Beer Review - Biere du Boucanier Red

Brouwerij Van Steenberge N.V. Biere Du Boucanier Red Belgian Pale Ale - 7% ABV

How about some Halloween themed beers for review, eh?  At least I will try to get a couple of reviews in before they start ramming Christmas down our throats, because once they release the Winter ales all is lost.

Brouwerij Van Steenberge (the geniuses that brought you Gulden Draak) have produce another stunning beer for you to try, yet this beer is really quite different that your typical Belgian ale.  The beer pours copper/orangish color with very little head. I must admit that I was kind of expecting a bit more red.  The smell is fruity, malty and with a bit of spice.  The flavor was tart fruit with honey and maybe with a hint of grapes in the background.  The part of the flavor that surprised me was that it had a good bit of hops and was more dry than sweet.  All in all it was quite light and refreshing, quite an easy drink.  I will definitely drink this one again.

Brouwerij Van Steenberge N.V
Lindenlaan 25
Ertvelde, 9940
Belgium
 http://vansteenberge.com/

Beer Review - Pere Jacques

Goose Island Brewing Company Pere Jacques Belgian Style Dubbel - 8.7% ABV

The Belgian brewers are the masters of hiding alcohol content.  On numerous occasions I have been blind sided by chugging a couple of high gravity Belgian beers that gave no indication at all of the freight train bearing down on me, leaving me battered and broken and lying in a ditch.  This is not one of those beers.

I typically avoid any Inbev products due to their too often poor quality.  Goose Island is the one line
that I will periodically try some of their specialty beers.  Not that their specialty beers are great, they are just less likely to disappoint. 

This beer was another taken from my aging rack that has been maturing for about a year and I am told that this one peaks at about 3 years and I will tell you why that is a good thing (or a bad thing depending on how you look at it) in a moment.  The smell was of candy sugar, malt and yeasts, which is pretty much matched by the flavor.  The flavor was almost overpowering sweet, which is a bit astonishing as that it had been aging for a year.  Typically the sugars in a sweet beer are devoured by the yeast creating alcohol.  The beer will become less and less sweet as it ages and become stronger and dryer.  This one was still quite sweet after a year, but the alcohol content had gone up considerably, so much so that every time I had a sip I thought, "damn, this has a lot of alcohol".  I think that if I had continued to age it for a few more years that it may have become flammable.  The maltiness is also apparent with a bit of dark fruits in the background.  The Saaz hops that they used are not at all noticeable and as the beer only has an IBU of 26 you hop heads will probably be disappointed. 

Not a great beer but a pretty good beer; I would let it sit a few years to cut into the sweetness.

Goose Island Beer Co.
1800 West Fulton St.
Chicago, IL 60612
http://www.gooseisland.com/

Beer Review - Rigor Mortis

Brasserie Dieu du Ciel Rigor Mortis ABY - 10.5% ABV

Someone pointed out to recently that I had not done a beer review in quite some time.  "Bull pucky"
was my response.  Yeah, they were right, it has been several months since I reviewed any one beer, so I will hit you with a barrage of reviews over the next several days.  My apologies.

Let's begin with this liver pickler from Canada that I have been aging for a year or so.  Dieu du Ciel is a microbrewery/brewpub located in Montreal which produce a plethora of dandy original beers of which I have been lucky enough to try several and have enjoyed them all.  Rigor Mortis is a brown ale brewed in the style of a trappist quadrupel.  The nose is all malts with a bit of yeasty breadiness in the background.  The ethers from the alcohol are quite evident.  And malty is what you will taste, along with chocolate and caramel.  There is little evidence of hops (which is quite typical of a Belgian quad) but there is a tinge of background sourness.  The beer will go down smooth as there is very little carbonation so be careful.  Delightful, but I would highly recommend aging it for a least 6 months.

Brasserie Dieu du Ciel
29 Avenue Laurier Ouest
Montreal, QC H2T 2N2, Canada
http://www.dieuduciel.com/

Flying Saucer Beerfeast - Fort Worth

Any plans for next Saturday?  The Texas State Fair you say?  You know that it is OU-Texas weekend and that there will be more tattoos than teeth, right?  Let me give you an alternative.

The Flying Sauce touring beer festival makes it's stop in Fort Worth on October the 12th.

Over 40 breweries will be represented with live music presented by the Hannah Barbarians, Oh Whitney and Oil Boom.  VIP tickets are $65 and in very limited quantities and with general admission tickets only $30. 

http://www.beerfeast2013.com/fortworth

The Pour House - Fort Worth

The Pour House in Fort Worth announces the unveiling of it's 70 tap craft beer wall.

Deep Ellum Brewing Company, Armadillo Ale Works, Community Beer Company, Four Corners Brewing Company, Martin House Brewing Company, Rahr and Sons Brewery, Revolver Brewery, Deschutes Brewery, Oskar Blues Brewery and Real Ale Brewing Company and other will be represented.

The Pour House opened in Fort Worth in 1995 and has been in it's current location since New Years day on 2009.  The Owner Eric Tschetter will be happy to see you at the event October 3rd at 7:00 with beer tastings and light snacks. 

See you at:
The Pour House
2725 West 7th Street
Fort Worth, Texas 76107
http://www.pour-house.com/