Westvleteren 12 Review

Ok, here we go. The beer of all beers, one of the most sought after beers in the world, no THE most sought after beer, you'll find it rated 100pts in any beer review you see. This beer is not legally sold anywhere in the world outside of the brewery itself and their cafe; in fact there is no label, just a number on the cap. Ok, enough rant. 

My wife and I are sharing a Westy 12 we brought back from Belgium in October from "In de Vrede," the beer cafe across the street from Westvletern Brewery.  We made it to the cafe the first day they opened in October (and our last day in Belgium) so we came by their beers by divine intervention.  Luckily we got there early or we may not have gotten any beer as the lines were long by noon. On with the review as we drink it...

Bottled on:  8/4/10

Aroma- chocolate, prunes, malted barley, clean, slightly spicy hops.

Appearance - ruddy brown, good head retention, clear, no label (the caps are the only differentiation)

Flavor - Sweet malt with a caramel candy flavor, burnt sugar, chocolate milk, thick mouthfeel, clean, complex. 

Overall impression - This beer is very clean and light for the alcohol content. Complex flavors dance around the glass and fill your mouth, but it finishes clean and dry so you're ready for another sip right away. A reputation well deserved!

This beer is different than most Belgian beers we had in Belgium. Most are fruity with banana esters and clove notes; this beer differs in its ability to retain a Belgian style without overdoing the esters in the aroma.  The flavors are smooth and clean without a cloying finish (especially for a 10% beer).  The brewers have their secrets in this beer for sure. They say they only use pale & pilsner malt, sugar, yeast and water in this beer.  I think they lie to Americans! You decide...

My Brewing Experiment

 So Alex was out of town last week and I thought, “Here’s the perfect opportunity for me to brew my own beer!” As if I don’t have enough beer in my life. But actually it was a great idea because, although I am familiar with lots of brewing techniques and processes, I’ve never actually brewed a beer on my own. Picked it all up from osmosis you might say. So this really was the perfect opportunity to see if what I knew in my head would translate well into the bottle. I probably went a bit ambitious for my first try, I actually formulated my own recipe loosely based on a Robust Porter in Brewing Classic Styles. I wanted a fairly big, roasty porter that leans toward hoppy. Here’s what I started with:

6 lbs. Gold LME
1 lb. Dark DME
.5 lb. Crystal 45
.5 lb. Munich
.5 lb Chocolate Malt
6oz Black Malt

1oz Fuggle (at boil)
1oz Willamette (15min)
1oz Centennial

California Yeast WLP001

I was pretty proud of myself for coming up with my own recipe, although I now know I’m probably going to end up with more of a standard porter than a robust porter (not enough malt). I filled my kettle on the stovetop with 3 ½ gallons of water, painstakingly filtered through our Brita pitcher, and steeped the grains at 160F for 45 minutes in a warm oven. Putting the pot in the oven really does work well since you don’t have to worry about turning the burner on and off to maintain temperature. I pretty much ignored the beer for all 45 minutes (had to feed myself) and only lost 5 degrees. I only added ¾ of my extracts to the pot so that what I was boiling would be close to the makeup of the finished beer. Not quite clear on why this is a good thing, but I’ve read it in a few books.

Here comes one of the downfalls of brewing on a stovetop: it took FOREVER to boil. I lost track of how long, but by the end I was compulsively checking the temperature every few minutes. When it finally started churning I turned down the heat to avoid boilover and added my Fuggle. I used all leaf hops for this, not out of any particular conviction but rather because I think they are more fun to use. The rest of the boil was pretty uneventful and I busied myself cleaning and sanitizing the carboy, funnel and miscellany.

Two more additions of hops near the end plus the remainder of the malts and I was ready for cooling. I was going low tech here and avoiding most of the fancy gadgets Alex has acquired, so my plan was the “sink basin full of ice water” method of cooling. This was more challenging than I expected, first because of the weight and awkwardness of getting the pot into the sink in the first place, then because the heavy gauge stainless steel held onto the heat longer than I thought it would. While I waited I added about a gallon of water (still using the Brita) to the carboy. Once all the ice was melted I figured I might as well transfer to the carboy, fill the remaining water, and stick it outside to cool further. Here’s where I made my potentially fatal mistake. It was getting late by this point and after about 30 minutes I found myself falling asleep on the sofa. Since I was afraid I would accidently leave the carboy out all night I rushed my yeast addition. Instead of waiting for it to be cool to the touch I settled for neutral/slightly warm (no, I didn’t actually check the temperature). Also, after much digging I came up with a hydrometer but no plastic tube for the test sample so I bypassed the initial reading altogether.

Now it’s four days later. My beer did start fermenting, but it took 2 days and it hasn’t really been going strong. We shall see, and I will definitely post updates as I finish the process. Oh, and in case you’re wondering, Alex decreed my recipe satisfactory (except for needing extra malt) and is mildly optimistic that I will end up with a decent fermentation. He was suitably impressed that I embarked on brewing without assistance. More to come!



A favorite Spanish white

Looking for a great seafood wine? I know a lot of folks that default to a reliable Pinot Grigio when a “dry white” is called for. Not that there isn’t a place for Pinot Grigio, but there are loads of interesting whites out there to experiment with. Just the other night, we had this Albarino from Burgans in the Rias Baixas region of Spain and it was the perfect accent to our sautéed shrimp, orzo and wilted spinach dinner. Albarino is grown in the cool maritime climate along the northwestern coast of Spain and parts of Portugal. Because of the dampness, Albarino vines are trained into tall and open habits rather than the more typical low, horizontal vineyards in an effort to prevent mold.

The wine itself is a beautiful pale golden color with a lilting aroma of limestone underlying lemon zest and peaches. Just a hint of saltiness drifts out of the glass – or maybe that’s just my overactive imagination. My feeling is that the reason this wine works so well with seafood is that it has a full flavor but finishes bright and citrusy. Perfect for balancing buttery shellfish. There is just the slightest hint of effervescence, which helps contribute to the brightness. Citrusy flavors blend with a touch of honey at each sip, then the high acidity of this grape chimes in with a refreshing tartness. The balance makes this wine both great with food and great on its own. So next time you’re in the mood to try something new think about reaching for this gem in the Spanish section.

Stats:

Grape varietal: Albarino
Winery: Burgans
Origin: Spain (Rias Baixas)
Vintage: 2009
Price: $15.99



Our Beer Pilgrimage

Again we’ll skip the nasty parts of the drive to Brugge and put it in a nutshell – three hours to go 45 miles plus the route into Brugge was closed and we had to trick our GPS into going another way. Needless to say by the time we arrive we are exhausted and just hoping that we can manage to find a place to eat dinner before everything closes. On the plus side, the B&B we are staying in is absolutely beautiful, built centuries ago and remodeled with all reclaimed and eco-friendly materials. I adore the aesthetic, which is a seamless melding of rustic material and modern clean lines. Plus there’s a huge clawfoot tub and bubble bath! Just the thing I need after yet another trek through the rain…

I can’t believe it’s our last day in Belgium. After breakfast we head off to the Westvleteren, legendary to beer lovers worldwide because they are one of only six official Trappist breweries and they do not distribute their beer at all. The only place you can legally buy it is at the Abbey itself. Plus, you have to make an appointment in order to buy more than one six pack per person. We’re fortunate to get to visit at all because they have been closed for several weeks and only just opened today. I feel like we are on a pilgrimage. I’ll admit I had pictured a rustic brewery more along the lines of the others we had seen in Belgium. We didn’t get to visit the brewery itself but the café, grounds, and photos make it clear that this is a top notch, spic-and-span modern operation. And you can taste it, too. So many Belgian beers have very particular “house” flavors from the brewery, the air, the evolution of the yeast. We love them for it. But these beers have all of the beautiful yeasty aromatics and malt characteristics we associate with Belgian brews but are absolutely “clean” – no off flavors, no sugary aftertaste, no biting carbonation. Just perfectly balanced and amazingly flavorful. I am in love!

Back in Brugge, we walk a circuit through the town (they actually play music through speakers along the shopping streets – mostly 90s soft rock. It’s like being in an outdoor mall. Disturbing.), gather up our chocolate and lace souvenirs, and then queue up for the requisite canal boat tour. Actually the canal tour was quite lovely, it’s a great way to see the city from a different perspective. Plus, we get to rest our feet! We also shared one of my highlight meals today in Brugge. At a brewpub called Cambrinus with the thickest beer menu yet! I had a rabbit stew - again with some sort of beer broth - that was so tender and flavorful I am still wondering why rabbit dishes are so rare in our country. Yes, yes, I understand that they are furry and have cute faces but you must admit that they reproduce with surprising alacrity and don’t take up much room (vegetarians forgive me). I’m just saying.

Many misadventures on the way home. The flight was two hours earlier than I thought. Luckily I figured this out the night before and was able to stay up late lovingly wrapping beer and wine bottles in our clothing and struggling to zip the suitcases. The side effect of this, sadly, was that there was no room left for the camera in our bags. I thought it would be fun to go through the pictures on the plane anyway. Not a good idea. We never did go through the pictures and somehow ended up leaving the camera on the plane. Which explains the lack of pictures in these later posts. At the very least I hope I have learned my lesson about making copies, removing memory cards, etc. But I keep thinking about all the great shots we got that are gone now. I have so many wonderful memories, though. Alex and I had such a beautiful journey together and were able to see so many new places and historic artworks that I had only imagined before. I am so grateful that we had the opportunity to do this, and I hope for many more adventures to come!  



Combing the Belgian Countryside

Onward to the southern part of Belgium, we are in search of Dupont brewery, which our trusty guide assures us has a café across the street where we can have a leisurely lunch even though the brewery itself won’t be open. No such luck. In fact, this was perhaps the smallest, quietest village we have encountered. No one speaks English and it seems there is not a single eating establishment open on a Saturday afternoon. Ah well. We did get a few rounds of Saison Dupont and Dupont’s pilsner which were rather satisfying on their own. The most fascinating part is that we had the beer at two different bars both within sight of the brewery and they tasted completely different! Mysterious to say the least.

I’ll spare the details of the wild goose chase for lunch, except to say that there are an astounding number of cobblestone roads through corn fields in this area. At any rate, by 5:00 we managed to locate Binchoise brewing and their charming café. Food at last! And really good food at that. Although we probably did some damage to our arteries with the fried brie croquettes dipped in cheese fondue…c’est la vie!

The next morning we finally get a chance to walk around Ghent. It’s a lovely small city, full of canals and interesting architecture. Our walking tour includes a stroll in the sun along the main canal, an alleyway completely given over to graffiti artists, and a stop for lunch at a café on a houseboat. I’m so glad it’s such a beautiful day after 3 days of rain. It’s an entirely different experience.

Out on a new brewery trek, we head for de Dolle brewery for their weekly tour. This was great fun. The brewer’s mom conducts the tour and she is a character. There are stories to tell at every stop, especially regarding evidence of the health benefits of beer and the fact that all the tasting room furniture is rescued from curbs.  I am amazed to learn that they only brew two days a week here, makes one appreciate the fact that we can get their beer in North Carolina at all. In the tasting room we get to meet the brewer and he and Alex geek out about brewing for a while. Which is awesome because, as many of you well know, that means that new and special beers keep appearing. He took Alex down to take a look at the cellar and sent us home with a 2007 Still Nacht that I was really excited about – except that it all leaked into my suitcase on the plane home. I think that the de Dolle beers are really original. They definitely have distinct house flavors from the brewery and equipment (there’s been a brewery on the site since 1835), but the main thing is that they make the beer they like without slavishly sticking to traditional styles. Their beers are hoppier than typical Belgian ales yet finish off very balanced.  The brewery is a labor of love for the family, and the brewer does all of the artwork for the packaging himself. It’s the way brewing should be.