Ymm, Beer!

[devildeac]

To the Zoom participants minutes ago:

That was fabulous, y'all and already looking forward to November.

[OPK]

To the Zoom participants minutes ago:

That was fabulous, y'all and already looking forward to November.

Stone-cold blast. Hope we have even more participants next time!

[fuse]

The Love Ninja sure knows how to throw a party!!!

[fuse]

Silly stack ranking:

Chimay Blue Whiskey Barrel Aged
Chimay Blue Rum Barrel Aged
Chimay Blue
Chimay White
Chimay Red


Orval on deck....

[fuse]

Halloween Virtual Pub Costume Contest:

First Place: Richard Jackson

Second Place: Lego Batman (Kylo Ren)

Third Place: Beer Goddess (Scuba Diver)

Honorable Mention: devildeac (Village Idiot)

There’s a reason why the first place costume isn’t listed.

Folks, you don’t have to drink beer to have fun, or join virtual pub.

Happy Halloween!!!

[fuse]

Nrrrvous was absolutely correct.

Orval is a foamy, foamy pour.

[devildeac]

Halloween Virtual Pub Costume Contest:

First Place: Richard Jackson

Second Place: Lego Batman (Kylo Ren)

Third Place: Beer Goddess (Scuba Diver)

Honorable Mention: devildeac (Village Idiot)

There’s a reason why the first place costume isn’t listed.

Folks, you don’t have to drink beer to have fun, or join virtual pub.

Happy Halloween!!!

[fuse]

Orval

Relatively fresh, bottled 4/20/2020.
Listed as good until 4/20/2025.

A fun beer because the bottle dosing with Brett means almost every bottle is going to be unique to a degree, and also change over time.

Single bottle split between 2 Teku glasses were each 90% foamy head- beautiful, rich Belgian lace.

Belgian candi sugar and yeast nose.

Sweet yields to fruity esters and a lovely yeasty finish.

I could drink this every day.
A confounding blend of simplicity and complexity.

Cheers to the virtual pub and Happy Halloween!

Skol!

[fuse]

Contemplating that Allagash Haunted House and NoDa Gordgeous are part of the unofficial evening plans.

[fuse]

Allagash Haunted House

Dark pour. Indeterminate nose - roasty, fresh.

Oooo.

Maybe a black IPA.

Very nice.

Rich, roasty with a piney finish.

Perfect for the evening, and the season.

Skol!

[OPK]

The Love Ninja sure knows how to throw a party!!!

Absolutely agree, thanks LN!

[OPK]

Halloween Virtual Pub Costume Contest:

First Place: Richard Jackson

Second Place: Lego Batman (Kylo Ren)

Third Place: Beer Goddess (Scuba Diver)

Honorable Mention: devildeac (Village Idiot)

There’s a reason why the first place costume isn’t listed.

Folks, you don’t have to drink beer to have fun, or join virtual pub.

Happy Halloween!!!

My costume: I went as your future.

Can’t help it if you were not impressed. It’s on you, bud.

[OPK]

RJ definitely went full-out. Props.

[devildeac]

Mr. Balihai-Casita Cerveceria

Down east NC is local.

Credit-a keen eye, plenty of prior CC products and the need to do some trading with RVA folks
Style-Triple tiki IPA (don't ask, that's what's on the label )
Format-remnants of a pint sized aluminum tree
Stemware-short cocktail glass (hey, it's "inspired by our cocktail of the summer;" another label quote
Appearance-murky pineapple juice with some chunkiness
Nose-pineapple coffee
Mouthfeel-juicy
Tastes-pineapple juice, orange, assorted other tropical fruits, coffee (whaaaaa), pith
Hops-Citra, Sabro, Matueka and Amarillo
Grains-Pilsner malt, raw wheat, flaked wheat, oats
Adjuncts-pineapple, lemon zest and coffee
IBU-maybe 50
ABV-11% (dangerous)
Overall impression-a bit dissonant with tropical fruit and coffee but, WTH, I learned this is a real cocktail; the congealed sediment looked like raw oyster
Ymm, Beer rating-strangely enough, I liked this but had higher hopes so this ends up a high cat 2; hope the RVA folks like it better than I did

[devildeac]

RJ definitely went full-out. Props.

Thankfully, all the ummm, "parts," were full-in .

[devildeac]

Premium Pilsner-Spencer Brewery (the only US Trappist brewery)

Local? Haha!

Credit-a great theme and the chance to try a new brewery's product
Style-(whistling)
Format-12 ounce bottle
Stemware-boring pint glass
Appearance-ever so slightly hazy yellow with a large, foamy head
Nose-floral with a bit of spice
Mouthfeel-tiny bubbles
Tastes-floral Euro hops/bitterness, corn, hint of light caramel
IBU-my guess is 30
ABV-4.7%
Overall impression-good representation of the style, perhaps a shade better than expected
Ymm, Beer rating-upper cat 2; happy Total William had it available, their only Spencer product in the store; would try another from this brewery

[devildeac]

Zundert 8-Trappistenbrouwerij de Kievit

Die Netherlands is nicht lokal (or something like that)

Credit-great theme and recognizing the name after learning the 14 official Trappist breweries in the world
Style-listed under dark strong Belgian ale (see below)
Format-330 ml bottle
Best before end-10/07/21 10GR 07:21 (guessing it's at least a couple years old)
Stemware-short wine glass
Appearance-cloudy, medium brown; generous, creamy tan head
Nose-brown sugar syrup and dark fruits
Mouthfeel-bubbly
Tastes-raisins, dates, figs, caramel, earthy bitterness
IBU-30?
ABV-8%
Overall impression-very good beer but easy to see why it's a 3* recruit and not a 5* like those at the top of this list; tasted more like a dubbel
Ymm, Beer rating-skirting the upper edges of cat 2; a bit "thin" for the "strong Belgian ale" category and spendy, too at $9 bottle less a small discount coupon

It appears LegoBatman made a wise choice removing this from his cart and filling his 6er with all better beers.

[fuse]

Looking for volunteers to host November virtual pub and pick a day and style...

[Nrrrrvous]

After having 8 world class beers over the past week, I've learned a couple things...

1) I really love Belgian-style beers. You guys can keep your stouts and porters. I will be more than happy to live my life in the dubbel, tripel, quad world.

2) Monks know how to brew beer!

3) I will never be able to rank these beers.

I would say, I think I could rank the Abbeys -

I'd go with Rochefort, then, in a very very close second Chimay, then maybe one little step down would be the Westmalle and then the Orval. All Cat 3.

Thanks to LoveNinja for the suggestion and thanks to dd and everyone for the education!

[richardjackson199]

Thanks Love Ninja for an outstanding Virtual Pub! I'll second Nrrrvous that the Rochefort 10 was the best. The Orval foamy head kept formed waves in the Orval chalice. Cat 3 beer and company!

Good vibes this week to all