Bit early in the morning for festivities isn't it sir?
Our fantastically Flemish friend from Flanders, Iwein, returned from Brussels with a range of Belgian bottled beer. Below are the official tasting notes from Michael Jackson (no, not that MJ). Plus our verdicts. Which admittedly get hazier the longer the tasting goes on.
Belle-vue Gueuze 5.5%
MJ: Winey, appetite-arousing Gueuze, made with wild yeasts
3Sixty: Er, no thanks.
Brugse Zot – 6%
MJ: Brugse Zot has an almost iridescent pale bronze coulour; a blossomy “hops in the brewhouse” aroma; a fruity palate, reminiscent of peach sorbet; and a light, appetising dryness in the finish.
3Sixty: We’re getting Beer on the palette with a strong after taste of beer.
Rodenbach Grand-cru – 6%
MJ: refreshingly sour-and-sweet, oak-aged, red ale
3Sixty: Grand poo.
Poperings Hommelbier – 7.5%
MJ: it has a faintly honeyish yeast character - or is this thought deposited by the bumble bee?
There is also a rose-like floweriness, from the bottle-conditioning. The beer certainly has a great deal of hop aroma and flavour, remniscent of orange-zest. It also has a late, spicy, cumin-seed, dryness, again from the hop.
3Sixty: Hip hop, B*bop and Rock Steady
Kwak – 8%
MJ: Presented in a small yard of ale type glass. Thought to get it’s name from the noise it makes when you take the last gulp.
3Sixty: Cause this is thriller Thriller night
And no one’s gonna save you
From the beast about to strike
Ename – 8.5%
MJ: “A stable and very white head, almost like beaten egg white, crowns this deep gold yellow body. Tiny little bubbles float continuously from the bottom of your glass to the top in several fine lines. A faint, malty aroma, is balanced with hints of citrus fruit, and unspecified peppery spices. The first taste is not overpowering but subtle and builds up with every sip: a rounder mouth feel with a spicy tickling on the tongue and a somewhat bitter finish, drowned in the glow of the 8.5 % alcohol. A triple by strength, this fabulous ale is a one of the highest regarded byconnoisseurs for its unbelievable balance. Refermented in the bottle, thus a living beer. “
3Sixty: It’s Bad, It’s Bad- Come On (Bad Bad-Really, Really Bad)
Bush – 12%
MJ: The beer is a hazy amber/peach colour with a nice creamy head and a strong syrupy and flowery aroma with traces of apricots, witch hazel and violets. The full palate is also sweetish and apricot-like at first but broadens into creamy maltiness, with a burst of estery pears and several distinct stages of bitterness: first it's simply tangy, then slightly minerally, then clearly herbal with a dash of tea-tree oil, and finally mouth-fillingly bitter and peppery on the swallow. The finish soon rounds out to a marvellously complex and long-lingering balance of fruit and hop flavours, with a prevailing apricot scent.
3Sixty: OW!
- Next entry: 3Sixty on the winning team at the APG Training Network 2009
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