January 2012

Harvest Dance Wheat Wine

And Krampus

“Harvest Dance Wheat Wine” from Boulevard Beers is one of those wheaty, fruity beers I don't normally prefer. As one might gather from the frequency with which Russian Imperial Stout appears in this blog, I'm a black beer guy. I'm not close-minded about other types of beer, though- I enjoy a lot of different flavors. This week I decided to try the wheat wine, just to introduce a little variety.

Unibroue Beers

Damned, Terrible- And Delicious!

“Unibroue” is a Quebecois brewery in the Belgian tradition, using the typical Belgian brewing method of beer “on lees.” What this means is that the beer is re-fermented in the bottle for a stronger brew and a more complex flavor.

 

Unibroue beers include “Terrible” (pronounced something like “tereeb”- remember, it's in French!) which is as black as stout but tastes completely different, “Maudite” (meaning “damned,” which makes this the ultimate Goth beer!), “Fin du Monde” (or “end of the world”) and “Don de Dieu.”

Gouden Carolus

A Great Belgian Beer

When I picked up a bottle of Gouden Carolus at the St Anthony liquor store, the sales clerk commented that I had just purchased “one of the classic Belgian beers.” Now, I'm a big fan of Belgian beers, and have been ever since I went to Belgium about ten years ago. So I brought the Gouden Carolus straight home to be opened up and enjoyed.

Czechvar

This "Bud" Is For Czech People

“Budweiser,” in America, is a brand of beer, but in Europe it's a name for a type of beer. When Czech immigrants brought this type of beer to the United States, they watered it down (sadly) for the American market, but brewers in their Czech homeland continued to make the original Budweiser in the traditional way.

The Stoic

Great Beer For A Great Philosophy

The two most significant Stoic philosophers were Epictetus and Marcus Aurelius- the former a slave, and the latter a Roman emperor, making Stoicism literally a philosophy of slaves and emperors. This dichotomy is matched in Deschutes Breweries beer “The Stoic,” part of which is aged in Pinot Noir barrels while part is aged in whiskey barrels.