Beer
Chimay Grande Reserve
There is no better way to start this section of my website than to discuss one of the crown jewels of the world’s selection of beer: Chimay Grande Reserve. Also known as Chimay blue, for the blue label its smaller sized bottle is affixed with, this beer represents the pinnacle of the Belgian style of…
Trois Pistoles
Another fine example of a Belgian-style strong dark ale comes to us from North America, specifically the Quebec region in Canada. The Unibroue brewery makes Trios Pistoles, as well as a number of other fine beers I may profile in a future post. One of my favorite North American breweries, Unibroue was founded in the…
Paulaner Hefe-Weizen
A perfect example of a refreshing summer beer, Paulaner Hefe-Weizen is a classic German wheat ale in a brewery lineup that includes a Munich lager, an Oktoberfest Marzen and Wiesn as well as the strong Salvator. These beers are brewed by Paulaner Brauerei in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. It was established in 1634 in Munich by…
Duvel
Duvel is a strong Belgian pale ale brewed by the Moortgat brewery in Belgium, whose products include a line of abbey beers under the Maredsous label, a ‘Tripel Hop’ version of Duvel, as well aquisitions from several American craft brewers still under their own label, including products from Brewery Ommegang in Cooperstown, New York. This…
Delirium Noel
Delirium Noel is a nice Christmas beer from the Brouwerij Huyghe in the city of Melle, East Flanders, Belgium. It is part of a line of similarly named beers which include Delirium Tremens and Delirium Nocturnum. The site of the brewery has had one in operation since 1654, but it was not until the early…
Traditional Spring Seasonal Beers
The production of different beer styles brewed for the changing of the seasons goes back hundreds of years. Typically born in the brewing traditions of Germany and Belgium, who were at the forefront of brewing in the mid to late portion of the last millennium, these seasonal varieties became world renown for heralding in a…
Coopers Sparkling Ale
Sparkling Ale, a wonderful English pale ale from Coopers Brewery Limited. This Australian brewery was founded in 1862 by Thomas Cooper in Adelaide. He was an Englishman who emigrated to Australia with his pregnant wife, and worked as a shoemaker, mason, and diaryman. He eventually began to brew beer and founded a small brewery, eventually…
Christmas Beers
The holidays bring many traditions that have stood the test of time and crossed many cultures. One tradition I look forward to in helping to celebrate the season is the availability of so-called Christmas beers. This group of seasonal offerings are special brews produced worldwide in celebration of not only Christmas, but also the mirth…
Weihenstephaner Hefe Weissbier
This classic fine example of a South German style Hefeweizen comes from the Bavarian State Brewery Weihenstephan (Bayerische Staatsbrauerei Weihenstephan) in , of course, Bavaria, Germany. It began as a brewery set in a monastic abbey (Weihenstephan Abbey) from a rather disputed time period in the middle ages, possibly in the 1100’s and possibly earlier. …
Maudite
Maudite is another dark strong Belgian Ale from the Unibroue family of Belgian-inspired beers in the province of Quebec, Canada. Launched in 1992 as one of the brewery’s earliest beers, Maudite is purportedly the the first strong beer brewed in Canada. Translating as ‘the damned one’, the label art evokes the legend of the Chasse-Galerie…
Zatec Lager
Zatec Lager is a golden Czech pilsener style lager hailing from the Žatecký Pivovar in the Czech Republic. The brewery was built in 1800 inside the grounds of the destroyed Zatec royal castle, after it was determined that the four smaller breweries of the area could not keep up with local demand. Eventually the brewery…
Samuel Smith’s Nut Brown Ale
Samuel Smith’s Nut Brown Ale comes from the esteemed Samuel Smith Brewery in Tadcaster, North Yorkshire, England. The original brewery was founded in 1758 as The Old Brewery. In 1847, Samuel Smith, who was a butcher and cattle dealer from the city of Leeds, gave funds to his son John to purchase the brewery. From…
