     Urthel Samaranth (De Leyerth Brouwerijen)
As potent as they come, this is a Belgian Quadrupel (Quadrium on this bottle) that weighs in at a big 11.5%. The one that you drink in the comfort of your own home within crawling distance to your bed. I'm not sure if this relates, but Samaranth is the name of the dragon in the book Here, There Be Dragons by James A. Owen. It was also the wedding beer for the owners of the brewery in 2002...nice of them to share it with the rest of us. Pours a vivid deep copper brown color with a meek head that leaves a rim around the beer. The aroma is a nice brown sugar, caramel, and yeasty mix. Take a deep drag of it and you can feel the alcohol. The taste is amazingly robust. This is chewy, strong and makes your mouth work...and yet it goes down smooth with a long drawn out warming alcohol tone. It's a bit sweet, kind of spicy and just plain good. Belgium knows how to brew strong beers and this is an excellent example of how strength can really make for great flavors. There's a lot of sugar in this but it's been flattened out and really doesn't take over. Urthel has a winner here. The brewery isn't even 10 years old, but has already established itself as a mainstay in my book. If you can get your hands on a bottle it will definitely be worth it, especially if you can find a copy of the aforementioned book to read while drinking it. The beer should get you through at least the first 30 pages...
Posted by Kelly Labels: Belgian Quads, Belgian Beers | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
    Pannepot Old Fisherman's Ale - 2006 (De Struise Brouwers)
Its St. Patrick's Day, that holy day for drinking beer. Since I am no longer young enough to get away with drinking my weight in Guinness or crappy green beer, I am turning this holiday into a day where I celebrate with some great beers (quality over quantity comes with age I guess). Maybe its the luck of the Irish that I finally found a bottle of Pannepot. I've been poking around for it for awhile and really looking forward to seeing what all the hype is about. It gets ridiculously good ratings online and I am a sucker for a well brewed Belgian beer. This stuff pours nice and thick, it is 10% afterall. Its got a nice foamy head that is pretty tight. I love how the drips from the bottom of the bottle discolor the head and stay on top like a good shot of espresso. Wow, this smells good. Its got a nice sweet smell and definitely has the Belgian yeasty smell that distinguishes the abbey-type ales. Along with the sweetness, Pannepot smells a bit liked baked apples with cinnamon and cloves. Its been about 6-7 minutes and the head of this beer is still perfect! I hate to ruin it... First taste is full of spice and lots of sweet dark dried fruits. This is a pretty powerful brew. Its instantly warming but the alcohol taste is masked well by lots and lots of malty sweetness. This is an amazingly smooth beer with quite a bit of complexity. It really is as good as everyone says it is. I am going to be hunting down their other beers for sure. The label on the bottle reads: "In the early 1900s, the village of De Panne, close to the French border, was famous for two things -- the ‘Pannepots,’ or fishing boats, that could be seen along the coast, and the unique dark ale enjoyed by the local fishermen. Our Old Fisherman’s Ale is a tribute to these hardy sailors and their rich, flavorful brew. Unfiltered. Unpasteurized. Bottle-conditioned."
Posted by Russ Labels: Belgian Beers, Vintage Beers, Belgian Quads | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
