Beerly Departed - Search The Crypt's Records

Saturday, November 15, 2008

Stella Artois

Dead Soldier
Where to Dig Up More About This Beer
Stella Artois
Brouwerijplein 1 (InBev)
Leuven, Belgium
Est.1366
www.stellaartois.com

Brain Damage Quotient = 5.0 % ABV
Fluid Oz. = 11.2 

Postmortem Brew Review
Sheer golden color.
Wonderful balance of hops and maltiness.
Creamy, frothy head with delicate spiderweb lacing.
Superb from start to finish. 

Grim Reaper's Eulogy
Like fine food, great artistry, avant garde movies and Champagne, you've got to hand it to the French for a truly great beer. Before they were known as "surrender monkeys", they took up shop in Belgium in the 14th century and created the original Belgian beer. So what if they can't fight a war worth a damn, save for the great Napoleon. This outstanding lager goes great with everything...um, except maybe frog's legs!

Sunday, November 9, 2008

Leffe

Dead Soldier
Where to Dig Up More About This Beer
Leffe Belgian Abbey Ale - Blonde
Brouwerijplein 1 (InBev)
Leuven, Belgium
Est.1240
www.leffe.com

Brain Damage Quotient = 6.6 % ABV
Fluid Oz. = 11.2 

Postmortem Brew Review
Golden orange in color.
Fruity flavor in mouth.
Great mouthfeel; richness yet subtle and smooth.
Rich, frothy head with tremendous ringed lacing.
Full bodied with no bitter finish. 

Grim Reaper's Eulogy
"Savor the Mystery of the Ages" is printed on the back label. I don't know about you, but the Abbey style ales that I've sampled are always very very high in alcohol content. I guess when you have that much time on your hands, ahem, practicing celibacy, you can craft a great ale. Can you imagine if the church took beer and wine making away from these guys after already banning women??? Got to give them something to look forward to! A great delicate tasting ale that is not in the least bitter like some of the higher alcohol ales.

Check out their interactive website. It's like taking a beer SAT test!

Monday, November 3, 2008

Hoegaarden

Dead Soldier
Where to Dig Up More About This Beer
Hoegaarden Belgian White Wheat Beer
Brouwerij Hoegaarden (InBev)
Stoopkenstraat 46
Hoegaarden , Belgium
Est.1445
www.hoegaarden.com

Brain Damage Quotient = 4.9 % ABV
Fluid Oz. = 11.2 

Postmortem Brew Review
Cloudy yellow color as found in most wheat based beers.
Spice notes throughout.
Delicate, soapy head.
Light
to medium bodied with good flavor and no bitter finish. 

Grim Reaper's Eulogy
This one claims to be the "original" Belgian wheat beer. Also states, "...brewed with spices...unfiltered, naturally cloudy..." on the label. All true statements of the drink I sampled. Typical of most wheat or wit-beers is that it uses the traditional ingredients of water, yeast, wheat, hops, coriander and dried Curaçao orange peel, also known as Laraha.

It is a wonderfully well balanced wheat beer and does not possess the 'wheatiness' of flavor found in other wit-beers. We've sampled the 'spade' in Spaten. Now we have the other tool from the shed; the Hoe! Can you dig it?