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I thoroughly enjoyed the Top 10 Beers post over at the Everyday Weekender blog. It really put me in the mood for some good beer and as luck would have it, May’s delivery from the Microbewed Beer of the Month Club was waiting on my doorstep when I arrived home from work today. Perfect timing!

I opened the case to reveal this month’s four selections:

• Sunrise Weissbier from the Victory Brewing Company
• Amber Ale from the Duck-Rabbit Craft Brewery
• St. Druon de Sebourg from the Brasserie Duyck in France
• Jenlian Blonde from the Brasserie Duyck in France

This medium brown brew is the lightest-colored beer in the Duck-Rabbit line up, and is quite dark for an amber ale. They live up to their motto as “The Dark Beer Specialists”—this is another dark, delicious brew. Expect a sweet nose with some brown sugar and very roasty notes. Look also for notes of fresh grist (brew-speak for grains) and a slight Belgian-candy like sweetness. This beer begins sweet on the palate, with some citrus notes quickly replaced by a firm bitterness that grabs at the back and sides of the tongue, ultimately transitioning to a roasty, peppery hop finish with subtle chocolate notes in the aftertaste. Notably “fresh-tasting”, this highly complex beer is sweet & bitter, and is so malty it’s close to being a Scotch Ale, but that’s the Duck-Rabbit duality workin’ on ya. Great with Braised lamb or a traditional Greek Gyro.

The best known example of the bière de garde style, the source of Brasserie Duyck’s renown is a beer called Jenlain Ambrée. This style originated before the age of refrigeration, so the cooler winter and early spring months were used advantageously as an ideal time to brew the beer. However, as it was intended as a beer to enjoy during the hot summer months, this style required a beer sturdy enough to age in the bottle, yet refreshing enough to enjoy in warm weather. The resulting beer accomplished both ends. Unique not only in its flavor, this was the first beer to be bottled in 750ml champagne-style bottles with a wire-fastened cork. When it was first created, beers were typically sold in wooden barrels and sold only in local taverns and village fairs. After the second World War, people’s lifestyles began to change and large, spring-fastened bottles appeared on the scene, enabling people to drink in their homes. This gave Duyck’s the idea of using empty champagne bottles to bottle their beers. Thus began their campaign of recovering empty champagne bottles after village fairs, as well as from restaurants and bars. As Brasserie Duyck’s fourth generation family owner Raymond Duyck recalls, “when we were children, we were given the job of scraping off the aluminum collars before the bottles were washed, filled, corked and a wire fastener attached.”

In 2005, a new addition to the Janlain family was born. Considered the little sister of their flagship ale Jenlain Ambrée, Jenlain Blonde, modeled after a Belgian Strong Pale Ale, became very popular. Its name was changed to Jenlain No. Six, and another version of Jenlain Blonde was released. This version, which has become hugely popular, is an amped up interpretation of traditional bière de garde. Highly drinkable, this beer somehow manages to mask its big 7.5% ABV with a clean, crisp herbal hoppy profile. The Jenlain beers are known for their very earthy hop characteristics—this is no exception. Look for vibrant notes of summer fruits, including cassis, some musty yeastiness and earthy hops. Flavor profile closely mirrors the nose, with a grassy, spicy hop bite in the flavor and finish. Partner this with shellfish or London Broil.

Sunrise Weissbier hits the mark exactly; a right-on, true-to-style Bavarian-style hefeweizen. Note the spot-on appearance, including the brilliantly white frothy head. Expect big, yeasty notes on the nose, with bold fruity esters—notably orange, with a hint of banana—as well as cloves and some lemony, slightly herbal noble hop notes. The nose implies ample sweetness, but it’s toned down in the flavor to preserve drinkability—another true to style element of this brew. Wheat beers are a bit unlike other brews in that they tend to balance sweeter malt influences by gentle sourness rather than bitterness—which is what we find in this brew. Note a citrusy interplay between orange and lemon tanginess that lingers a bit in the finish. We’re on the verge of summer folks, and this is a great beer to have on hand for warm weather, BBQs, and getting that lawn back into shape. Truly refreshing, and highly tasty, the brewery recommends pairing with soft, creamy cheeses and juicy summer grapes, or green salads with light vinegar dressings and fresh herbs. Truly, a Victory for Your Taste! Remember, leave off the lemon wedge garnish on this one—it’s full of all natural BEER flavor, no help is needed from wedges, of any sort.

Brasserie Duyck’s brewing traditions have remained unchanged since the time Félix Duyck founded the brewery in 1922. In making their beers, only the finest ingredients are selected, and meticulous attention is paid to all stages of the brewing process. The mash (the early mixture of crushed barley and water) is brewed traditionally and allowed to filter naturally with no mechanical pressure. Then, for a period of 40 days, it’s just the beer and time, left to work its magic with top fermenting yeast during the maturation period. Not to mention the water, an essential ingredient in the brewing process, drawn fresh from the well beneath the brewery and mixed with malted barley selected from the best varieties, or the 20 controls performed on each brew to guarantee its purity, or Raymond Duyck who tastes each brew himself, or the hops, grown in Alsace, that give the beer its aroma and bitter flavor, or finally the Beauce-grown wheat used in some of Duyck’s recipes.

Malted barley and three varieties of hops grown in Alsace form the basis of this beer’s recipe, which, unlike Duyck’s other beers, also contains wheat from the Beauce region of France, milled in the traditional way by Sebourg’s miller. And to give it an even more distinctive flavor, the Duyck family uses a specific strain of yeast exclusive to this beer. This beer is the French equivalent of a blonde abbey ale, similar in style to those found across the border in nearby Belgium, though it also retains quite a bit of the flavor characteristics of the style that made the brewery famous, bière de garde. We found it to be spicy and effervescent, and brimming with herbal/resinous hops. It begins with a medium bitterness, moving toward a sweetish note of pears, apple skins and raisins, with a lemony zest and mineral-like, earthy hoppiness in the champagne-like finish. Try it with a pecan crusted chicken and spinach leaf salad.

Beer Review Source: http://www.beermonthclub.com/newsletters/vol13no10.htm

The beer I decided to try tonight was the St. Druon de Sebourg. It reminded me of some of the lighter Belgian Ales I’ve had in the past - very refreshing, quite fruity and the 6% alcohol by volume was just strong enough to let me know I’d had a good beer. This French Abbey Ale is definitely one I’ll buy in the future and is another I will add to my list of favorites. Can’t wait to try the other 3…..

Let me know if you’re interested in saving 50% off your first month of membership. The Microbrewed Beer of the Month Club run a Refer-a-Friend program, but you’ll need me to submit their E-Referral form to get the discount.

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

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

Beer of the Month Club - High Seas India Pale Ale

 

This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 23rd, 2007 at 9:32 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.