We gathered a few folks for a holiday beer tasting last Friday night. One of my favorites of the evening was the Gouden Carolus Christmas beer from Het Anker. This beer has a distinctively slick mouthfeel that I really enjoy. As we tasted it, Matt (pictured below on the right) exclaimed “yeah, there’s that nail polish remover.” I think he meant it in a good way. I learned that the compound responsible for this is amyl acetate, an ester produced during fermentation. It is the same compound that occurs in bananas and apples. Maybe that helps explain why I like banana-like flavors in weiss beers so much?
L-R: Richard, co-conspirator; Tom, Select Wines; Matt, Flying Dog
L-R: Seung, my partner in tastings and in life; Scott, neighbor and homebrewer; Kathryn (sp?), she hangs with Richard.
We ended the tasting with a Choklat Stout from Southern Tier Brewing in Lakewood, NY, paired with my new favorite recipe: beeramisu. Yum!
One of the most amazing beers I’ve ever had was a Gouden Carolus Grand Cru d’Or. A friend (Stu Stuart of Belgian Beer Me) brought it back from a trip to Belgium and shared it out after an evening of bottling. It had a definite aroma and flavor of chocolate, and a port-like character. God, I’d love to be able to brew something like that, but have hardly any idea where to begin. (Well, some idea: at least 20 pounds of Pilsner malt… it was over 10% abv)
rodent removal…
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