Hi,
Time for something very special ! Viven Imperial IPA (India Pale Ale)
Available for the frist time out of bottle, and this exactly yesterday, when I visited Drankenservice Traen to pick up one crate.
I was quite early, because Tony Traen (manager Drankenservice Traen) still had to remove the crates out of his van.
This means that this extreme hoppy beer is tasted as fresh as possible. A most perfect condition!

Note that this Belgian IPA was introduced at the third Bruges' Beer Fest last November.

It was voted as second best beer of the festival, and this just behind Trappist Westvleteren 12.
See - http://www.brugsbierfestival.be/nl/laatste_nieuws-168.html
A justified result, especially after tasting this amazing hoppy brewing wonder.
The Bruges Beer Fest offered this outstanding beer from keg only, and at that time it was 7.2 vol% strong.

See also article - belgianbeerboard.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=534

Everything is brewed at the 'Proef'brewery by brewmaster Dirk Naudts and his crew.
Dirk is really a master of brewing craftsmanship. It's amazing to actually notice how many beers Dirk already has brewed.
This is unseen, and makes the 'Proef'brewery the only brewery producing such a wide variety of beers and beer styles here in Belgium.

And see, these days, the Proef has launched a true Belgian IPA, based on the famous US West-Coast Hop Monsters. A true example of "cross-pollination brewing".

The recipe from the first kegged Bruges Beer Fest version has been slightly changed . It has become stronger towards an 8 vol% strength, which should make this IPA more leaning towards the wonderful US Double IPA style.
Also, more American Simcoe hops are inserted, which gives a darker beer and more American hop characteristics.
An additional bottle refermentation will give more flavours and complexity.

Time to taste ....

This time, the beer is poured into its accompanying Viven glass.
It pours nicely dark golden orange, and slightly hazy.
The foam is kinda beige with a subtle green shine.
The 33cl. bottles are sealed with a dark brown crown cork.

Already when nosing I notice the typical American grapefruit alike hop flavours.
Fruity, fresh, citric, grapefruit, flowers. Memories of past US visits immediatly revive.

Folks, this is a PERFECT US West-Coast double IPA clone!

Tasting only confirms this statement.
I taste citric Simcoe hops. Tomahawk also, and more US hop varieties.

Very pleasant is the balance between sweet and hop bitter. Not too sweet, but in perfect harmony.
Note that this hop monster is still about 124 IBU bitter! This is to be called extreme.

Tasting also gives a nice carbonation tingling, great body, and satisfying depth. A beer to taste with care.
8 vol% is quite strong, and it really doesn't feel that strong when drinking.
This is because the beer is such a fruity experience all together.
Only after finishing the glass for a while, the alcohol is clearly present :)

The after taste is a complete hoppy citric sensation.
Quite equal when finishing grapefruit. It gives a pleasant fruity citric bitter long lasting lingering.

People, I can only show my amazement and appreciation about this beer through this article.
For those here in Belgium, and abroad, who never tasted a US West Coast Double IPA, it is the perfect opportunity to head to Drankenservice Traen and buy some. No need to travel to the States anymore.
Viven Imperial IPA has it all !

By the way, Drankenservice Traen is part of the Prik & Tik drink warehouse chain.
The good news is that the Viven range will also be available at many Prik & Tik drink warehouses inside Belgium.
Export is already arranged towards Italy, Denmark and UK.
Export to the US is scheduled for the near future !

Anyway, what a wonderful experience, this Viven Imperial IPA.
The ever first commercial Belgian IPA equalling on such an amazing manner the wonderful authentic US West Coast Hop Monster Double IPA's.

www.viven.be

Cheers,
Filip

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Hi,
Finally, two of the three Viven beers that were presented for the ever first time at the Bruges' Beer Fest are bottled and readily available at Drankenservice Traen near Bruges at Sijsele.

Indeed, at the Bruges Beer Fest, which was held last year in November, three extremely tasty new Viven beers were presented from keg. See also - I'm STUNNED !!!!!
An Ale, a Porter, and a stunning Imperial IPA. The latter will be available tomorrow !!! So, stay tuned for that beer in next message.
This means that shortly Drankenservice Traen will offer five different Viven beers. Their first beers Viven Blond and Dark to complete the range.

But first, some attention towards Viven Ale and Viven Porter.
Both beers are brewed, and developed in co-operation with Tony Traen and the "Proef"brewery in Lochristi.
The "Proef" brewmaster Dirk Naudts again has shown with this beers that he's an amazing brewer with a lot of brewing skills.

See also Chuck Cook's interesting article about the 'Proef'brewery, including an interview with Dirk Naudts and some pictures taken from him.
A great article about the collaboration beer that was developed with American Bell’s Brewery in Kalamazoo, Michigan. The outcome: Van Twee (From Two).

The article: http://belgianbeerspecialist.blogspot.com/2009/11/van-twee-de-proefbrouwerijbells.html

 Let's taste the Viven Ale first......

Nice amber colored. A bit hazy because I poured the yeast sediment.
Nice longlasting white head.
This Ale is 5.0 vol% strong, a perfect session beer.

The Art of Flemish Brewing, as mentioned on the beautiful label, is perfectly true with this outstanding Ale.
When nosing, one immediately notices the fresh English Goldings hops that are used.
Nosing also gives a pleasant yeast-fruity sensation.
Tasting is a revelation. Such an amazing Ale !!
This beer is only 5 vol% strong, but it developes such a wide variety of flavours.
Apart from many Belgian Ales (Speciale Belge), this beer has much more to offer, i.e. flavours !
It also drinks very soft too. A feast for the taste buds.
The malts and hops are perfectly dosed to obtain a wonderful balance. No off-flavours, no disturbing details.
People, this is how an Ale should taste ! In other words: Delicious !

Time for something completely different......

Viven Porter, a SMOKED Porter at 7.0 vol%. This is the first commercially available smoked porter made inside Belgium!  A revelation!
Notice the care that's been taken for the image.
Black lettered labels and capped with a black crown cork.
This beer pours completely black !
The foam is creamy and brown colored. Folks, that's already a sign of quality !

Now, this is stunning folks !
I already had this beer at the Bruges Beer Fest, and was already surprised by it.
This time, some bottle conditioning has even done some more complexity.
Nosing immediatly gives roasty and smokey accents, and this in perfect harmony with - again - fruity yeasty flavours.
Tasting gives a very thick beer. Wow, what a dense liquid.
I taste sweetness, smokey malt flavours, tobacco, fruits (plums-raisins-dried fruit), roasty malts, coffee.
Again, an amazing brew this is from Dirk Naudts.
I've previously already had some smoked Porters like the one that's brewed in Californa, Stone Smoked Porter, and the one completely north up, Alaskan Smoked Porter, and a couple of other American ones.
In this case, this beer easily equals their quality.
I'm VERY surprised that - here in Belgium - one is also capable to produce a smoked Porter from this quality.

People, I'm speechless......

Cheers,
Filip

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Hi,
Here's the second episode of the memorable vintage tasting which was held at beer pub Pado in Tielt.
The second vintage is an early 70's Gueuze Belle-Vue, brewed by brewery Belle-Vue that time.
A 37.5 cl. bottle from the good old times....

Brewery Belle-Vue is a Lambic brewery raised by Philémon Vanden Stock, who started with Lambic blending in 1913.
In 1940 he bought his first brewery, to become brewmaster himself.

It is in 1927 that Philémon Vanden Stock bought café-brasserie "Belle-Vue". A bar dating from 1890 (Paul Jansonlaan at Anderlecht). This bar still exists today.
The name of that café became the family's brand name, and starting from 1949 also became the name of the company.

Sadly, at the end of World War II, the founder of Belle-Vue was transported by the Germans to a concentration camp, from which he ddin't return. Starting from that period, the company was lead by his son Constant Vanden Stock, also well known as the chairman of soccer club RSC Anderlecht. It is under his leadership that the production of sweet Lambic beers was started.

Finally Belle-Vue was taken over in 1991 by InterBrew (later to become ABInBev).

We notice the golden metallic bottleneck wrap, which was frequently seen those days.
The old yellow label betrays the age of the beer. This is definitely an early 70's vintage brewed at Brewery Belle-Vue.
The bottle is closed with a cork, and this means that the sealing isn't that perfect.
Observing the contents, we see that already alot of Gueuze has been evaporated.
No panic, this is quite normal, and frequently seen with very old aged "corked" Gueuze.
This absolutely does not mean that the beer inside has gone bad !

I think it's time we have some tasting....
Let's uncork that beauty.

Removing the golden wrap, the cork shows up.
A bit of wrap oxidation is seen, and the cork still looks in good shape.

Bartender Dominiek has the right skills to uncork. Yes, that bottle is in good hands.
Be aware that the uncorking job wasn't an easy task at all. In fact, the cork broke in two pieces, but Dominiek didn't panic, and could remove all the cork pieces, and this whitout any fragments falling into the precious liquid.

Pouring was done in a professional, appetizing, knowledgeable way.
Again, some pulling was done to produce a head.
Folks, the aromas that escaped that bottle were phenomenal ! Such a fruity, perfumy complexity.

Poured out, we see that a nice head was the result. Quite some big bubbles too. Similar to the vintage Liefmans Oud Bruin from previous message. See: belgianbeerboard.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=545

After a short while, the head disappeared into big bubbles hanging on the glass.

Nosing gave the best that the Payottenland has to offer.
Amazing wood flavours, and this combined with vinegar-lactic touches.
This is top-quality Oude Gueuze you would expect.
That nose is after all quite some delight. Especially the perfumy ester fomations during all those years of ageing were quite impressive.

Unfortunately, our nose capacity is impossible to detect sweetness.
Tasting this beer didn't confirm the nose. A sweetish flavour immediatley touched my taste buds.
Sweet .. sweet...... but surprisingly not that artificial. Where's the saccharine ??

The overall result is an about 5.5 vol% sweet-sour concoction with that typical Belle-Vue stamp so hard to describe.
There's something bitter too, and full of tannins.
This whole combination, sweetness, sourness, tartness, fruitiness, bitterness, ageing compexity (including the formation of aromatic esters), and wood flavours makes this vintage tasting quite an extraordinary experience.

Be aware that sweetness is one of the main perceptions here.
If you don't like sweet in Gueuze, avoid at any costs ! Well, I certainly wouldn't.....

Cheers,
Filip

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Hi,
This is already initially mentioned inside the forum:

belgianbeerboard.com/index.php?option=com_smf&Itemid=88888993&topic=686.msg2282

Time for a closer look.

This about 33cl. bottle looks very old indeed, and I did my best to preserve the dust.
As you all can see, the bottle has a strange shape. More kinda Porter style. Very unusual for Belgian beer bottle shapes.
Embossed are the text Oudenaarde (see picture), and on the back side (same hight) the name Liefmans.
The crown cap is rusty, and unreadable. Well, if after all, it would have something written on it.
I think it's time for a pour and a taste !
This crazy experience was done at Tielt based beer pub Pado.
Bartender Dominiek was kind to do the professional uncapping and pouring, which he did in a marvelous way.

First, the uncapping ritual. We heard a nice foam escape sound. A good sign really.
Uncapping gave a wonderful flowery aromatic flavour. Quite amazing really.

Gently pouring without inserting the sediment. A bit of pulling was done to still create some foam.
We already notice that this beer is dark colored, and still clear.

This picture was taken just after the pouring.
We see an unstabel head with alot of big bubbles..

After some while, the bubbles disappeared, and we noticed some kind of bubbly foam hanging against the glass wall.
People, what we see here is an Oud Bruin of at least 50 years old !

Don't expect wood flavours here, because there is/was no wood ageing at Liefmans.This opposite to the West-Flanders Oud Bruin type of beers, which OTOH underwent some major Foeder-ageing.

Tasting this beer was quite something memorable.
The first tastes we noticed was a lactic pleasure.
Lacticity mainly noticed at the sides of the tongue. This is pure lactic sourness, but in this case from a wonderful mellowness.
No oxidation was noticed, which was an amazing surprise.
This beer was low in alcohol. I presume around 4-5 vol%.
I still don't know exactly what beer we've tasted. Is this the Odnar, or is this the regular Liefmans Oud Bruin from that period.
Anyway, the taste experience gave a most complex Oud Bruin type of beer, without any wood characteristics.
I expected some Port- or Sherry flavours, but surprisingly they were un-existant.
Indeed, we tasted something old and aged, but somehow due to the vast presence of lactic sourness, this old vintage gave something fruity and refreshing all together.

After we consumed all of the beer, Dominiek poured the sediment.
You see, it's kinda chocolate brownish.
Tasting that mud gave more bitterness, and something undigestable.

People, this was what I would call an extraordinary taste experience.
The next article will be about an aged Gueuze Belle-Vue from early 70's....which we opened later that evening.

Stay tuned.....

Cheers
Filip

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Hi,
Time for a beer pub map update.
An update which was already shortly mentioned inside the BBB forum.
http://belgianbeerboard.com/index.php?option=com_smf&Itemid=88888993&topic=703.0

This place has been mentioned to me by Christophe, owner of that new and so excellent new Ostend based beer bar/restaurant De Bistronoom - Vindictivelaan 22 - 8400 Ostend. (see also...).

The new beer bar is located at Beauvoorde in the west corner of Belgium.
Beauvoorde is one of the small places in Veurne with a beautiful Castle to visit. 

The pub is called Café Tuur Djès. The name is derived from a defunct local folcloric giant who indeed was named Tuur Djès.
The giant has been dismantled in the 70's, but there's hope that giant Tuur Djès will be revived soon !!
Anyway, a great name for a great bar. A bar offering a satisfying 65 beers in total.

Tuur Djès - Gouden Hoofdstraat 42 - 8630 Beauvoorde (Veurne) - 0474 53 45 92
Number of beers: 65
http://www.tuurdjes.be/

It's quite amazing that this gorgeous place hasn't been noticed before, because it exists already for more than 3 years!

The most friendly owners Marieke and Willy are running this outstanding bar with knowledge, passion and true dedication.

The 65 beers menu contains some great Belgian quality.
For example this Bolivar brewed at bry. Huyghe.
One of the ingredients is quinoa.

In Peru, Chile and Bolivia, quinoa is widely cultivated for its nutritious seeds, and they are referred to as "little rice." The seeds are used in creating various soups and bread, and also fermented with millet to make a beer-like beverage. A sweetened decoction of the fruit is used medicinally, as an application for sores and bruises. Quinoa has been grown outside of South America for a relatively short time. It is grown in Canada and has been grown in the U.S., in Colorado since the 1980's by two entrepreneurs who learned of the food from a Bolivian. Technically quinoa is not a true grain, but is the seed of the Chenopodium or Goosefoot plant.
Tha name Bolivar is derived from the Venezuelan rebel, Simon Bolivar. Bolivia remained a Spanish colony until 1825, when the Venezuelan rebel, Simon Bolivar, gave the country its independence (and its modern name). Hence the name of this beer.

This beer is brewed on command by Oxfam Fairtrade at brewery Huyghe.
Apart from quinoa, two more foreign ingredients were added.
Rice from Thailand and cane sugar from Costa Rica.
Interesting to know that the ingredients are products from honest trade (fair trade).
See also http://www.oxfam.org/en/campaigns/trade

Tasting this golden blond - crystal clear - beer indeed gave those remarkable quinoa flavours.
7.5 vol% strong, and a truely excellent and well balanced beer beauty.
By the way, this beer was beer of the month at Tuur Djès.

Here's a beer you seldom find at beer pubs.
Kapittel Pater, the lowest alcoholic beer of the excellent Kapittel range.
This 6 vol% dark candi sugar - caramel malty - sweet liquid has always been one of my favorit Kapittel beers.
I always wonder why this beer is so seldom seen at beer pubs.
Tuur Djès has it on the menu, and this is a wonderful surprise.
For a low alcoholic 6 vol% beer, this beer has so much flavours going on.
A great brew from bry. Van Eecke !

We are in the west corner of Belgium, so there's the availability of Ploegsteert beers.
On the right side Ploegsteert or Queu de Charrue blond. A blond tripel beauty with those remarkable thyme flavors, brewed at Van Steenberge for drink central Van Uxeem. This beer reminds me of that other Van Steenberge tripel called  Bornem Tripel. Very similar. This also means top-quality!

By the way, the mixed dish that was ordered alongside our beers was a true pleasure ! Burgundian at its upper best.

More top-quality !!!! Papegaei

A hoppy blond beer at 8 vol%, brewed with perle hop flowers (hop bitterness) and hersbrucker hops (aroma hop). 

This is a brand new beer brewed at Deca services in Woesten for new beer firm "brewery Verstraete".
Here some more details about brewery Verstraete:
http://www.streekproductenwestvlaanderen.be/ned/02_streekproducten/producten/detailproducent.asp?ProdID=123&CatID=4

Refermented inside the bottle, unpasteurized, unfiltered ! The way it should be.
A blond hazy beer brewed according the recipe from Adam Verstraete and J. Vandenhove.

Folks, I'm very impressed with this beer. Quite an amazing piece of brewing.
If you observe this beer, you will see a remarkable yellow pale beer with a huge haziness.
Tasting gave a low carbonated beer, which gives a very soft mouth feeling.
Spices like coriander and curaçoa peel are clearly noticed, and makes it a very refreshing beer.
Most of all, the hop flavours and aromas are such a true delight. Amazing how hoppy this beer really is.
Hoppiness as kind of fruity, citric. The combination malts and spices gave an excellent top-quality beer !
Top notch !

Brouwerij Verstraete (Deca services)

Grote Dijk 13
8600 Diksmuide
Tel.: 051/50 51 05

Anyway, café Tuur Djès is a most welcome new beer pub map entry........ well deserved.
I can only recommend......

Tuur Djès
Gouden Hoofdstraat 42
8630 Beauvoorde (Veurne)
0474 53 45 92
Number of beers: 65
Website

Closed on Mondays
Tuesdays open from 14.00 till 22.00
Fridays and Saturdays open from 11.00 till 23.00

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