cymru66

Where did the last month go? I still haven’t finished June’s case of Microbrews from the Beer of the Month Club - now I have another 12 special beers to work my way through. The 4 beers for July look very interesting and I’m sure each one will be a new favorite for me.

Here they are:

• Wild Goose India Pale Ale from the Wild Goose Brewery
• Fleur-de-lis Restoration Ale from the Abita Brewing Company
• Bavik Premium Pilsner from the Bavik Brewery, Flanders, Belgium
• Klášter Premium Lager from the Klášter Brewery, Czech Republic

This brew is a Silver Medal winner at the ‘96 World Beer Championships, Gold ‘97 & in the same year, declared a festival “World Champion Ale”. Enough said? Well, we’ll continue anyway. Given the current amount of IPA “hop bombs” out there, you might find this beer a bit tame by comparison. Wild Goose’s IPA is a true-to-style English IPA, without the intense piney/grapefruit-like bombastic aromatics of many Pacific Northwest IPAs. Note the balance of bread-like grains to grassy hops in the aroma. Citrusy hops present apricot notes, with a hint of talcum. Bitterness comes on strong up front, but drifts away temporarily, leaving room for a sweet malt and apricot and orange peel-like citrus note, fresh baked bread flavor and some floral, leafy hop notes. Expect some characteristic Ringwood yeast mustiness too as it finishes with a moderately bitter citrus and flower petal note and a touch of grassiness. A good brew to pair with cheese: try Edam, Brick or Asiago.

On the nose, expect intensely breaddy, sweet malt notes with a slight creaminess and a flourish of citrus hops among lightly musty, Saaz hop notes. The hops are noteworthy in that they are less herbal/lemony than expected for the style. We found the flavor began smooth and easy with an apple skin note and some sweetish malts, but then the bitterness—practically heroic in stature—just goes for it! Note this brew is quite a bit more bitter and bold than many of the watered down mega-pilsners coming out of the Czech Republic these days. Expect the hops to contribute slightly flowery, grassy notes, delivering far more bitterness than what’s implied by the bouquet. The sweetness of the malts is prominent to start, but just barely manages to hold the balance in check (another unintended pun) while the bitter hops really surge in. It finishes quite dry. As it warms, it gets a bit boozy in the finish (hints of scotch). It is a bold yet easy to drink medium-bodied Czech Pilsner. As we like to say, “a session with substance”. Admirable that this Pilsner is as dark and robust (for the style) as it is, and that they have not resorted to labeling this a “pilsner” for marketability. It’s a “Premium Traditional Czech Lager” according to the label. We’ll say. Enjoy with another and then another, then pair with some spicy Indian food.

Abita B.C. began crafting the new beer the first day the brewing facility reopened after the hurricane. The Fleur-de-lis name and symbol were selected for this very special beer with a dual purpose in mind. It’s a well recognized symbol of New Orleans, but it is also a symbol of light and life. The Fleur-de-lis was adopted long ago by ancient warriors who safely found their way through treacherous waters by following the water lilies. This golden ale’s label is decorated with purple and green, combining the three colors historically representing justice, hope and generosity. Expect a citrusy hop nose with a clean, crisp edge coming from the pils malts and the California Ale yeast used to ferment this brew. Expect notes of apples, some pear, and a touch of honey, with a snappy fresh citrus hop flavor. Finishes mildly bitter—cleansing as it restores (no pun intended) the palate to enjoy another sip. It’s a fine beer to enjoy while mowing the lawn on a hot summer’s day.

In the late 1800s the newly created Pilsner style spread across Europe with great fervor. Affordability, the novelty of a new type of beer, and the newly industrialized process of producing cheap glassware—which enabled everyday citizens to actually SEE what they drank—were all major factors in the success of the style. Bavik Premium Pilsner is a German-style Pilsner with a distinctly Belgian influence, evident in the nose, which presents a sweeter, slightly spicy note. Its unique character earned it a “Belgium’s Best Pilsner” nod by that country’s beer equivalent of Consumer Reports, beating out over 60 other Belgian Pilsners. Expect aromas of fresh barley, accentuated by a light mustiness, and some spicy, citrusy hops and fruity esters presenting whiffs of apricot, overripe apple and a touch of grape skin. Look for an herbal, almost zesty bitterness to offset but never overpower the sweeter notes. One of the most versatile beers for meal pairing—try this with just about anything. Experiment! But be sure to save some to do a side-by-side comparison of this pilsner with the Czech pilsner featured this month.

Beer Review Source: http://www.beermonthclub.com/newsletters/vol14no1.htm

If you enjoyed this post, please consider buying me a beer!

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

 

Beer of the Month Club (March 2007) - Saranac Pale Ale

Beer of the Month Club (February 2007) - Peg Leg Imperial Stout and 3 others

Beer of the Month Club (August 2007) - a Great White, Pilsner, Aramis and Imperial Weizen

 

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 25th, 2007 at 8:40 pm and is filed under Beer. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.