The Lost Abbey (Port Brewing): 10 Commandments – God versus Satan, or Conventionalism versus Reformation?

Founded in 2006, The Lost Abbey or Port Brewing is located San Marcos, California – a medium-sized city located about 20 miles (32 km) north of San Diego. The brewery offers about six regular beers, another six seasonal variants, and four of what they refer to as “non-denominational ales” since they do not comport with any known beer style. Hence, not only does The Lost Abbey clearly value a good sense of humor, but their product line appears to reflect a blend of conventionalism and innovation, or perhaps “reformation” of conventional beer styles (see my reviews of Avant Garde and Judgment Day for examples of this point).

The 10 Commandments certainly reflects a duality of conventionalism on one hand and reformation on the other, along with some of the tribulations that come with being innovative. The Lost Abbey brews 10 Commandments by using raisins and sets its sights on producing a Belgian Strong Ale – something akin to Chimay’s Grand Réserve, and The Lost Abbey certainly hits the mark pretty closely with this aspiration. Popping the cork immediately releases the sweet smell of dark fruit. When pouring 10 Commandments into a glass, the dark and slightly reddish-brown body and fluffy beige head are signs of what’s to come: an enticingly sweet beverage with lots to offer its “disciple”. Swirling the glass a bit reveals a decent amount of lacing, but lacing that is slightly less sticky than a Chimay blue. Aroma? Think raisins, plums, spices, booze (lots of it in fact), and maybe a hint of coffee.

The mouthfeel is pleasant and pretty faithful to this particular style – medium and fairly well-carbonated. Taking a generous mouthful reveals a wonderful array of flavors, ranging from raisins, plums, and spices. Once again, I’m finding a slight coffee reference here, but I’m not sure if my palate is really being truthful with this reference. Part of the deceit is perhaps due to the relatively strong alcohol note, which is a bit distracting and somewhat diminishes the overall harmony of the flavors. This is especially true as 10 Commandments warms up, in which case I placed the bottle back in the refrigerator just to tame the devilish alcohol taste a bit. The finish is slightly bitter and really delivers a punch of alcohol, almost like taking a shot of something strong (I rarely do this, so don’t ask me what that something is).

All-in-all, the Chimay Grand Réserve is a decidedly better beer largely because its strong alcohol note blends harmonious with the overall flavor milieu. With the 10 Commandments, it’s kind of like Satan himself is using alcohol to mess with what is otherwise God’s beautiful and harmonious plan for what Belgian strong ales are all about. Indeed, with a 9 percent ABV, I am surprised to find that 10 Commandments is considerably more boozy than The Lost Abbey's 10.4 percent ABV Judgment Day.

That said, The Lost Abbey’s 10 Commandments is still an excellent beer, and considering how young The Lost Abbey is, this ale is absolutely impressive and certainly worth exploring. It’s flavorful, complex, potent, and while the alcohol finish is indeed punchy, it’s also warming and rather enjoyable at lower temperatures. In an alternative to the God versus Satan analogy, the 10 Commandments is perhaps a slight reformation of what Belgian strong ales are all about – a shift from conventional sweetness and complexity into a more aggressive, but still enjoyable alcohol punch at the expense of some harmony.

Links

The Lost Abbey’s 10 Commandments on Ratebeer.com

The Lost Abbey

Image Credits

http://www.prweb.com/

Brasserie d’Achouffe: Houblon Dobbelen IPA Tripel – A sensational synthesis

Founded in 1982, Brasserie Achouffe is located in a small Walloon village also called Achouffe, which lies some 10 kilometers from the Luxembourg border. The brewery offers about eight regular beers, and if you’re a fan of Belgian tripels, then the Houblon Dobbelen IPA Tripel will taste somewhat familiar to you, but with a well-hopped and dry finish. The particular sample I had was in draft form at Baran Café in Bergen, Norway.

When tapping Achouffe’s Houblon into a glass, the semi-translucent gold body and huge rocky white head are signs of what’s to come: an enticingly sweet and slightly thick beverage with lots to offer its client. Tilting the glass slightly reveals the impressively dense and long-lasting lacing. Aroma? Think sweet ripe bananas that smells a bit more like bubble gum as the temperature warms a bit. Milder aromas are also present: Think sweet malts and citrus notes accompanied by an unidentifiable (at least by me) spice. BeerAvocate’s TheBeerAlmanac mentions “clove” and, when juxtaposed with the other aromas, perhaps that accounts for the very subtle spice

Houblon’s mouth feel and taste(s) are just as sensational as the aroma and appearance. The texture is somewhat thick, with very active carbonation. Taking a generous mouthful reveals a sensational flavor matrix, starting with ripe bananas that transitions into what seems to be more of a candyish flavor as the temperature of the beer rises, which also comes with a more distinct boozy finish. Again, citrus and spicy notes are also present in Houblon’s taste. Malty tastes are clearly present, along with flavors from yeast and hops. The finish delivers a dry and powerful bitter punch that reminded me that this is far from a normal Belgian tripel.

All-in-all, Achouffe’s Houblon Dobbelen IPA Tripel is a very well balanced brew, but probably too much malt and not enough hops in the aroma for DIPA. That said, this ale is sensational synthesis and brings some additional aroma and taste combinations into the Belgian Tripel and/or DIPA genres – indeed, I have no idea how to classify this one, but it’s definitely balanced more toward the former. Moreover, while Achouffe is a relatively new addition to the Belgium brewing scene, Houblon demonstrates the brewery’s ability to make a fine tripel on par with some of the country’s oldest establishments. Indeed, Houblon embodies big time flavors from a small town brewery, just as so many of the world’s craft brews do. I will certainly be looking to sample more of their other products (see my previous rating for Achouffe’s N’Ice Chouffe).

Links

Achouffe Houblon on Ratebeer.com

Achouffe Houblon on  BeerAdvocate

Brasserie Achouffe

Image credits

COED Magazine

My own very crappy picture taken at Baran. Can you see the Hansa glass? 

Boon: Framboise (fruit lambic) – Fruity Senne Valley funkiness

Lembeek is a small Belgian town that sits about 10 kilometers southwest of Brussels on the border between the country’s Flemish and Walloon regions. In what by now must seem like a small Brussels suburb, Lembeek lies squarely within the heart of Senne Valley, where the wild yeasts from the Senne River, along with wild yeasts lurking within the brewery, spontaneously feed on the sugar-rich worts of some of the region’s finest breweries – a process that gives rise to those sour, cidery, and super dry lambic beers that people love, hate, or have yet to try. Lembeek is also home to Boon Brouwerij, which brews a variety of largely spontaneously fermented beer. Matured in oak barrels, Boon’s Framboise (French for raspberry) is an amazing raspberry blend of old and young lambics. If you are in the “never tried” category, I suggest reading a bit about lambics by checking out the links below and then finding a friend that is brave enough to split one with you. And Boon’s Framboise, with its fruity and funky balance, is a good one to begin with.

My particular sample was a vintage 2010, although I’ve had one or two a few years back before I was serious enough to document my beer samples. The body appears as a bright red color with a small, fluffy, light pink head. The lacing is a bit thin and runny, which seems to be the case with most lambics I’ve tried. The aroma is far less “wild” than what one might anticipate from a lambic. To be sure, scents of barnyard are present, but the raspberry aroma is surprisingly powerful, although not overpowering. Strong vinegar and earthy aromas also come forward, which really adds to the beer’s roughness. The taste is certainly sour, but the raspberries add a level of sweetness to it that really makes Boon’s Framboise a remarkably well-balanced brew. Not surprisingly, the mouthfeel comes with lots of carbonation, and the finish is quite dry.

If you’ve had just about any other fruit lambic, say Kriek for example, then I’m sure you’ll find Framboise to be a rather sweet concoction. That said, the overall balance is still on the sour side – enough to tell the drinker that, indeed, one is downing some of the Senne Valley’s finest funkiness.

Links

Ratebeer: http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/boon-framboise/4430/1/1/

Brouwerij F. Boon: http://www.boon.be/

Lambic on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lambic

Framboise on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Framboise

Image credits

Belgique: http://www.belgique.co.uk/

 

Brasserie d’Achouffe: N’Ice Chouffe – Fruity and Boozy

Founded in 1982, Brasserie Achouffe is located in a small Walloon village also called Achouffe, which lies some 10 kilometers from the Luxembourg border. The brewery offers about eight regular beers, and if you’re a fan of Belgian strong ales, then the N’Ice Chouffe “dark winter beer” will be a familiar, friendly taste and certainly stands up to the best of the strong ales. And this particular brew is spiced with thyme and curaçao and definitely has a warm holiday feel.

Breaking open the cap releases a welcomed hissing sound, and the sweet smell of fruit immediately greets the olfactory system. When pouring it into a glass, the dark and slightly reddish-brown body and fluffy beige head are signs of what’s to come: an enticingly sweet and slightly thick beverage with lots to offer its client. Tilting the glass slightly reveals the impressively long-lasting lacing. Aroma? Think candy, dark fruits, spices, and booze – just as it should be. 

The mouth feel and taste(s) are just as impressive as the aroma and appearance. Sticky and syrupy, the mouth feel is met with some mild carbonation. Taking a generous mouthful reveals a wonderful array of flavors, ranging from dark fruits and candy to spices and caramel. A mild bitterness and a bit of booze accompanies the finish.

While Achouffe is a relatively new addition to the Belgium brewing scene, N’Ice Chouffe demonstrates the brewery’s ability to make a fine strong ale on par with some of the country’s oldest establishments. Indeed, N’Ice Chouffe embodies big time flavors from a small town brewery, just as so many of the world’s craft brews do. I will certainly be looking to sample some of their other products.

Links

Ratebeer.com: http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/nice-chouffe/1619/
 

Brasserie Achouffe: http://www.achouffe.be/en

Image credits

David D. Jenson, Beer47: http://beer47.com/