Import Beers

[Gout]

I went to the local bottle'o lastnight after a mate who works there said he had got some import beers in.

I walked out with:
Chimay Peres Trappistes (Red cap, is this similar to the "chimay blue" i hear about)

Aventinus wheat Dopplebock

Hoegaarden - the forbidden fruit

and a simple cascade springfest Lager

And feed back on these beers? Some were $6, dam expencive but worth it for the taste testing - hate to drink it all night

 

[johnno]

with the $ up so high these prices are a ripoff.
Those monks cans store their brew where the sun dont shine

 

[Wreck]

Don't knock the monks. Some of the best beers I've ever tried. But to each their own.

The red cap Chimay sounds like the Rouge. Not as good as the Bleue for me, but still a good drop. I've yet to try their Tripel.

Still trying to perfect my belgian brews. Won't have to worry about the dollars then B)

And I always store my beer where the sun don't shine. Don't you?

 

[Gout]

the "Red Cap" as they had it listed was OK but nothing special for me. It was fruity nice creamy head, slight bitter aftertaste, malt flavour.

nothing "out there" as in as different as LCPA was when i tried that the first time

I am having the cascade lager now (as i paint in this dam heat) and its nice yet nothing special. Might even go as far as saying the prem lager they have is as good or better than this. Smooth clear nice gold collour but far from a stand out

 

[kook]

Heres my tasting notes from those three beers:

Chimay Red
AROMA 6/10 APPEAR 5/5 FLAV 9/10 PALATE 5/5 OVERALL 17/20
1/9/2003 premiere bottle: Pours deep amber-brown with almost cloudy look to it. Huge foaming tight beige head, half of it dissapeared rather quickly though, decent retention of the rest. Dark fruit aroma with a hint of smoke/roasted grains to it. Complex taste, very fruity and sweet but beautifully balanced. Hints of spice/clove to it as well. Lovely smooth full mouthfeel. Hint of alcohol as you get further into it, Top drop.

Schneider Aventinus
AROMA 9/10 APPEAR 4/5 FLAV 8/10 PALATE 5/5 OVERALL 18/20
27/2/2003: Pours deep redbrown with huge beige-brown sudsy head. Strong aromas of banana, cloves and yeasty bread. Very smooth. Initial malty caramel, followed by an aftertaste of banana with hints of citrus, spices and hops. Very nice.

Hoegaarden Forbidden Fruit
AROMA 6/10 APPEAR 5/5 FLAV 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 14/20
24/9/2003: Huge beige head! Hazy amber brown. Great retention. Aroma of dark fruit (raisins?) and sweet malt. Smooth medium mouthfeel. Initially quite sweet (candi sugar?) with dark fruit and alcohol in the finish. Slightly tart tingly aftertaste. Not as complex as others of style. Not bad though.

Havent tried the springfest lager

 

[Goat]

Its is expensive Johnno, but the legal costs for men of the cloth have been rising lately, so I like to help out.... sort of like a charity really

 

[Gough]

Can't bear to hear any ill spoken of the Trappistes. Chimay's red white and blue are all a religious experience in every sense of the term! Maybe you'd had a few other strong flavours before you tried it, but even then... It's not that I would expect everyone to love these beers just 'cause I do, I just can't believe you could have an ambivalent response. These are real "love them or hate them" beers, unique in their strong flavours. Must've been having a bad night...

Shawn.

 

[Goat]

I had my first Rochfort 10 tonight - WOW !!!!

unbelievably good !

How do they do that?

 

[Doc]

Interesting Goat,

I have a bottle of Rochefort 10 sitting in the fridge. I might give it a go tonight.
I've seen recipes floating around HBD for it too.

Beers,
Doc

 

[Gout]

having a Hoegarden now, nice! better than the other Red. But again mood etc makes beer taste different. First mouthfull i thought mm ok, 2nd was different again 3rd was again different better each time. Nice Alc feeling after you swallow, dark malt falvours sweet fruit initialy very nice drop.

not paying $7 for it though I better learn to brew better

that said i had one of my lagers after a cascade LE sprint fest lager and well mine is as good, then i had a ale with very lite cascade as hops (flavout) and yum its great also, all very different but i think i am happy with my brews nowdays they have imporved so much!

 

[joecast]

been saving a chimay blue since before christmas. $8 down here. better be one heck of an "experience" for that price. i guess 9%abv doesnt come cheap!!
joe

 

[Snow]

Those Belgian beers sure are amazing experiences IMO. Definitely worth paying the money to try them, but obviously not going to be a regular drink at those prices. Chimay Bleu is definitely better than the Red, but that's not to detract from the Red, which is itself an amazing beer. I have a brew which is getting close to the red, but I can't get the Belgian grains I need to produce those unique tastes.

I don't remember the Forbidden Fruit in terms of specific flavours but do recall it was a great beer.

- Snow

 

[Wreck]

I know what you mean Snow about the grains. Why is it so hard to find Special B? Given that there seem to be a few guys on the home brew sites who are big Belgian fans, you'd think there would some demand for it.

 

[joecast]

some special b would be nice. we arent asking for too much are we??
joe


ps. i guess if its not the grains making things difficult, its gotta be the yeast!

 

[Wax]

If want a bloody good beer you can't go past the Belgian Beer Cafe in Cammeray (Sydney). Check out this lot...

http://www.belgian-beer-cafe.com.au/epoque/beer.htm

Drink on

 

[Gout]

drinking the Aventinus now

very sweet
thick smooth tasty but so sweet!! overly sweet for me
Love it to death and better than most beers but.... sweet

P.S i havn't finished it yet and i have heavy eyes, hot face, these imports and their 8% alc ...

 

[deebee]

Talking imports, I got a box of Weihenstephan for xmas - the whole range. The crystal weissen was amazing and the dunkel, cor blimey, bloody fantastic. I will prey on these beers again very shortly.

The $8 odd is not too bad when you look at $12-13 for a pint of similar quality at a pub.

And the bottles are great for HB. Not too big, not too small and they perfectly fill up the pint glasses that came with the carton. The gift that keeps on giving.

 

[THE DRUNK ARAB]

I know what you mean Snow about the grains. Why is it so hard to find Special B? Given that there seem to be a few guys on the home brew sites who are big Belgian fans, you'd think there would some demand for it.

Wreck, joecast and Snow. CaraAroma is a direct replacement for Special B. Most good brew shops should have this.
Hope that helps

Cheers and bollocks
TDA

 

[Wreck]

Thanks TDA.

Does anyone know where to get CaraAroma from in Sydney. I've checked out the ESB and Country Brewer web sites and couldn't find it there. Or does it have another name that I don't know about?

Thanks,
Wreck.

 

[Doc]

I bought some from ESB in Peakhurst last week.
Try giving them a call.

Beers,
Doc