Trappist Westvleteren Blond and 8

Trappist Westvleteren Blond (2013)

11.2 fl. oz. / $23.63 USD / 5.8% ABV

About: "Green Cap. Introduced on June 10th, 1999. Ingredients: Water, Westmalle yeast, malt, 3 varieties of hops, sugar."

Thoughts: Blond poured a color true to its name, a deep yellow blond that is completely hazy and full of speckled sediment throughout. Bundles of grain gather and bunch up in areas of the beer. The short, soft white head is luminescent and slightly frothed. 

This beer smells incredible. It's got this really soothing nose to it, a beautiful yeast characteristic and smells like heather flowers. It's a very floral brew with a lot of bright citrus fruit up front, which is reminiscent of papaya. It's slightly lemony, with grains of paradise and toasted sesame seeds coming through, and after a short while becomes extremely herbal.

Well, here it goes, my first sip of a Westvleteren. There's a deeply rooted bitterness that the scent didn't let on to at all, and while it isn't overall that intense, it stated out thick and heavy. The heart of this beer is obviously the yeast, which just resonates through the body and is incorporated into every aspect of it. It's really spicy and peppery, very up front and ridiculously dominating. The subtle yet jubilant sweetness that manages to pull through and actually shine beyond the thick cloud of spice and firm bitterness is not only very welcome but also a bit surprising and peculiar, as it does so every so slowly. Blonde is a beer that strikes fast and hard, then settles quickly and what you're left with is a long, lingering aftertaste of rose petals, soft sourdough bread, unripe pear, dry hay and black pepper.

The mouth feel on the Blond is thicker than would be expected, especially if one has becomes accustomed to a beer that looks like this to feel like water. This beer is heavy, and you'll be required to chew through some of it. This Blond is pretty raw and deceiving looking, but if you find the will to enjoy it, it is something delightfully unimaginable.

Trappist Westvleteren 8 (2013)
11.2 fl. oz. / $23.63 USD / 8% ABV

About: "Blue cap (formerly Extra). Ingredients: Water, Westmalle yeast, malt, local hops, sugar."

Thoughts: Westy 8 poured a muddy brown color with some cranberry tones around the edges of the glass. The multi-colored beige and brown head from where I poured left a design resembling a mysterious planet. Carbonation seems a bit low, and there's no way of seeing through this dark liquid matter.

This beer smells like liquid candy. It's like soft baked apple pie drizzled in caramel, grapes, figs, plums, brown sugar, and cherries. The alcohol seems to be laying low, as well as the Belgian yeast. It's not an overly assertive scent, so you've got to experience it when you pop the top, pour and later while swirling as it does disappear after leaning in for a while. Overall it's a very fruity and somewhat sweet smelling beer.

The taste starts off as if it's going to come across a lot stronger than it is, with some heavy fumes upon the first gulp and a little sting as well. The fumes hit just above the middle mark and then slowly fall back before getting too strong. The taste of this one is a lot less sweet than I had expected, not that its overly bitter or anything, but the bitterness definitely outweighs the sweet here. It's got a clean profile to it, despite being so peppery, grainy and lasting so long after being swallowed. Flavors consist of semi-sour dark fruits, burnt candi sugar, a touch of hazy booze, mild yeast and a long drawn out graininess.

Mouth feel on this one is a bit hard to figure out. It starts out thick and boisterous, but fades so quickly at the swallow that it goes from a solid medium to light feeling rather fast. It is soft and velvety however. The booze starts to come out a bit more as the beer warms, and the bitterness fades a bit giving way to a nearly perfect balance. I think that I prefer their Blond to this, but his is a mighty fine Dubbel.

St. Bernardus Pater 6 and Prior 8

St. Bernardus Pater 6 (2013)

Year Round Brew.

11.2 fl. oz. / $5.99 / 6.7% ABV

About: "StBernardus Pater 6 is a traditional abbey style dubbel, chestnut in color, very fruity with notes of melon and very fresh banana, finishing with slight bitterness. Delightfully easy to drink. One of the original recipes from the days of license-brewing for the Trappist monks of Westvleteren. This name became a reference. This beer is mostly pointed out with its product name: “a Paterke”."

Thoughts: Pater 6 poured a deep brown with some reddish shades and a very light tan, small silvery head that while wasn't all too thick, but stuck around till the end.

The beer is very malt forward. It's got that familiar St. Bernardus scent to it, subtle spices, Belgian yeast, and this time around a clean watery sensation. While the beer isn't as strong as their others, this one still has a very rich scent to it. Hints of raisins, apple and pear, without any strong fume from alcohol, it remains soft yet continuously vibrant and is slightly peppery.

The taste starts off very robust, with a huge bold taste up front, it's sweet, slightly tart with a prominent yet not all too strong bitterness to it. It's gentle, clean, a little spiced, a little peppery, fruity, and long lingering. The fruity aspect to it is probably what hits the hardest and lasts the shortest, but leaves the biggest impression. It's really ripe tasting. Like soft apples and pears sprinkled with black pepper. Based on the scent, I didn't expect the taste to be this heavy, but it's all there in full effect. The background base is like brown sugar, a little bit of clove, molasses and a hint of caramel.

Mouth feel is light, a little puffy and goes away clean. This is a very nice ale.

St. Bernardus Prior 8 (2013)

Year Round Brew

11.2 fl. oz. / $5.99 USD / 8% ABV

About: "St.Bernardus Prior 8 is a traditional abbey ale brewed in the classic "Dubbel" style of Belgium's Best Abbey Ales. It has a ruby to purple color, smooth, creamy richness of texture that is almost oily, and a malt-fruit complexity reminiscent of coconut. It finds the perfect balance between sweet, bitter and malty tastes. One of the original recipes from the days of license-brewing for the Trappist monks of Westvleteren."

Thoughts: Prior 8 poured a dark reddish-purple grape like color with a thick light tan head on top.

First whiff and I got some booze off of this one. It's strong and up front, but just underneath is that crisp apple and pear juice just like the Pater 6. This one doesn't seem to be as malt or yeast forward as the others. It's mainly just that fruity tone, peppery spices and a bit of alcohol.

This one starts off with a huge blast of raisin and tart cherry accompanied by forceful booze. Immediately after the swallow a gentle sting kicks in, like that of drinking a cherry flavored brandy. Only this beer has a lot of toasty dark bread, pine nuts, fiery wood and a lot of black pepper. While the yeast has imparted what seems to be the least amount of flavor in the brew, I'm finding this one to be the hoppiest out of all their beers I've tried. The tinge of alcohol really brings out the earthy and piney qualities, as well as a little bit of that oily dank. There's a good balance but something about this one seems a bit off to me. It's hard to pinpoint what it is exactly but it left a little bit of grunge on the back of my tongue and the aftertaste a little sour as well.

Mouth feel is slightly bubbly, it's smooth though oily and isn't as clean as I would have liked. This one smells a lot crisper than it actually is, but there's nothing wrong with that I suppose. I'll most likely try this one again sometime later just to see how it tastes the second time around. As it stands, this one is a beast.

Uncommon Brewers Golden State Ale, Siamese Twin Ale and Baltic Porter

Uncommon Brewers Golden State Ale - Ale brewed with Poppy Seeds (2012)

Brewed and Canned by Uncommon Brewers in Santa Cruz, CA. USA.

Year Round Brew.

16 fl. oz. / $2.49 USD / 6.4% ABV

About: "Our beers are unfiltered, unpasteurized, and undoubtedly uncommon. The signatures of our Golden State are the mountain quail and the poppy flower. We can't make beer with quail - yet - and so we settled upon the poppy. How better to enhance the flavor of a traditional Golden Ale than to include the tanginess of toasted poppy seeds? Our Golden State Ale  blends the sweet bite of toasted poppy with the aromatics of an simple California yeast. It's crisp and light, but carries enough body for the self-respecting beer drinker to think, "This is an uncommon ale."

Thoughts: Caramel colored, rusty copper hue with a tiny crackling sliver of a head that dissipated just after I poured it (Here's the one lucky shot of the beer with a head on it). This beer is completely foggy, murky rather, and small clusters of bubbles are clinging all over the sides of the glass.

The scent begins with a Belgian yeast. It's sweet and toasty. There are light floral notes, and it's also got a light citrus tone about it... like a little lemon, or tangerine, or perhaps both mixed. The more I lean in the more citrus I get. While it's a low flow sensation, it still smells good before it fades out as I become accustomed to it.

This beer is very flavorful for such a light scent and taste. It's smooth and malty with a gentle tingling of peppery hops. There's a slight tangy bite to it, which isn't really sour at all. Am I chewing edible flowers or eating a bagel? It's all a little unique, but nothing here is over the top... far from it. I'd say that this beer is very enjoyable, and everything is in its right place. It's a bit of a strange one.

Mouth is light, crisp, not heavily carbonated and extremely easy to drink. Though, it does leave a thin layer of film on the teeth for some reason.

This is a crisp and refreshing Belgian Ale for the summer. There's no bad afterthoughts and it left a clean, if slightly sticky taste in my mouth. The ABV is high on this one for it to feel as light as it does, but it works out great.

Uncommon Brewers Siamese Twin Ale - Ale brewed with Kaffir Lime Leaves, Lemongrass and Coriander (2012)

Year Round Brew.

16 fl. oz. / $2.49 USD / 8.5% ABV

About: "There's a long tradition in Belgian brewing of using exotic spices to enhance a beer's flavor. Although many have been tried, coriander is undoubtedly the king. In tribute to this heritage we present to you our Siamese Twin Ale. It is a traditional Belgian-style Double seasoned with coriander and entirely uncommon Thai spices. At first surprising, the floral notes of lemongrass and sharper bite of kaffir lime blend with the deep malt of this double to produce a dangerously drinkable beer. Served alongside a fiery curry or enjoyed on its own, the Twin brings a taste of the tropics to every occasion. And who doesn't need a taste of the tropics every now and then?"

Thoughts: This beer looked just like Coca-Cola right out of the can, and the head, whatever there was of it in the first place, disappeared as I poured the thing. It's a dark brown with a touch of yellow around the outer edges. I think all the carbonation left when I cracked it open, and man that had to be the fastest fizzed-out head ever.

It even smells like a fizzy soda. Like Coke mixed with Sprite, only as a beer... and with herbs. It's got a natural type scent to it though, but it's weird and there's not much else to it.

I got hit with a heavy stinging alcohol out of nowhere. Strong herbs, light Belgian yeast, and a peppery bite are this beer's main attraction. It's unexpectedly good considering how it's so lacking in the look and scent. Those lime leaves and the lemongrass really come out through the sting and give the coriander and Belgian yeast / malt base a real interesting flow.

Mouth is like a flat soda. It's slightly coating and there's a mild burn once it warms up.

I started off with major doubts about this one, but as I got half way through and finished this I became a fan - of the taste at least! It's by no means a pretty beer, far from it, (that's probably partly due to the whole Organic thing, and of course the ingredients involved here) but in the end it's still pretty tasty.

Uncommon Brewers Baltic Porter - Ale brewed with Licorice and Star Anise (2012)
Year Round Brew.
16 fl. oz. / $2.49 USD / 7.8% ABV

About: "Late in the 18th century Britain's great brewing families were working hard to break into new markets. For the Baltic Sea ports they created an export version of the traditional British Porter. Styled like an IPA to preserve them for the voyage, those profound Baltic Porters served to ward off the chill winds of that northern sea. That said, we weren't satisfied with the Baltic Porter's traditionally subtle hint of black licorice. This ale features a blend of whole licorice root and star anise to create an uncommon addition to that traditional export Porter's hearty character."

Thoughts: This one poured into a pretty deep looking black with brown edges. Though the huge bubbly head on this one faded nearly instantly (much like the company's other beers), there is an absolute ton of carbonation bubbles clinging to the glass and rising all over the place.

Took a couple whiffs and it's pretty pleasing on the nose. There's a roasted, chocolate malt tone that's enhanced nicely by the anise. A bit light on the licorice, but every ale I've ever tried with this ingredient has been so in that department. Even so, the licorice and anise really smell good here and it's giving me high hopes for the taste. Will I be let down?

Taste is... nothing but straight up coffee on the first gulp, nearly pissing me right off! There was no heavy coffee in the scent what the fuck. Take it easy Drunketh. Let's calm down and try that again: OK, so the coffee blends in a little nicer on the remainder of the brew. Seems as if it were just that first gulp that packed a punch, thankfully. Well, this one isn't at all that interesting. There's too much of a toasty coffee flavor throughout for me, even if it does fall back after a while. And while the addition of that anise is very welcome, I can't get past the fact that there just isn't enough of that black licorice flavor here.

Brew is light, fluffy, little bubbly, clean and watery.

As it warms, a little bit of a grassy tone comes through around the end of each sip. Though I'm not really a Porter guy at all (it's one of my least favorite styles), for some reason I always seem to gravitate towards the Baltic variety if ever I get the chance. I've not been too impressed by any of them, and this one is really no different. While all three of the Uncommon brews I tried were OK tasting, none of them really felt like true beer.

Dogfish Head Urkontinent

Dogfish Head Urkontinent - Ale brewed with wattle seeds, amaranth, rooibos, myrica, gale and honey (2012)

Occasional Rarity (Limited Release)

25.4 fl. oz. / $13.25 USD / 8% ABV

About: "Urkontinent is a Belgian-style dubbel that begins with Pilsner, Munich and Chocolate malts and Belgian Dark Candi syrup. Then we add unique ingredients from around the world: Wattleseed from Australia imparts chocolate, coffee and hazelnut notes to the beer. Toasted amaranth from South America gives it an earthy, grainy flavor and a little additional roast flavor. Green rooibos from Africa contributes a floral aroma and slight astringency. Myrica gale from Europe supplements the bitterness from minimal hopping. Hiveplex Honey from California adds a subtle sweetness while maintaining the dry finish."

Thoughts: This beer poured a dark, dark ruby red with brownish tones and a shadowy tan head. It would be a little transparent if it were light enough to see through, but it ain't.

Well, I'm not too familiar with most of the ingredients in this, so I can't exactly tell you if this beer reeks of funky rooibos, but I'll try. Smells kinda like a coffee flavored brandy. But not a cheap-ass nasty one. A semi-sweet and gentler kind of brandy. Real quality stuff. There's also some mellow herbal notes, and a roasted nutty undertone.

Taste is very malty at first with a moderate sting of booze. It's woodsy, chocolatey and sweet at the same time... kind of like those alcohol filled chocolate covered cherries. I get a hint of smoke after the swallow, which starts out as just a hint but grows after each gulp. It's a little sweet, but at the same time there's a low level tartness that's to be reckoned with. It's a bit too mild-chocolatey for my tastes though (I like my chocolate beer to be Choklat! - and don't really tend to like any other chocolate notes in beers). I really wish this were a lot sweeter, but as it stands, the taste is quite pleasant and it's easily drinkable.

Mouth is pretty fizzy and frothy. Finish is dry and wine like.

This is a good representation of a hybrid Dubbel / Belgian dark ale, but it's not overly exciting. Maybe it's a little too close to a porter for me. And a little overpriced too, but hey, it's DFH we're talking about. Get used to it, or just do what I do, buy one bottle and be done with it (unless it's just that good). The taste of this kind of makes me think of it as Monk's Blood Light. While the Blood is full, rich and flavorful, this is like a really toned down version of it - lacking the spice and sweetness, and subtituting in that mild bitter chocolate which brings about a "meh" feeling inside of me. No unpleasantries of any nature, yet not outstanding in any way.