Review: St. Bernardus Collection

A few months ago I happened across a St. Bernardus gift set at Martin Wine Cellar on Perkins Rd. in Baton Rouge.  Being a complete sucker for gift sets that include a glass, and seeing as how two of the four beers were new to me, I couldn't pass it up.  The gift pack included the St. Bernardus Pater 6, Prior 8, Tripel, and the fantastic Abt 12.  In fact, my old post about the St. Bernardus Witbier and Abt 12 is still one of the top 5 most-viewed blogposts.  I've previously had the Tripel on many occasions and it's world-class, but I'm going to focus on the two new beers in this post.

First up, some Prior 8, a "dubbel" style ale.  The choice of glassware for this one is about as obvious as they get... yeah, I went with the St. Bernardus chalice that came with the beers.  This dubbel clocks in at an appropriate 8% alcohol, although the Abt 12 isn't a full 12% and the 6 which comes next is closer to 7%.

It's a dark brown color with a bubbly white head. Great looking beer.  It smells of plums and raisins and a little chocolate too. The taste is very similar to the aroma. I really like the chocolate flavor on the aftertaste.  It might not be a perfect example of the style but it's still pretty damn tasty.

Very drinkable, super smooth and delicious.  As with the beers from St. Bernardus I've had before, this one is a winner.

My Rating: A

BeerAdvocate: A-

The second new one was the Pater 6 ale, also considered a dubbel, but this one clocks in at only 6.7% which is stronger than the average beer but a little on the low side for a dubbel. Just like the Prior 8, I took advantage of my new St. Bernardus glass.

It's a murky brown color, finger or so worth of creamy head. Good retention and decent lacing. It has a floral aroma, malty as well with a little dark fruit to it. The floral notes are the most noticeable flavor. There are several flavors that are similar to the Prior 8, but the floral notes are a change from the chocolate tones of the previous beer.

The floral hop notes are definitely the dominant flavor on the tongue. The malt flavors on the nose are much less obvious here. It had a good mouthfeel as expected, as it was very well carbonated and bubbly.

Not my favorite St. Bernardus beer but still good... I think this one is a little less appealing than the Prior 8, and neither stacks up to the phenomenal Abt 12.

My Rating: B+

BeerAdvocate: A-

 

Belgian Dubbel 

Quickie Review: Slaapmutske Dry-Hopped Lager

Just a quick review of the Dry-Hopped Lager from Brouwerij Slaapmutske out of Belgium.  Do you know what that translates to?  Because I don't... other than the 'brewery' part!  I picked this one up as a single pretty cheap at Martin Wine Cellar, it was something new, so might as well give it a try!

Poured from an 11.2 ounce bottle into a Samuel Smith pint glass.  It just says "Lager" in the beer name but this one is a Czech Pilsener to get more specific.

It's a faint yellow color... hazy with an enormous bubbly white head. Insane retention and lacing. Took a few pours to get the entire contents into the glass... which is saying a lot for an 11.2 oz. bottle and a 16 oz. pint glass!   

It smells crisp with an earthy sweetness to it and a nice hop aroma on top.

The taste is a little more hoppy than the aroma... still crisp, still a little grassy, but very nice and refreshing.

It's starting to warm up in South Louisiana, so it's a perfect beer and style for the coming of Spring.

My Rating: B
BeerAdvocate: B


Pilsener

Some Local Beer Links...

First off, be sure to check out The Beer Buddha's Top Of The Hops ticket give away!   The give away is in particular for the North Shore edition of the Top Of The Hops beer festival. The breweries for 2011 haven't been announced yet, but there were a lot of good beers to try last year!  Unforunately this one is March 19th so I'll be busy with the St. Patrick's Day parade, but there is also the Top Of The Hops in Lafayette on April 9th so maybe I'll see some people there!

If anyone is planning on hitting up the North Shore tasting you might want to consider taking the bus to and from via The Avenue Pub on St. Charles Street.  Details can be found on Facebook here:  http://www.facebook.com/#!/AvenuePubNOLA  but it's a good way to minimize driving, parking, and maximize the beer! 

 

Also... another post from The Beer Buddha, about a Schmaltz Brewing beer dinner hosted by the Martin Wine Cellar location in Metairie.  Looks delicious, and should be some pretty good beer that hasn't proliferated the BR market yet.  Maybe the Martin Wine Cellar in Baton Rouge will be hosting similar beer dinners in the future?  We can only hope!

Enjoy, and happy drinking!

Review: Braustolz GmbH Black Art Premium Beer

As the name Braustolz GmbH indicates, what we have here is definitely a German beer!  I had never heard of this brewery or beer before, but while on a recent run to Martin Wine Cellar it caught my attention because it was something I'd never tried... and it was pretty cheap.  I don't remember the exact price and don't have the receipt on me, but I think it was under $2 for the bottle.  Can't beat that for a good one to check out and tick off the list!

By style, this one is a schwarzbier, which translates to "black beer" and is basically considered to be a dark lager.  They aren't strong in alcohol content or thick in body like an imperial stout, but malty, sessionable beers.  Popular examples include Sam Adams Black Lager, Shiner Black Lager, and Köstritzer Schwarzbier. 

I poured this one from an 11.2 ounce bottle into an imperial pint glass.  It's a deep red color with a ridiculous tan head... great retention and good lacing.  So far I'm impressed.  It has a good malt aroma with a slight metallic tinge to it. Smells like some black patent malt, and not much hops at all.

The taste is the same profile as the aroma... dark chocolate flavors come through, not bad at all. This one certainly tastes better than I expected. It's a little thin, but no bad aftertastes or funny things going on.

Easy to drink, a great price, definitely a pleasant surprise.  I'd recommend this one to anyone looking to try some good new beers without spending a lot of money on bombers that you aren't even sure you'll like.

My Rating: B+
BeerAdvocate: B

Schwarzbier

Super Bowl Beer #2 - Sierra Nevada 30th Anniversary Barleywine

Now we're talking!  I picked up this one at Martin Wine Cellar a few days back when I went hunting for the BrewDog Tokyo*.

This 10.2% abv dark barleywine is a boozy malt-bomb of delicious beer. Definitely heavy on the toffee and caramel malt flavors, but yet again, Sierra Nevada nails it with their 30th Anniversary series. I've tried 3 of the 4 30th Anniversary beers so far, and all were superb, as most of Sierra Nevada's beers tend to be.


My Rating: A
BeerAdvocate: A-


Barleywine

Beer Run: BrewDog Tokyo* & St. Bernardus Gift Pack

Yesterday evening, after enjoying a peaceful "snow day" from work , I headed over to Martin Wine Cellar to pick up a BrewDog Tokyo* because it's the only beer I know of available in Baton Rouge that clocks in at over 14% abv.  14% was my previous high, and one of my resolutions was to break that record, so the 18.2% Tokyo* Imperial Stout will do the trick!  At $15 I don't know that I will go back for another, but it's something I should try at least once.  (My bottle says "Tokio*" but the BrewDog site says "Tokyo*" and the bottles they show have it with a Y... so I dunno... maybe it's an American market copyright thing?)

While there, I also noticed a gift set I couldn't pass up... a St. Bernardus 4-pack, complete with St. Bernardus chalice.  I'm a total sucker for any beer gift sets that come with glassware, and at $21.99 it's really not a bad deal anyway for 4 world-class beers and a glass.  I know that would buy a lot more than 4 buds, but I'll save that for tailgating.  My blog post a long time ago on the St. Bernardus Abt 12 and St. Bernardus Witbier is still the most-viewed post on my site, and although this pack doesn't include the Witbier it does include two new ones for me, the Pater 6 and Prior 8, both dubbels.  I'm looking forward to those new beers a good bit!

 

I also picked up  a few other singles of some new beers... might as well build up the stash while I'm out and about, right?

Cheers, and stay warm!