Belgian Beer Fest 2011

On Saturday September 10, 2011 I volunteered for the Belgian Beer Fest hosted in Boston, MA by Beer Advocate and Allagash brewing company. This time, as compared to my time at the ACBF in June, I was able to take more photos, some of which you will see below, but I was, unfortunately, unable to take notes on the beers I tasted. Luckily, I was able to sample and enjoy a number of beers, a (very select few) I will mention as stand outs below.

The Cyclorama as the tables and curtains were being set up. If you've never been, the Cyclorama is a great space with exposed brick walls and a gigantic dome ceiling. The echo was loud during the set up and the magnification of the general hum of the beer drinking crowd was impressive.

During the set up period we delivered cases and kegs of beer to the tables for the breweries and distributors who would be in attendance.

Boston Beer Company featured two beers from their barrel aged series.

On the right side of the hall a number of breweries set up their tables with decorations and tap boxes. Smuttynose was one of several New England-based breweries in attendance.

On the left side of the hall Pretty Things worked on getting pretty with their signature felt banner and flower decorations.

The calm before the storm.

Fest attendees enjoying samples of delicious Belgian and Belgian-inspired beers.

Chimay USA, representing one of my favorite brewers, was in attendance, featuring a Seth Rogan look alike pouring excellent beer and dispensing beer knowledge.

As part of what looks like a new art direction for their advertising campaign, Chimay was giving away wooden-handled bottle openers.

I greatly enjoyed the fest and had a lot of fun working, but, unfortunately, I was unable to take notes on my favorite beers. I tried a many, but was only able to keep track of a few. Luckily, the ones I remembered were stand outs.

Low Alcohol Beers

While there may have been other in attendance, I noticed two, very interesting, low ABV beers. First was the Beerstand Berlinerweiss from Haverhill Brewery. The beer is a Berliner Weissbier that weighs in at between 2.7-3% ABV. Through a sour-mashing technique the beer has a distinctive tartness, but also features prominent wheat malt character and a mild spiciness. A great Summer-drinking beer that's light on alcohol.

Also featured at the Fest was Magnifico from Pretty Things Beer & Ale Project. Magnifico is a Summer seasonal, draft-only, Belgian-style Pale Ale. The beer came in at about 3.4% ABV, but has all the trappings of a real beer. Delicious and highly drinkable the beer has a light bodied maltiness and a dusting of hops on the finish. Magnifico is a total rarity that may be a one-off run. I'd recommend checking it out, but it might not even be possible.

Belgian Lambics

Lindemans is a great Belgian Lambic brewery that has wide availability in the USA. While many of their Lambic fruit beers are easily found, their distributor, Merchant du Vin, brought Cuvée René and Faro with them to the Fest. Faro is a blended Lambic style, formerly exclusive to Brussels and still not commonly found outside of Belgium. The beer's blend also includes the addition of candi sugar and is often spiced slightly with pepper and orange peel. The addition of the sugar syrup takes away slightly from the acidity of other Lambics and makes the beer highly drinkable, although sweet.

Cuvée René is a Lambic Gueuze from Lindemans and it is fantastic. It's everything that a Gueuze should be. The beer is delicious with sweet notes and a defined fruity tartness. Grape-like components are spectacular and the carbonation dances on the tongue. A solid, solid, beer that is available in the USA, but is certainly more rare than the fruit-flavored fare from Lindemans.

Farm House and Wild

Two other stand outs from the Fest were Cellar Door from Stillwater Artisinal and Mattina Rossa from Allagash. Cellar Door was secretly available at the Fest. No sign was hung and the bottle(s) were kept hidden from plain view. However, requesting a taste gave you a nice pour and a wink. The beer is a spicy saison style oozing with freshness and yeast character. The spicing was elegant, but powerful.

Mattina Ross from Allagash is a Wild Ale style beer aged in oak and flavored through two additions of raspberries. Unfortunately, the bottle conditioning of the brew turned out a bit spotty. Some bottles refermented to produce carbonation, while others remained still (at least so far). As a result, the quality control issues prevented the beer from being offered for sale to the general market. Luckily, a few cases made it to the Fest. Delicious, tart, fruity, and spicy, this beer is a gem. I can only hope Allagash won't be deterred from trying this beer again, or following up with an even better entry sometime in the future.

Stand Out Stinker

I had a feeling, but I kept an open mind and tried this unusually flavored beer with some hope. Unfortunately, the Chapeau Banana Lambic from De Troch was just bad. The trappings of a quality Lambic were seemingly missing and the banana flavoring seemed artificial. Slight tartness was nice, but the flavors of a Lambic beer and a banana may just be destined to clash. I wouldn't recommend the beer to most people.

Flying Dog Brewery - Woody Creek White

Purchased From: Harvest Fine Wines & Spirits
Serving Type: 12 oz. bottle, poured into a mug

Woody Creek White, from Maryland-based Flying Dog, is an American take on the classic Belgian witbier style. The beer pours a cloudy mild yellow with tons of floating sediment that turns the color flat and opaque. The small wispy white head musters commendable retention and modest lacing. The nose has a mild sweetness with a clear spiciness. Big coriander with a hint of clove is buttressed by a lemony citrus aroma. A mild astringency sneaks in around the edges.

The beer is somewhat herbal with a clear refreshing edge of clean wheat malts. Mild lemon flavoring plays well with a distinct grassiness. The beer seems slightly medicinal on the mid-palate, but wears it well. The fresh grainy finish is sweet, but subdued. A mild spice note lasts nicely on the aftertaste.

Final Verdict: B

Heavy Seas Beer - Small Craft Warning - Über Pils

Purchased From: Harvest Fine Wines & Spirits

Serving Type: 12 oz. bottle, poured into a fluted glass

Über Pils is an Imperial Pilsner-style beer that pours a medium, radiant golden straw body with a healthy off-white head. The foam is creamy in consistency with solid retention and light lacing. The nose is very feint and understated. A light hop aroma is present with underlying hints of sweet lightly toasted malts.

There's a big malty pilsner flavor up front. The beer is dry and bitter with the traditional infusion of Noble hops, creating a classic balance with hints of dandelions. The beer is crisp and bubbly and creates a refreshing edge. The finish is dry with some astringency and very little alcohol heat.

Final Verdict: B-

Flying Dog Brewery - Raging Bitch Belgian-style IPA

Purchased From: Harvest Fine Wines & Spirits
Serving Type: 12 oz. bottle, poured into a tulip glass

Another bold beer from Flying Dog, this vulgar brew is an American-made, Belgian-inspired take on the india pale ale. It pours a surprisingly crystal clear orange-tinted amber body with quite high active carbonation. The head is of healthy size with a yellowed hue. Orchestrated by a light crackling sound, the foam slowly dissipates and leaves bits of lace on the glass. The nose of the beer is very hoppy with some underlying and slightly doughy malts. The 'Belgian' component also comes through on the nose with a slight musty character and minor coriander spicing. There are definite hints of the popular Belgian Witbier style to be found here.

The hops are bitter with a certain acidity. The sticky sweet malts only barely eek out beneath the hops. The beer seems quite strong, but not really heated. It's clear, though, that the considerable hopping is masking some of the beer's 8.3% ABV. As it spends some time open and warming, the beer seems to open up a bit allowing some of the caramel nuance to make an appearance. The finish is slightly herbal and spicy, but the Witbier-like qualities of the nose seem largely lost on the tasting. I think it's less lack of attention to detail that understates the Belgian influence, but that the tremendous hop character of a powerful IPA tends to dominate the palate, leaving little room for subtlety.

Final Verdict: B+

Heavy Seas - Peg Leg Imperial Stout

Purchased From: Harvest Fine Wines & Spirits
Serving Type: 12 oz. bottle, poured into a mug

"For brewery fresh taste, purchase before [December 2010]. Didn't notice that the freshness date had gone by when I bought this, but at least it hasn't been very long. So, any Heavy Seas lovers, feel free to excuse my rating on this. However, I don't have much bad to say. The beer has a very dark body with a large, smooth foam head in a tan lighter than I'd expect. The foam fades within a minute or two, but leaves a healthy layer atop the beer for some time.

The nose is full of chocolatey sweetness with an understated smoke. The beer is only slightly sweet with roasted malts that suggest coffee. There's more charred bitterness than I expected based on the nose. There's a seemingly significant amount of carbonation that makes for a more airy mouthfeel than most stouts. It's still full-bodied, which keeps it from seeming too light to stand among other imperials. There's a bit of alcoholic heat near the end and a dried smoke finish. The aftertaste lingers with an interesting bitter leafiness.

Final Verdict: B-*

* Note: The freshness date had gone by when I had this, but it hadn't been long at all and there was nothing noticeably off about this beer.

Heavy Seas - Loose Cannon Hop3 IPA

Purchased From: Harvest Fine Wines & Spirits
Serving Type: 12 oz. bottle, poured into a pint glass

Hop3? Hop Cubed? This American IPA from Maryland pours a light amber body with a slight haze and a bit of coppery glow. The off-white head is generous in proportion and frothy in texture. The retention is solid, but the lacing is quite light. The nose is strong with piney hops underscored by light bready malts and a fruity sweetness.

The beer is heavy on hops (to the power of 3?) but not even approaching overly bitter. The flavor is strong and prevalent, but not nearly as strong as many others. There's a caramel sweetness with biscuity hints to the lightly toasted malts. The carbonation lends itself to a full-bodied texture. Finally, the beer wraps up with persisting dry hops.

Final Verdict: B

Flying Dog - Double Dog Double Pale Ale

Purchased From: Harvest Fine Wines & Spirits
Serving Type: 12 oz. bottle, poured into a snifter

The Double Dog Double Pale Ale is quite strong Imperial IPA, coming in at 11.5% ABV. The body is clear and light with a glowing ruby hue. The off-white head is medium in size and gradually subsides to large sudsy bubbles. The nose is noted with vanilla extract and a distinct sweetness. The hops here are herbal and seem powerful. There's also a slight hint of alcoholic fumes rising from the beer.

The beer is very bitter up front and lasts nicely throughout. Overall the character of the beer is slight with caramel, but with an emphasis on woodiness with a drying texture. Unfortunately, there's not a considerable depth of flavor, or complexity in the hop infusion. The finish is long-lasting and the beer hide its alcohol fairly well. There is a mild, but pleasing, heat in the chest.

Final Verdict: B-