Monday, February 28, 2011

Brouwerij De Dochter van de Korenaar - Finesse


imported by twelve percent LLC

Finesse
(exactly as) on back of label:
"FINESSE, a degustatoinbeer of worldclass. A pure-malt ale, made of barley-, wheat- and ryemalt. 3 sorts of german noble hops, and a long maturation on a pine-resin gives this beer its outstanding taste and class. Finesse, a fruity and yet spicy triple, with a smooth pleasant bitterness, full flavour and still sufficient dry aftertaste to guarantee drinkability. In short: a refined beer with nuances and Finesse.
This beer is bottle-conditioned and will change in flavour during time.
Store dark and cool (not cold)."

tastes:
Alright.  Sweet, earthy, and feculent.  Way too malty/molasses-y at first, but it smoothed out.  Definitely not what I'd expect from a tripel.

Came wrapped up in slightly shiny brown paper, with a tag attached.  The bag doubles as anonymity device:


score:
17 - 82

Friday, February 25, 2011

Saison Cazeau & The Bitter Truth


imported by twelve percent LLC




The Bitter Truth

on the bottle:
BrouweriJ Het Alternatief
10% ALC./VOL
70 IBU

tastes:
Hoppy and bitter, but crisp like a tripel.

score: 87



Saison Cazeau


on the bottle: 
brasseriedecazeau.be
"A conserver debout a temperature de cave"
"Servir tres frais"
Lot No. 3
ACL. 5% Vol.

tastes:
More bitter than expected for a saison, but also citrusy & flowery.  Strong dry feeneesh.

score:  113


Amazing factoid #1: The importer, 12 Percent, creates the labels for the beers that aren't already properly labeled for U.S. sale.  So the artwork for each beer is almost 100% 12 Percent's fault.