Orval Trappist forces me to investigate its complexity like a sleuth

The monks at Brasserie d'Orval only make two lines of beer; Orval and a 3.5% Petite Orval. The latter is brewed only for the monks consumption and the former is sold to support the monastery. The monks only need to sell one style of beer to survive (other trappist breweries sell at least 3), so how great must this be? I'm excited to find out about the beer and the weird fish tabs it comes with.

We sent out our end of the year beer party, and our friend Kenny let us know that it's actually International Beer Day http://www.internationalbeerday.com/

The Orval is a 6.9% Belgian Pale Ale that pours a bit darker, more of an orange amber with a gnarly white head. There is a very intense caramel and yeasty aroma. The first sip punches my tongue with spice and surprises the hell out of me. I didn't expect this from a Belgian Pale and especially a trappist. I make a comment to David and he shakes his head. "It's not spicy," he says, "it took me a while to get it. Keep going Watson." Thanks Sherlock. David has a much better palate than I, so I always default to him but I can't imagine what he's referring too.

There's no doubt about it, this is a complex beer. Caramel, dark fruit, and a great hop bite. As the carbonation dies down, I'm an idiot and still don't get it. David says, "think wild ale." Light bulb! Apparently, you can't just lead me to water, you have to dunk my head in it and hold me under to make me drink. What I mistook for spiciness initially, was a complex tartness. This is a pale ale that has dark, tart fruit tastes and a smooth finish? This is a very unique beer, and it's something I must try again soon to appreciate. The complexity is mind-bottling. They can age for 4 or 5 years, so maybe I'll buy two and save one for my 32 birthday. BAD BOYS rating.


The section below explains the odd fish with a piercing tag awkwardly attached to the bottle --

The legend of Orval

This stain-glass is evocative of the legend of Orval foundation. The monastery was born of an act of gratitude: Mathilda was a widow and her weddin-gring had accidentally fallen into the fountain. She prayed to the Lord and at once a trout rose to the surface with the precious ring in its mouth. Mathilda exclaimed : 'Truly this place is a Val d'Or'! " In gratitude, she decided to establish a monastery on the site.

See? Magical rainbow spewing fishes save the day. Ta-dahhhh

St. Frueillien Brune Abbey Ale is a watered down dubbel

Our second offering from the St. Frueillien in a row and it's a Belgian abbey ale that clocks in at 7.3%.

Different beer, same picture

The dubbel tastes fruity and has a mild sweetness. It's very easy to drink, which I don't usually consider a compliment with dubbels. It's really another way to say they're pretty watered down. This one isn't complex but it goes down easier than milk. This is nothing to write home about. ARMAGEDDON rating.

St. Sebastiaan Grand Cru is as smooth and easy as Van Morrison

Karl picked this gem up in Bruges because he'd never seen the Grand Cru from this Saint, and because he knew this ceramic bottle wouldn't break in his luggage. Smart man that Karl and an incredible friend for bringing 4 beers back from Belgium just for us. 

It's a pretty smooth and light for a 7.8% beer. It's crisp with a bit of that Belgian Blonde sharpness. Karl believes this to be pretty tasty and I agree. It's smooth and easy with an edge at times; this would be Van Morrison singing 'Jackie Wilson Said,' if it 'twas a song. TRANSFORMERS rating.

Small update, David insisted I open up a bomber of my Belgian Blonde for Karl to try, since the small bottle last night proved excellent. Unfortunately the bigger bottle hasn't carbonated yet. Still good but nearly as crisp. Will have to put this back on the shelf for a week. If St. Sebastiaan was incarnate, his royal monkness would tell us to be patient. Lesson learned.

Goose Island Sofie Belgian Style Ale perscribes Chicago Love after one of those days...

Karl and David arrive baring In-N-Out, which I graciously consume after having a shoddy day. I'm moderately surprised they splurged on the delicious burgers, and they reveal that not only did David have a shitty day, but so did Karl as well as his wife Laura after she was stuck at the DMV all day. I coincidentally had my own problems with the DMV as well, but more on that later.

There's been a lovely lady wandering around our apartment and it's now time to taste her offering. I can't tell if that sounds like prostitution or human sacrifice, either way come! We're beer drinkers here in the marina, not Pirates or Mayans. Any brew from Goose Island gets our hearts fluttering and the Sofie is no exception.

It's listed on the bottle as a Belgian, but beeradvocate describes it stylistically as a saison and I agree with them. It's a Belgian style ale made with orange peel and aged in wine barrels. This process creates a golden ale with a very strong flavor profile including fruit, banana and citrus, making it more akin to a farmhouse saison than a golden belgian. Karl says it seems more alcoholic than its actual 6.5%. I wonder if that's a result of the wine barrel aging. If you like saisons or white ales, you would love this. Girls especially, who might be turned away because it says Belgian style, might dig it. THE ROCK rating.

My problem with the DMV began when I went to renew my license today. After making an appointment and going in, I was informed that I had a "Failure to Attend" (FTA) a trial and "Failure to Pay" from a traffic violation in 2006. I've only been pulled over once for having Texas plates while in California. I changed my plates and registration and paid my ticket...or so I thought. An FTA is a misdemeanor and stay on your record for 5 years AND they release a bench warrant when it's issued. If you're pulled over by the police for anything, they can haul you in before a judge and make you pay. So I'm freaking out a little after this. They irony is, I've been driving like a maniac the last 5 years and until I resolve this, I'm more nervous than a virgin on prom night

I'm writing this postscript - I went on Tuesday to the Beverly Hills Courthouse and they let me know that I wasn't going to pay $850, like the poor sob in front of me who was in a similar situation, or go before a judge. It was a clerical error, hooray! There was a mix-up between the courthouse and the DMV because I originally had a Texas license. Jesus, come on peoples! What a pain in the ass. Anyway, problem solved.

Sometimes you can do everything right and still get run around the block. Ah life, such a mysterious fig.

Gulden Draak makes it a solid night of leftovers

Thanks to Matt M, who weeks ago was gentlemanly enough dropped off this bottle of Golden Draak. It's a holdover from another month, so it's fitting that I'm munching some leftover Singapore Noodles from Chin Chin. Spicy food typically goes well with IPA's but Belgian's are the ultimate all-purpose beer. Thanks Matt!

The Draak is an unusual style of beer, a dark tripel. Usually dark Belgians are dubbels, but this brew clocks in at 10.5% so it's officially a tripel. Yayyy and the drinkers rejoiced for there was much booze to be had within the Draak.

Right off the bat, I have an issue with the brew. It's super carbonated - overwhelmingly so. Even after allowing time to dissipate - which sucks cause I need some liquid to put out the fiery Singapore noodles - it's still dominates the flavor profile. Wading through it, I love the sweet caramel notes and with time, I'm tasting the fruity dubbel properties. 

This beer is well known, but I still can't break past how carbonated this is. It's a great dessert or special occasion beer for sure, but the carbonation personally stops me from drinking this every day. TRANSFORMERS rating

Cuvee Van de Keizer Blauw and Wurstkuche blow my mind

I've been dying to try this restaurant downtown, Wurstkuche, for months now but when I live in the Marina, finding an excuse to be on the far side of downtown LA are few and far between. Then today, few and far between happened when coworker Tiffany invited me to join her for dinner tonight. Yahoo!...is also decent search engine.

This place has exotic beer and sausage. Check out this practically obscenely delicious menu: Wurstkuche Menu. I had the Rattlesnake and Rabbit Sausage with Jalapeno Peppers. To die for. Where do they find this stuff? Last time I encountered rabbit and snake hunting it was playing Oregon Trail on a computer run by floppy disk.

The same Belgian Brewery who makes the Keizer also makes Lucifer Strong Belgian Ale and the Gouden Carolus series. This beer is ridiculously smooth 11% with hints of chocolate and an uber malty caramel flavor. A little Belgian bread and fruit thrown in for good measure. Sure you can taste the alcohol - but who cares? This is one of the BAD BOYS. Drinking this politely over a wild game sausage is one thing; getting drunk on this is another and would be sublime.


Between this beer, my follow up beer the St. Bernardus 12 (a cuadruple, 10.5%) and the exotic snausage my mouth is salivating. Tiffany's hair practically stood on end like she stuck her finger in an electrical socket when she tried the St. Bernardus 12. She will never be the same. I had to drag her away before she attempted rolling away a keg of the stuff.

I don't care if this place is on the far side of the moon, these sausages and beer taps are seeing my face again. Soon. Plus, I ran into a long lost friend Jen B tonight, which was a delightful surprise.

La Chouffe makes it a three way with Karl

Karl came over after his finals to celebrate completing 1/3 of his Masters Program in studying who gives a fuck.
I mean, Education. He also brought along this good looking beer and a we killed some Zombies while we kicked the tire. 

Who dat ninja?!

La Chouffe is a Golden Belgian and thus a cousin of the heartthrob Duvel. It smells exactly how a golden should and tastes sweet, bready and finishes crisp. It's not a very complex beer but it performs strongly and would go really well with food. Solid performance out of the Bev Mo beer of the month brew. TRANSFORMERS rating.

Corsendonk Christmas Ale ushers in the holidays deliciously

David prepared a holiday feast and we had about a baker's dozen over for the meal on the balcony and to watch the Marina Christmas Boat Parade.

Per his excellence, Karl brought over a Christmas Belgian to ring in the holidays, and it was nothing short of fantastic. Please meet the one holiday beer you should definitely have this winter season, the Coresndonk Christmas Ale.

Now that's the spirit!

The fellow is a Belgian Dark Strong Ale (high alcohol). I always find a beer remarkable when a dark malty ale can also be so light, sweet and delicious. After David's feast, the wonderful company and this beer, I must have a wonderfully stunned expression on my face. A really well-crafted beer. BAD BOYS rating

Belgian restaurant Broken Spoke in Houston services me well

And yes, I know how that sounds but it's true. For someone tasting beer, there is no better place to drink than at a Belgian restaurant. As David has accurately noted, if there's anything this experience has illuminated for us, it's that Belgian (style) beers are king. They're simply heads above of the rest.

Wednesday night per my suggestion, the cousins and my family met at the Broken Spoke, a Belgian restaurant my parents had discovered. I drank three beers and paired them with food food, which was also delicious. In the end, I will can only pick one for today's beer; what will it be?

 

These Mussels were the real deal

Appetizer/Beer -Blanche de Bruxelles. Very light, smooth and buttery. The coriander and orange add subtle flavor to the profile. This is the perfect beer for my appetizer, Les Moules L'Escargot (mussels in garlic butter sauce).

Chomp, Chomp, Chomp

Main Course/Beer; Maredsous 10 with Bouchée de Bruxelles, which is a pastry stuffed with chicken, carrots, mushrooms, and celery in a cream sauce. Both were pretty damn tasty. 

Dessert/Beer -Cousin Forest and I decided upon Affligem Dubbel and Trippel respectively, but they were out of the Trippel. Wanting something sweet to pair with my Belgian Chocolate Mouse dessert, the waiter suggested Witches Brew. Never heard of it, but it was an excellent choice!

YUM

Witches Brew is highly carbonated (almost like champagne) and is sweet up front with a crisp aftertaste. It's probably the closest I'll come to eating a cloud. It was a delicious 9% 750ml bottle to pair with a divinely chocolate desert.

I'm going to pick the WITCHES BREW as my beer of the day (BAD BOYS rating), specifically because I don't know how wide its distribution is and thus when I would have access to it again, but all three beers were fantastic. I highly recommend them and plan to drink them again soon. I'm also kinda proud of my first real attempt to pair beer with food, which went fairly well. Probst!

Maredsous #8 and David's Berfday Night Celebration

For David's berfday we saw Aziz Ansari standup downtown at The Orpheum and HE WAS HILARIOUS. Duh. Afterwards we headed to The Other Room and took over their one and only 'room' in the back and filled it with friends. Happy Birthday David, tonight was a blast. 

Tonight's beer is the Maredsous #8. Maredsous is one of the original 6 Trappist (Abbey Breweries) and they also brew the golden god, Duvel. The #8 is a dubbel belgian and it's super, super smooth. I need to get back to partying, so the long and short is, TRY IT. Your tongue won't be disappointed. THE ROCK rating.

Bokrijks Kruikenbier - the name says it all

Coming home from a 7 hour bbq at a coworker's house where two people, count'm, two people were professional chefs. My God, the food. I'm waddling like a penguin. Someone also brought a sixer of Stone IPA and let me have 3 of them, which was icing on the cake.

Anywho, here is the above mentioned unpronounceable Belgian beer that comes in a sweet ceramic bottle that David will use for bottling his own beer in short time. Sadly, this Bokrijks Belgian beer didn't quite measure up to a lot of the Belgian Style brews I've had from America. It's a sweet and malty but I'm not crazy about it. The plus side is that the drinkability is high, but on the negative side, why drink more of something so innocuous?

Kristen Wiig is hilarious, as is this label

Can we just talk about the bottle label? As if the name didn't give the beer's origins away. Talk about perpetuating stereotypes. Silly Belgians, they left out the windmill and boxum blonde wearing klogs. TRANSFORMERS rating.