Beer pick of the week: Pauwel Kwak
April 29th, 2008 by Jeff Holland in Drink
Pauwel Kwak
Brewery Bosteels
Buggenhout, Belgium
8% ABV
Kwak is a Belgian strong pale ale from Bosteels, a brewery which makes Tripel Karmeliet and the famed Deus Brut des Flandres. It pours a coppery reddish brown. A slow, sparkly string of tiny bubbles rising to form a thin ring of foam on the sides of the glass hints at the heavy body. A mild aroma of candied apples, grassy hops, and banana esters from the Belgian yeast and is inviting. The taste is like Carmen Miranda in the hot sun — bold, overripe fruit like bananas, strawberries, apricots and apples. There is a sticky, candied sugar, caramel and honey sweetness that clings to the tongue, followed by some herbal, medicinal hops and a moderate bitterness. Some may find the full-bodied sweetness a bit cloying, and the low carbonation adds to the effect. The gentle, drying alcohol in the finish mitigates somewhat. Definitely a dessert beer.
(photo by Jeff Holland)
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