to blind guess which beer belonged to which bottle, something i would have loved to participate in. Unfortunately, at the point where i became aware of this games existence, i had already ruined by taste buds with some hop heavy brews.

Guess the Beer!

Furthermore, there were a number of interesting brewery stands present. One even had a special type of tap, which provided the option of adding specific flavour to the beer as it coursed through it.

One of the 'special' taps

and some brewery stands just looked really cool..

St. Christoffel mobile bar, awesome!

I really enjoyed myself at the Beyerd beer festival, and I'm sure that my friends, and fellow visitors, did as well!. If you ever find yourself in the Netherlands, or near Breda, next year around the same time, i highly recommend paying a visited to this small but absolutely fantastic beer festival (i just hope the weather is better next time around)

Cheers!

Beer Discovery: Pauwel Kwak

Beer: Pauwel Kwak
Brewery: Bosteels
Country: Belgium
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
ABV: 8.4%

Many people recognize the distinctive shape and look of the Kwak glass, but the story behind the funky shape of the glass and the beer it contains is not that well known.

The beer is brewed by the family brewery Bosteels, which has been run by the same family for over 6 generations!

The beer is named after its brewer, Pauwel, who started brewing the beer while Napoleon was busy conquering Europe. Pauwel was the owner of an inn, de Hoorn, which was frequented by coachmen of horse carriages. It was customary during that time for the coachmen to stay with the carriage, whilst the passenger went inside for a refreshing drink or something to eat.

Pauwel, recognizing that the coachmen would also like to have a nice brew (drunk driving was still allowed back then), set about creating a special glass for the coachmen. Imagine someone designing a special glass today which would make it easier for drivers to drink without leaving their car.

Coachman and his Kwak

And so the Kwak glass was born! The glass is distinctive for both its round bottom shape and the wooden holder which comes with it. Its enlarged, round bottom, prevented the glass from falling over while riding whilst it was hanging from its wooden holder. Attached at the side of the carriage, the coachmen always had their glass ready for a refill. The wooden base was added later as the brew became more popular, allowing for the beer to be placed on tables or other surfaces.

Enjoying a Pauwel Kwak (3.75/5*)

There are several theories as to why the beer is named "kwak". Kwak or the english equivalent of blob was used to describe the brewers physical appearance as Kwak was not his actual last name. However, some people attribute the name to the sound the beer makes when it spills over careless consumers. Due to the its distinctive shape, the last few sips result it an air bubble pushing beer outward (something which, if not suspected, can cause quite a mess). Therefore, some argue that the name is descriptive of the sound the beer and not the physical appearance of its brewer.

The beer and glass were actually released in 1980, with the history behind the glass and beer being used for marketing its release. The brewery claims the history is authentic, and it might as well be with the brewery going back so many generations.

Amber in colour and having a slight sweet/spicy taste with fruity aromas, the Pauwel Kwak is definitely an enjoyable brew.

So if you ever find yourself driving your horse carriage through Belgium, be sure to stop for a Kwak!

Cheers!