De Dochter van de Korenaar L’Ensemble

Now for a beer that I've been wanting to get my mits on for some time and it was whilst attending the annual Bruges beer festival earlier this year that I managed to pick up a couple of bottles, from Rudy at his fantastic bar and bottle shop De Bierboom (a great place to pick up bottles not seen in other shops) and so after much longing here it is.

L'Ensemble is a barley wine from De Dochter van de Korenaar (the daughter of the corn) that weighs in with a mighty 13% ABV and for a beer with such power comes in a very generous 500ml bottle. It's brewed just once a year and is available at Winter time (just perfect for warming the cockles)

COMMERCIAL DESCRIPTION
an all-malt barley-wine, double mashed to obtain 27 degrees Plato; two brews, blond and dark brewed seperately and blended in one fermenter, where it was fermented with both beer- and wine-yeast. Dry-hopped lightly one day before bottling. A beuatifull red coloured-beer, rich and full with a scent of cherries


L'Ensemble pours a very deep brick red that has a slight haze and despite the high ABV is topped with an impressive tan coloured, dense, bubbly head that really hangs around, fading in time to a lasting cap.

Intense aroma of pureed raisins, sticky toffee, sweet syrup (almost jam like) malt loaf and biscuits....bloody wonderful.

Taste follows along with a malty bitterness on the finish that stops the beer becoming too sweet and no way do you detect the 13%, yes it's intense and sweet but there is no burn at all...a masterpiece in brewing.

I'm thrilled to have finally sampled L'Ensemble and so glad I picked up 2 bottles, come next February I'll certainly be picking up 2 more.


http://www.dedochtervandekorenaar.be/

To Øl Jule Mælk

Now then my next beer is a bit of a hybrid, the concept and recipe is from Denmark but the brewing is in Belgium and so for that reason I've included it in my blog - plus this monster deserves to be shared.

What we have is the absolutely bonkers Jule Maelk from Copenhagen brewers To Ol a mammoth Imperial Milk Stout brewed for the festive period that weighs in at a colossal 15% ABV, the brainchild of Mikkeller students Tobias Emil Jensen and Tore Gynther - the beer itself is brewed by Dirk Naudts and gang at De Proefbrouwerij in Belgium.

Now I've had more than my fair share of high ABV beers but this is one of the most extreme - if you don't like sweet beers then stay well clear.

Jule Maelk pours like used engine oil, this is one very viscous beer and despite its formidably high ABV even gentle pouring produces a dense 3 finger, thick coffee coloured head that slowly, slowly fades.

An intense dark berry aroma (like forest fruits jam) coupled with raisins, dark chocolate, molasses, vanilla, coffee and a hint of sherry like booziness on the finish...WOW, what an aroma.

Taste can only follow with brown sugar, caramel, chocolate, roasted malts, dense stewed fruits and bitter coffee on the finish. It's in the taste that the sweetness really comes to the front making the mouthfeel almost syrupy.

No doubt a beer that could divide opinions, some could easily find the sweetness far too cloying and indeed it pushed my sweet loving taste-buds to the extreme....but take time and savour this dessert in a glass.


http://to-ol.dk/home/

      

  

Smiske Kriek

Well it's been a very long absence but I'm back......and for good this time.

Many (many) Belgian beers have been sampled, Countries visited and some very special memories made.
So where (how) do I kick start my blog, well seeing we recently Bruges (for the 10th time) for the annual beer festival, that seems the obvious choice.

Now then, one thing you can do whilst in my most favourite city is indulge, beers that you may cherish back home (because they are hard to come by in the UK) can be bought with relative ease.

One such bottle for me was the limited beer from Smiske....namely Johans seasonal offering Kriek.

Now then fruit beers aren't normally my first (or indeed second) choice from a beer menu BUT seeing as this was from one of my very favourite breweries, using his outstanding Winter beer as the base then it was a must try....oh and it weighs in at 12% ABV.

Smiske Kriek pours a dark brown with a deep red hue and is topped pale pink dense bubbly head that quickly collapses to a craggy covering.

Aroma...CHERRIES - bucket loads of cherries, Johan certainly didn't skimp when using local Noorderkrieken. You also get a tartness and hints of tannins, almost as if the beer had been barrel aged. There's also marzipan and touches of cocoa.....it really is Black Forest gateau in a glass.

Taste is...yes cherries, this time like cherry jam coupled with boozy amaretto along with a light sourness on the finish, think cherry yoghurt - sweet and sour in perfect balance.

Despite its mighty 12% (the strongest Kriek in Belgium) this is one dangerously drinkable beer, in-fact whilst sampling in 't Brugs Beertje both me and Daisy came up with a new name...Killer Kriek.