REVIEW #87: Final Frontier (To Øl)

Pours somewhere between amber and strawberry red with a dirty-white head. The nose is sublime, full of caustic American hop resin, pine and solvent (furniture polish!); heady and medicinal. Lots of succulent fruit initially, quite surprising given the intensity of the aroma; we're talking mango, grapefruit, citrus. This is reinforced by a very generous level of bitterness, probably 100 IBU or there or thereabouts. The beer features an excoriating solvent and clotted cream finish which works with the hop bitterness to completely desiccate the mouth. To me this is as good as an IPA can get. If I rated beers this would be a 10 out of 10 job. 

To Øl are two Danish brewers, Tobias Jensen and Tore Gynther, former students of Mikel Bjorn Bjorgso of Mikkeller fame. They produced their first commercial beer in 2010 at De Proefbrouwerij, Belgium. One of their early beers was in fact a collaboration between with Mikkeller; the outcome an Imperial IPA called 'Overall'. Final Frontier, a double IPA (DIPA), is intended as a bigger & better 'sequel' to their First Frontier IPA. They also make a saison, a porter and a pale ale in addition to many other seasonal brews. If you want an idea of what Final Frontier is all about perhaps the closest thing I've had to it is BrewDog's Hardcore IPA, readily available in Tesco's. I got this beer from www.beersofeurope.co.uk (have a free plug on me!).

• MALTS: ?
• HOPS: SIMCOE; CENTENNIAL; COLUMBUS
• IBU: VERY HIGH
• ABV: 9%
• QUICK DANISH LESSON: GAER = YEAST; VAND = WATER; HAVRE = OAT; HUMLE = HOPS; MALT = MALT :P

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REVIEW #83: Reinaert Tripel (De Proefbrouwerij)

Pours a wondrous gold with a gleaming white head that's well retained throughout drinking. Honey, orange peel and cinnamon aroma. Yeasty, sugary, estery (especially apricot and lavender) with cinnamon spice and candied fruit initially. Sweet but not too sweet. This fades into a fairly unique marzipan and marmalade, floral finish. Medium bodied with a treacly mouthfeel offset by very energetic carbonation making it feel almost delicate. Slight alcohol burn at the end but overall the 9% ABV is well hidden. 

This one is made by De Proefbrouwerij of Lochristi, a brewery that supplements its own beer production (under the bvba Andelot business-name and of which this beer is one) by brewing other brewers' ales on commission. The list of beers it produces for other entities is extensive so I won't go into it here but Mikkeller is one of the many. I have previously reviewed one other ale that is their own (review #19). Reinaert is De Proefbrouwerij's main brand so I'm pleased to have tried it. In addition to this Tripel there is also a Reinaert Flemish Wild Ale, Flemish Amber Ale and Grand Cru. The name Reinaert, which translates to "Reynard" in English, relates to a fox that features in an eponymous 13th Century Dutch epic/fable by William Madocke. 

REVIEW #82: Vicaris Generaal (Brouwerij Dilewyns)

Pours a dull brown until held to the light, upon which it magically transforms into a gorgeous deep ruby red. It also has an everlasting silky beige head. Sourness on the nose is reminiscent of an Oud Bruin such as Liefman's Goudenband (review #46) but this sits nicely alongside a heavy malt scent. Lovely roast malt taste up front, think Ovaltine and drinking chocolate. This fades to a dry, peppery biscuit and hazelnut finish with plenty of warm alcohol. Hop aroma is minimal but a fair amount of bitterness is present throughout. The sourness in the nose takes a backseat in the taste; this isn't a Flemish Brown, but one of those dark, malty, complex 'brune' beers (albeit a sourer interpretation) that the Belgians have made their own.

Brouwerij Dilewyns ferment Vicaris Generaal ("Vicar General") at around 24C, lager (age) it at 1C and then secondary ferment it in the bottle. This beer was brewed at brewery-for-hire De Proefbrouwerij prior to Dilewyns opening their own brewery in 2011 in Dendermonde, East Flanders. A Vicar General, by the way, is a Catholic priest who deputises to the Bishop of a diocese. It is decreed that a Vicar General must have at least 30 years working knowledge of canon law or a degree in theology. It wouldn't be a Belgian beer without some link to religion would it?

• MALTS: 3 malts
• HOPS: ?
• IBU: mid
• ABV: 8.8%
• BOTTLE CONDITIONED, no spices added (unusual for a belgian beer!)

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REVIEW #29: Jackie Brown (Mikkeller)

Jackie Brown, a brown ale, really is brown. A deep, chestnut brown. The head is permanent and a smooth cream in colour and consistency; very impressive. The aroma is of chocolate, cream and... piney, menthol scented hops very much in the vein of an American Pale Ale! Vanilla and chewy malt at the fore lead to a pronounced hop finish on the palate. For a brown ale this is crazily hopped. The hops lend Jackie Brown an aromatic, bone dry finish. Despite this its a smooth, easy drinking beer and undeniably well balanced, but, I can't help feeling - and call me old fashioned if you will - that a brown ale (a child of the mild, so to speak) should go a little easier on the hop and rather be more of a showcase for the many interesting malt varieties present.

Like a lot of Mikkeller's beers, this one is brewed at De Proefbrouwerij in Belgium. No doubt an obvious fact to many, the beer is named after the acclaimed Quentin Tarantino film starring blaxploitation queen and John Carpenter-favourite, Pam Grier. Grier is just one in a truly impressive cast of actors that feature in the film, including Samuel L. Jackson, Robert DeNiro, Michael Keaton, Jane Fonda... Anyway, its probably a good idea to drink Jackie Brown whilst watching Jackie Brown, for the complete experience.

• MALTS: pale, munich, cara-pils, cara-crystal, brown, chocolate, unmalted oat

• HOPS: NUGGET, SIMCOE, CENTENNIAL
• IBU: ?
• ABV: 5.9%`
• BOTTLE-CONDITIONED.

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REVIEW #21: Cream Ale (Mikkeller / Revelation Cat)

This is a first for me, a cream ale! Pours an attractive tangerine with impressive pure white head. Citrus, orange juice and pine on the nose. To the taste, immediate floral  notes, orange and elderflower. It has a malty undercurrent but the hops really stand to the fore, revealing their citrus and herbal characteristics. I would guess this to be an all-malt version (i.e. no corn, wheat, etc). Its quite light, well-carbonated and refreshing. Its a joy to drink, although I'm not sure a traditional cream ale should be quite so hoppy.

This 'Cream Ale' is a joint effort from Denmark's 'phantom' brewer Mikkeller and Revelation Cat, an Italian microbrewery opened 2009 in Rome. The beer itself was brewed at brewery-for-hire De Poefbrouwerij, in East Flanders, Belgium (the previous Mikkeller beer I reviewed was brewed at De Molens of Holland and Mikel even has a beer brewed by Jennings Brewery in the North of England - this guy travels!). This cream ale is inspired by pre-prohibition era beers in America, hence the Tommy guns pointing at hops on the label. The cream ale style, according to beeradvocate, derives from US light lagers. Cream ales are indeed ales so use Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast (ale yeast cf. lager yeast) although may be finished with lager yeast or even have lager mixed in with the ale.

• MALTS: ?
• HOPS: ?
• IBU: ?
• ABV: 5%

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REVIEW #19: Bloemenbier (De Proefbrouwerij)

What a peculiar pale ale! "Flowerbeer" pours a golden haze with plain white, fluffy head. Very complex nose, heavily perfumed, flowery, grenadine. Starts sugary sweet, carries on sweet and finishes sweet; wincingly sweet! A malt backbone is just about detectable, along with banana-like esters, but I'm not so sure about the hops. To be fair, it gets better once the palate adjusts and the plant extracts add intrigue to the taste. But personally I think they have gone overboard with the added sugar / adjuncts.

The Proefbrouwerij specialises in brewing beers contracted out to them by other brewers. For example they brewed Jopen's Extra Stout prior to Jopen opening their own brewpub in Haarlem. I believe Bloemenbier is brewed under the 'Andelot' banner. Whether Andelot is a specific brand owned by De Proefbrouwerij or an actual brewing company which contract the Proefbrouwerij to bring their recipes to life, I'm not sure. The plain bottle is wrapped up in a cool little paper pyjama.

• MALTS: CONTAINS CORN
• HOPS: ?
• IBU: ?
• ABV: 7%
• WITH ADDED PLANT EXTRACTS. BOTTLE-CONDITIONED.

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