BBT 2010 - Abbaye des Rocs

New day - new adventures. This day we travelled to the south of Belgium and our first stop was Abbaye des Rocs. No one seemed to know we were coming even though I had been in mail contact with them but they welcomed us for a detailed brewery tour and some tasting without hesitation. The language barrier was a major problem since none of us speak any real French and none of them speak any real English. Still it was very interesting and they patiently answered our attempts at questions so it was a really pleasant visit.
The brewery had a very rustic feeling to it and the dungeon-lift to the basement was a story in itself. A great start of day two.

Abbaye des Rocs Blanche des Honnelles
Belgium
ABV: 6%
Rating: 3
Wheaty. A little mild but not wimpy at all, rather well-balanced. Notes of citrus. A good standard beer.













Abbaye des Rocs Nounette
Belgium
ABV: 7%
Rating: 3
Very sweet. Dry but smooth in mouth and throat. Great taste but nothing special enough to reach a rating of 4.













Abbaye des Rocs Montagnarde
Belgium
ABV: 9%
Rating: 3
Sweet and a little sour. Tastes a lot from coriander. A little dull but fully drinkable.













Abbaye des Rocs Brune
Belgium
ABV: 9%
Rating: 4
Licorice and vanilla. Pleasant round taste with hints of ginger. Very nice and very close to a rating of 5.

BBT 2010 - Kulminator, first visit

In the short time I have been knowing about Kulminator expectations had grown big. Kulminator is such a rare thing as a pub that specialises in aged beer. The owner Dirk has some reputation for being a bit odd and judging when it comes to his customers so all these circumstances together made me feel almost like executing a pilgrimage.
I was both disappointed and satisfied after my visit. Dirk was not grumpy at all, rather the opposite and the rumours about his wife being bullied around seemed to come from thin air. There were some cats sneaking around and the restroom's smell wasn't the best but apart from that the place was clean and smoke free.
I think my main problem is the clientèle. Students in uniform and loud-mouth American world champions have never been my first pick of company and I know that I'm ignorant when writing this. But I still write it since it makes me sad that I'm a person who loves beer that dislikes persons who loves beer. It's a strange world isn't it? Anyway, this is not Kulminator's fault but it clouds the experince a bit.

At least I had some interesting beer:

Witkap Dubbel 2000
Belgium
ABV: 7%
Rating: 3
I was warned by Leen about it being very sour and I thought "What the heck, I have been drinking infected Witkap with a pure stable taste so I should be able to handle this.". It was actually a pretty interesting beer with a sharp lime taste. It was very sour as Leen told me but taste actually became more well-rounded as it grew warmer. Nice but not worth ageing for ten years.







Dominus Dubbel 2001
Netherlands
ABV: 6.5%
Rating: 3
Tastes like blackberry jam with a very weird bitterness that I can't describe properly with words even if I would try in Swedish. Notes of citrus and the blackberry taste transforms to raspberry as it grows warmer. Interesting but a little to strange.

BBT 2010 - De Struise Brouwers

The Alvinne guys called De Struise and warned them four thirsty swedes were on their way so we were welcomed with open arms. Their new locals are in an old school and for the first time in my life I had a beer-tasting in a class room. Urban and Carlo were very informative and a pleasure to listen to. We were there for more than one and a half hour and extended their official closing time. We had some great beer and in the first day of our trip we had visited what I believe is the two most experimental breweries in Belgium. We couldn't have had a better start!


Struise Pannepeut 2007
Belgium
ABV: 10%
Rating: 3
A nice taste of wild strawberries. Rough in a nice way but little or none after-taste. A round taste but nothing special.













Struise Pannepot 2008
Belgium
ABV: 10%
Rating: 4
A powerful stout with a heavy and nice taste of chocolate. Strawberry notes finds their way trough the heavy base. Earthy notes and a weird kind of acidic after-taste makes this beer stand out.











Struise Pannepot Grand Reserva 2005
Belgium
ABV: 10%
Rating: 4
Even more fruity than the younger Pannepot but with a lighter alcohol taste. Pretty similar but a little more powerful and a little sweeter.












De Molen / Struise Black Damnation
Netherlands / Belgium
ABV: 12%
Rating: 4
Very well hidden alcohol. Heavy taste of coffee and smoke with notes of salt and tar. Pleasantly acidic after-taste. We were told that this nice brew is now maturing on whisky casks (I don't remember if it was Mackmyra but I think so) and I'm really looking forward to tasting the result of that.

BBT 2010 - Restaurant ´t Rusteel

After some serious testing at Alvinne we were more than hungry and we were directed to Restaurant ´t Rusteel for dinner. They have their own house brewery and I tried one of their beer. Unfortunately it wasn't as good as their food.

Brouwkot Manten
Belgium
ABV: 6%
Rating: 2
A pretty dull double. Weak in taste and the only slightly interesting thin was the caramel after-taste.

BBT 2010 - Picobrouwerij Alvinne

The first stop of our Belgian Beer Trip (furthermore referred to as BBT 2010) was a really lucky one. We didn't know what to expect and none of us had been drinking any of their beer before. After struggling a bit finding our way there we finally arrived at this very small brewery and was welcomed by Davy and Glenn. We were directly led upstairs to their cosy tasting room and offered our first beer.

We thought we would be there for max one hour but we were there for more than three since they genuinely seemed to enjoy our company and interest in their beer. We had eight different beer from them and many of them were really good. We actually tasted more than eight of their beers but the ones not listed below was either too small samples to rate or work in progress.
A great brewery run by real enthusiasts and very worth a visit. If Davy or Glenn is reading this, we won't forget our promise - an Oppigårds Amarillo Spring and some more surprises will be posted to you shortly.

Alvinne Hop Trilogy Centennial
Belgium
ABV: 7.1%
Rating: 4
A very bitter and hop-tasting beer. It's like an IPA without the sweetness but it's very drink- and enjoyable anyway. A rare and appealing experience.












Alvinne Chelmsford Oak Smoked Porter
Belgium
ABV: 5.1%
Rating: 3
A smooth and drinkable porter with notes of caramel. A little tame and not my style of porter but still ok.













Alvinne Cuvee Freddy
Belgium
ABV: 8%
Rating: 4
Heavy alcohol taste in a good way. It has an after-taste like from a good lager but the beer itself is very acidic. A very pleasant and also rare experience.












Alvinne Bolleville
Belgium
ABV: 10%
Rating: 4.
Distinct notes of apple and coffee. A round taste and very drinkable with a well-balanced bitter after-taste.













Alvinne Melchoir Mackmyra Oak Aged
Belgium
ABV: 11.5%
Rating: 5
Apple and vanilla. It's like it's melting in the mouth and throat. A perfect balance between bitterness and sweetness. Perfect!












Alvinne Melchoir Bourgogne Oak Aged
Belgium
ABV: 11.5%
Rating: 3
Much more fruit than the Mackmyra one and much more alcohol taste as well. Not close to as good but still a nice base.













Alvinne Mano Negro
Belgium
ABV: 10%
Rating: 3
Smokey but a little too mild really appeal to me. After-taste of Tar.













Alvinne Hop Trilogy Columbus
Belgium
ABV: 7.1%
Rating: 4
Tastes and smells heavy of hops. Extremely bitter but still very drinkable. A great end of a pleasant visit.

Belgian Beer Trip 2010

Tomorrow we leave for our longed for trip for some serious beer consuming in Belgium. We have finally managed to produce a working schedule for the weekend and this is where we are planning to go:

Thursday
Alvinne
De Struise Brouwers
Café 't Brugs Beertje

Friday
Brasserie de l'Abbaye des Rocs
Brasserie Caracole
Fantôme Brasserie
La Chouffe
Drankencentrale 't Sas

Saturday
In De Vrede
Bierparadijs
La Trappe
Achel

I will write about this trip afterwards and even during it if I find time so keep updated!

Ocean and Oatgoop

Ocean India Pale Ale

Sweden
ABV: 5.4%
Rating: 3
The first sip is promising with a nice hop bitterness and some sweetness but the aftertaste confuses me and suddenly I think I'm drinking a lager. As I reach down the glass the lager-taste takes over more and more. It is not bad but not what I hoped for and certainly not what I expected.










Three Floyds Mikkeller Oatgoop
USA
ABV: 10.4%
Rating: 4
Bitter and very acidic. Sweetness grows and so does the flowery and fruity tastes. After a while it starts to show even more hoppy bitterness and notes of almond and cherry gives this co-production a nice Dr. Peppery feel. Nothing outstanding but the different aspects makes it well worth its rating.