Daily Loaf

With the holidays approaching, the glorious bounty that is winter seasonal beer begins to descend upon the shelves of local bottle shops. One of my favorite seasonal offerings is the Petrus Key to Heaven gift pack, which features 6 unique brews from Belgian brewery Bavik-De Brabandere, many of which have been wood aged for at least two years. Among these fine examples of Belgian brewing are the sour lactobacillus joys Aged Pale and Oud Bruin, and the beefy, malty Dubbel Bruin.

A Blond Ale is also included in this cornucopia of Belgian funkiness. The bottle features a monk resembling pimp Santa on the label, proudly displaying his key to heaven and goblet – no doubt full of high-quality beer. Since Santa is down with snow, the North Pole, reindeer, and all that, Petrus Blond is best served cold, unlike many Belgian ales whose flavor characteristics are at their finest around cellar temperatures. Read the rest of this entry »

Michigan brewery, Jolly Pumpkin Artisanal Ales, has nothing to do with seasonal gourd beers and everything to do with open air fermentation, exotic French and Belgian yeast strains, oak barrel aging, and bottle conditioning. All their beers are funky, spicy, and sour, packed full of Brettanomyces and Lactobacillus goodness.

Maracaibo Especial is a 7.5% ABV Belgian inspired brown ale made from all natural ingredients — barley, wheat, hops, yeast, and water; brewed with cacao and spiced with cinnamon and orange peel. After fermentation, the brew matures in oak barrels for several months, and after bottling, it goes in the cellar for a few more months. The process by which it’s crafted is drastically different from the rapid, highly mechanized assembly line production of mainstream domestic; this type of beer simply has more soul. Read the rest of this entry »

If you know me on a personal basis and are planning a trip anywhere outside of Florida, prepare to be handed a shopping list and an envelope of cash. There are a few things I will need you to bring back for me. As further compensation, upon your return, we will gather with the expressed purpose of getting bombastic in celebration of beer that can’t be found at local retailers.

This is a story about beer nerds — myself and several friends — getting together with recently obtained out-of-town travel brew, along with some mail-order finds. We sat in my living room with this load of beer joy and giant plates of edam, cheddar, and wheat crackers, and surrendered to a marathon of serious beer business.

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