Beer Blog
Out-Belgianing the Belgians: Part 3
In this blog, the third in a series of three, I’m going to get a little more in depth about some of the breweries and beers we’re going to feature for our upcoming beer tasting, themed Out-Belgianing the Belgians!
Belgian breweries and the brewers behind them have long been highly regarded for their mastery of robust, complex, and delicious beers. But with the overwhelming momentum in the craft beer industry, there are a handful of incredible brewers in America and all over the world that are brewing Belgian-Style beers as well as, if not better than, the Belgians themselves.
(you can read about the first eight beers and breweries in Part 1 and Part 2.)
Brewery #9: Kiuchi Brewery – Located in Ibaraki, Japan
Kiuchi was originally founded in 1823 as a sake brewery, and they actually still make world-class sake today. It wasn’t until 1996 that they started brewing beer under the Hitachino Nest name, but they kept the same set of standards they’ve always used to produce sake. They take great pride in the quality of the things they make, and it definitely shows in the beers. Microbreweries were actually illegal in Japan until 1994, as the only licenses given out up until then were for producers who were a lot like the brewing giants we have here in America. Consequently, light, adjunct lagers (beers made with adjunct grains, like corn or rice) had a very strong hold on the industry there, and with microbreweries being illegal, there was literally no need for them to worry about any sort of competition. Once the ban on microbreweries was lifted, several people did start brewing, but it took a while for craft beer to catch on in Japan, and many of those breweries that started in the 90′s were only around for a couple years. These days though, the craft beer scene is booming, and Kiuchi is at the forefront of it with their Hitachino Nest Beers.
The Hitachino XH Bottle
The Beer – Hitachino Nest XH
The XH in this case stands for Extra High. This is a super cool, somewhat funky strong Belgian-Style Brown Ale that’s aged in Schochu (distilled sake) Casks. The result is an 8% ABV content beer that drinks very easy for its strength, with notes of restrained citrus, sour cherries, and a hint of caramel. There’s a touch of toasty oak, from the Schochu Casks, but I think they impart a little more than that. The mouthfeel on this beer is a little starchy, in a way that it sort of glides over your palate with a certain fuzziness. It’s very difficult to explain without a taste of it in front of you, so I’d highly recommend checking this one out. As far as I know, there isn’t another beer out there (at least not in America) that’s aged in Shochu or Sake Barrels. Other favorite Hitachino Nest beers to try: White Ale, Red Rice Ale, Sweet Stout.
Brewery #10: Great Divide Brewing – Located in Denver, Colorado
Right on the edge of downtown Denver, Great Divide is nestled into a former dairy-processing plant. It’s hard to imagine anything else but a brewery in the space now though, since the brewhouse, raw ingredients, and packaging are crammed in so tight at this point due to the increasing demand for Great Divide beers. They’ve been at it since 1994, but have grown incredibly fast over the past few years especially. They make a variety of styles, but probably get the most recognition for their more extreme releases. Oak-Aged Yeti is a fantastic Imperial Stout, and Hercules Double IPA is so good that it transcends being pegged as “just another ultra-hoppy beer.” They do make some fantastic session beers as well though, like the Hoss Rye Lager and the Denver Pale Ale, the latter of which unfortunately doesn’t come into the Chicago Market. I’ve always appreciated them for having a solid lineup of beers across the board, especially when they make so many different brews throughout the year.
Taken at Great Divide in December 2010
The Beer – Hades
Hades is a Belgian-Style Golden Ale from Great Divide, and I can tell you first hand that it can get you into trouble if you’re not careful. With just a hint of malty sweetness, it’s dangerously drinkable at 7.8% ABV. It’s complex and spicy, with a little juicy citrus and floral hops to really balance it out. It’s a little unnerving when a beer this strong is so quenching, but it’s become a staple for the Bluebird staff for just that reason. We love the Hades, and we love introducing people to it. Other favorite Great Divide beers to try: Titan IPA, Oak-Aged Yeti, Rumble.
Brewery #11: Brasserie Dieu du Ciel! – Located in Quebec, Canada
These are some of the coolest guys I’ve ever met in the beer business, and if you know anything about the beer business, it’s riddled with cool guys. We had the pleasure of hosting them at the Bluebird in April of last year when they were in town for the Craft Brewers Conference, and I had such a blast chatting with them (they actually invited me to come to Montreal in June of 2010 for a Beer Festival and to see their brewpub, but I had other obligations and couldn’t make it. I’ve been kicking myself ever since). They have a little brewpub right on the edge of downtown Montreal, and another microbrewery outside of Montreal in the town of Saint Jerome. Without much formal training, the guys who founded Dieu du Ciel have a serious gift for blending different brewing styles together, and especially for crafting exceptionally flavorful and balanced beer with the use of special ingredients. Whether it’s been coffee, peppercorns, hibiscus flowers, or vanilla in the brew, I’ve never had anything from these guys that I thought was less than fantastic.
Luc from Dieu du Ciel getting ready to tap a firkin at the Bluebird in April of 2010
The Beer – Derniere Volonte
Derniere Volonte is French for “Last Will,” but the beer itself is a mix of Belgian and English-Style brewing traditions. The beer itself is an Abbey-Style Blond Ale, brewed with their Belgian yeast strain to produce wonderful tones of fruit and spice, but they also use an English brewing technique called dry hopping for the Derniere Volonte. Dry hopping is when the brewer steeps whole hop flowers in the beer during fermentation, which will add more hop aroma to a beer, and sometimes help to make it taste a little more dry than it would have otherwise. Other favorite Dieu du Ciel beers to try: Rosee d’Hibiscus, Route des Epices, Corne du Diable.
Brewery #12: Allagash – Located in Portland, Maine
How could we do an Out-Belgianing the Belgians Beer Tasting and not include Allagash? Rob Tod is a stand-up dude, and he founded Allagash in 1995 after working in another brewery and recognizing a lack of Belgian-Style beers being brewed in America. At the time, German and English-Styles were dominating the tiny craft market, but Rob had a serious ace up his sleeve with a little beer called Allagash White. Brewed in the Belgian White Ale Style (otherwise referred to as witbier), Allagash White is light and crisp with a little sweetness, a touch of spice, and damn near perfect for what it is. After achieving success with the White, Rob went on to brew the Allgash Dubbel, Tripel, and now does a variety of different special releases throughout the year, all of which are fantastic. In my opinion, Allagash is undoubtedly one of America’s top Belgian-Style breweries.
The Confluence Bottle
The Beer – Confluence (2010 release)
I’m super excited to bust this out and see how it’s tasting. We’ve been cellaring this at the Bluebird for about a year and a half now, and I think it’s going to taste incredible. To make the Confluence, Allagash actually uses two different yeast strains. They let their house yeast strain, a Belgian-Style one, work alongside their Brettanomyces (wild) strain, to create a mix of amazing flavors and complexities. They do a lengthy aging process on the beer post-fermentation, to let it develop, and then they dry hop it before bottling. So the style is technically a dry-hopped Belgian-Style Golden Ale, but when you taste it, it’s easy to see that it’s so much more. It’s light and floral, with a touch of citrus and spritzy carbonation. With the slight funkiness coming through from that Brettanomyces yeast strain, it’s in a class all of its own. Other favorite Allagash beers to try: White, Dubbel, Fluxus.
Cheers!
