Homebrews and the Holy Grail

Roman Sacristan raising a pint with friends
Last Memorial Day was fun. I'm only just now writing about it because I got sick last Wednesday and was down a few days with a bad fever and aches. (No, I don't think it was because of Monday either), and then yesterday I had a minor umbilical hernia repair surgery. (Now I really want some beer!)

A friend of mine is a home brewer. After helping him move some things, he took me over to one of his fellow homebrewer's house on Memorial Day. He was busy brewing and we helped him out. Although I am not a brewer, I am a beer enthusiast. This guy (as with all the homebrewers I have met) was kind enough to share some of the fruits of his labors, either with things he has brewed himself, or beers he has obtained which are not available locally (be it city, state, or country). All in all, it was a great tasting.

Please note: these were not full beers, but tastings, only two at the brew-pub were full pints. This was also stretched out over 8 hours.

1) Homebrew of a Kolsch style beer
Very good, clean, crisp, golden beer. Great for summer time.

2) Homebrew of an ESB-ish type beer
A bit difficult to categorize, but the consensus was it was closest to an ESB type beer. I tend to like bitters and this one was pretty good.

3) Homebrew of a porter
A simple, straightforward (and pretty darn good) porter.

4) Cantillion Sour Gueze
A lambic style from Belgium. Very sour, but strangely not too tart.

5) A sour kriek from Belgium which I cannot remember
This was one of the more tart kriek (cherry) beers I have had. It is much more sour than something like Timmermans kriek (which is very sweet).

6) Alaskan Smoked Porter
This one shocked me. It was really good. The smokey flavor was very pronounced, but it was not overpowering the porter.

7) Alaskan IPA
Excellent British style IPA. A very clean hoppy flavor.

8) Old Ale/American Barley Wine "homebrew"
Apparently the two friends I was with, "rescued" this keg before it was thrown out. The guy getting rid of it thought it had gone bad and let my friends take it off his hands. As it turned out, it aged well and is pretty good getting into a Barley-wine-ish flavor.

9) Gordon Biersch (brew-pub chain that recently opened locally) Schwartzbier
A pretty darn good black beer.

10) Gordon Biersch Marzen
I thought this one was simple, but my host felt this was much more complex. I guess I wasn't using the right tasting lingo. I most likely meant it was a straightforward marzen. Either way, it was pretty good.

11) Taste of Gordon Biersch Golden Export
This was pretty good, not as good as the previous two beers.

12) Taste of Gordon Biersch Hefeweizen
Objectively speaking, it was a pretty good Hefeweizen. It had strong banana and bubble gum flavors to it. I myself am not the biggest fan of Hefeweizens, but I would certainly drink it.

13) Taste of Gordon Biersch Czech Pilsner
This was the one beer I was disappointed with. It had a rather harsh kick to it. But this is most likely due to the fact that the brewpub is new and the brewmeister there is just getting used to the place. Overall, given how good the other beers are, he has done an amazing job at opening the place with good beers.

15) Rodenbach Sour
Pretty good. Not quite as good as the Cantillon Sour earlier, but nevertheless, it was pretty tasty.

14) Westvleteren Abt 12 (the real deal)
The bottle cap from the tasting
I skipped 14 because this was the highlight of the night. A real honest to goodness Westvleteren Abt 12! This is a holy grail of beer tasting. You can get the commercial version which is called Saint Bernardus Abbot 12 (and used to be called Saint Sixtus) here in Texas and it is pretty good. But the Westvleteren Abt 12 has been voted THE best beer in the world several times and does surpass the commercial version. And you can only get it it legitimately by going to the monastery itself and having a reservation to buy it. Our friend was able to pick up a whole case when he visited Belgium last year. It is a pretty good beer. My only wish was that I had more to try since we all three split a small bottle (which is understandable). I was happy enough with that. This now puts me at having tried 6 of the 7 authentic Trappist beers in the world. So far I have had:

Chimay
La Trappe (aka Koningshoeven or Schaapskooi)
Westmalle
Rochefort
Orval
Westvleteren

All I have yet to try now is:
Achel

vintage photo of a monk of Chimay sharing a beer
Cheers!

RS

R.I.P. Michael Jackson

No, not THAT Michael Jackson!

For anyone who has spent any time sampling the world of crafted beers, they will be familiar with a man who is probably considered the most well known beer taster and writer of all things beer, Michael Jackson.


A friend and fellow beer enthusiast sent this saddening news to me this morning:

As from allaboutbeer.com

We mourn the passing of a friend. Michael Jackson died Wednesday night at his home in London.

It's not often you get to know an honest to goodness giant. Michael Jackson was a giant, indeed, and his place in the beer community was unique. Now, he's gone. Not exactly surprising, given the state of his health, but still a shock.

Michael gave us our voice and vocabulary, and grounded the history and traditions of beer. Beginning in the seventies with the publication of the World Guide to Beer, Michael began beating the drum demanding more respect for beer. He swirled and tasted beer, filling pages with new words. He traveled unceasingly, discovering styles and traditions long gone or on their way out the door. He chided the mainstream press for its beer provincialism. He even wore one glove, just one glove, to mock a similarly named celebrity.

Originally a newspaper reporter, a badge he wore with pride, he never lost the newsman's love for a breaking story or a tight deadline. He was a prolific writer, an expert in whiskey and fine food as well as a pioneer beer writer.

We will all lift a pint in his memory.

Daniel & Julie Bradford

His writings were well done, and his books introduced me to the various styles of beer, the better quality breweries of the world, and also the great blessing of Belgian beers, especially those actually brewed by Tappist monks.

My only anecdote is that I had the opportunity to meet him once, but of all the times this came up, it was Lent, and I had given up drinking beer. He was hosting a beer tasting at a local pub ... on a Monday night, so no Sunday break for me. So, I offered it up and passed on the opportunity. My friend took my "The New World Guide to Beer" by Michael Jackson for him to sign. He went, had a fun time, and got my book signed. What did it say?

"To Chris, Where were you? - Michael Jackson 30 Mar '98"
At least he had a sense of humor too. LOL!

Requiescat in pace, Michael Jackson.

And we'll raise a pint for ya!

Roman Sacristan raising a pint with friends
RS