Beer Reviews

Rochefort 10 - Abbaye St-Remy, Rochefort
Rochefort 10
Quadrupel Abbaye St-Remy Belgian Rochefort Trappist

Rochefort 10 is a very, very special beer. This beer is almost as highly regarded among internet beer geeks as the legendary Westvleteren 12, but is far easier to obtain. I held off on drinking this beer for the longest time, in fact this is the first bottle I've had in the United State. I didn't abstain from the Rochefort 10 because I don't like Quads or I don't like Trappist beers, quite the opposite... I love both. I'd known for at least a year that I was going to spend some time in Belgium last year and I couldn't resist putting a visit to Westvleteren on my list... and since I'd waited this long to try Rochefort 10, I might as well do a side-by-side with Westy. Needless to say, I had a great time in Belgium...

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Cuvée René - Brouwerij Lindemans, Vlezenbeek
Lindemans Cuvée René Gueuze
Gueuze Belgian Brouwerij Lindemans Vlezenbeek

Gueuze is a style of beer I've only recently started to appreciate. I've had just about the entire Lindemans line up and I've always enjoyed the intense fruit spiked Kriek and Framboise as a dessert beer, but I never bothered to pick up a bottle of their Gueuze. Cuvée René is Lindemans base Lambic sour that has been aged and blended back with younger Lambics. After a recent trip to Belgium, where I found I had an affinity for the style, I found my self craving a nicely chilled bottle of Gueuze and decided to give Lindemans a try. There aren't many options as far as Gueuze goes in my neck of the woods, so I'm hoping it's one I can keep going back to when I want to reminisce about Belgium.

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Stateside Saison - Stillwater Artisanal, Baltimore
Stillwater Artisanal Stateside Saison
Saison Baltimore Maryland Stillwater Artisanal Ales American

Stillwater Artisanal, like Mikkeller, is a brewer without a brewery... a gypsy brewer. The idea is that Stillwater and Mikkeller rent time on another brewery's system when that production brewery has capacity. Stillwater seems to brew most of their beers at Dog Brewing in Westminster, MD. The brews that come from Dog Brewing are Stillwater's year-round beers like this bottle of Stateside Saison. Stillwater may have several other bottles on the shelf, but if you look closely you'll see a number of them are collaborations, brewed somewhere other than Dog Brewing. It's an interesting business model to say the least.

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My Antonia - Birra del Borgo, Borgorose
Birra del Borgo My Antonia
Imperial Pilsner Birra del Borgo Borgorose Dogfish Head Italian

Imperial Pilsners were incredibly rare up until a year and a half ago when it seemed like this strong double Lager was all the rage. I've had three different Imperial Pilsner style beers and I've enjoyed them but I've had the same one twice, and I don't have a strong desire to pick up another Imperial Pilsner any time soon. Pilsner is one of my least favorite styles, it seems I only ever enjoy this style is during the hottest days of the summer, and even then I'd rather be drinking a Kolsch or Helles. This bottle of My Antonia comes from Birra del Borgo in Italy and was brewed in collaboration with Dogfish Head in Delaware. Dogfish also bottled their iteration of this beer, which I've had and wasn't too crazy about, so I'm curious to see if the Italian take on the Imperial Pils is any more enjoyable.

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Autumn Maple - The Bruery, Placentia
The Bruery Autumn Maple
Fruit Beer Spiced Beer California Placentia The Bruery American

I've had this beer once before, and it cost me $40... Well, I think the check actually got split at the end of the night, but there was definitely a charge on there for one (1) $40 bottle of The Bruery's Autumn Maple on there somewhere. It was after a long drive from Kansas City to Denver, followed by more than a couple rounds of beers at Falling Rock and then another round or two at Euclid Hall... so my recollection is a little hazy, but I remember thinking this was the best fall beer I'd ever had. That was a year ago, almost to the day. This bottle of Autumn Maple has been in my basement for a couple weeks now and I've been eagerly awaiting a 60 degree fall day so I'd have a good reason to crack it open.

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