The Beer You Are Drinking Right Now

[redsturgeon]

I can only think you got a bad bottle. If it had been stored for a while in fluctuating temperatures or left outside to freeze then it could have affected the flavour. I usually find it a very pleasant drink and not at all bland.

John

That's an interesting idea John.

Ive just spoken to my son who works in that estblishment. he did say that Orval doesn't shift that quickly there but they keep a very close eye on "best before" dates (they have a "After date" box where anything left after date gets sold for £1 a bottle - and there aren't very often bottles available in that box!). He does recall Orval being restocled as they had sold out within the last 6 months, and beers at that strength (6.2%) usually have a long BBE date.

Next time I'm in I shall check the BBE dates of the Orval they have left.

that of course still doesn't mean the bottle was off. But I'm not prepared to pay for one to find out!

didds

Strangely enough Orval is one of those quite rare beers that people feel are able to be kept in the cellar and improve with age!

John

[JMN2]

The point of Orval is having bottles of various age and comparing them, even out of date ones, the flavour definitely differs. This is "vertical tasting".

Orval might taste thin to some because it is basically a session beer in Belgium, and thus needs to have "drinkability" which is achieved by using sugar together with malt when mashing so the beer will end up with lower final gravity after fermentation.

[didds]

The point of Orval is having bottles of various age and comparing them, even out of date ones, the flavour definitely differs. This is "vertical tasting".

Orval might taste thin to some because it is basically a session beer in Belgium, and thus needs to have "drinkability" which is achieved by using sugar together with malt when mashing so the beer will end up with lower final gravity after fermentation.

even though its 6.2% ABV in the bottle as labelled?

didds

[Hallucigenia]

Ive just spoken to my son who works in that estblishment. he did say that Orval doesn't shift that quickly there but they keep a very close eye on "best before" dates (they have a "After date" box where anything left after date gets sold for £1 a bottle - and there aren't very often bottles available in that box!). He does recall Orval being restocled as they had sold out within the last 6 months, and beers at that strength (6.2%) usually have a long BBE date.

Next time I'm in I shall check the BBE dates of the Orval they have left.

that of course still doesn't mean the bottle was off. But I'm not prepared to pay for one to find out!

didds

As has been mentioned, ageing Orval is a real "thing" in Belgium, the number of vintages available (going back several years) is considered a mark of how serious a bar is about beer. They even have an "Ambassador" award for the bars that showcase it to best advantage.

It is a bit of a funny one, it's cited by many brewers as one of their favourite beers in the world - but it is something of a "living fossil" in that it's probably the beer that's most like British beers of the 18th century, dominated by ageing and secondary fermentation by Brettanomyces yeast. It's possible that you've had a bottle that's not been stored well, it's also possible that it's just an acquired taste too far for you.

But yes, 6.2% is session beer by Belgian standards, in a country where 10%+ is far from unusual!

[AleisterCrowley]

Surprised it's so 'modern' (1930s) - I would have guessed 1800s like most of the others

[didds]

it's also possible that it's just an acquired taste too far for you.

That's probably it!

didds (Brought up on Shepherd Neame Masterbrew, now drinking too many very hoppy IPAs. Yes I have a beard but its a rubbish one and only because I don;t like shaving!)

[Hallucigenia]

it's also possible that it's just an acquired taste too far for you.

That's probably it!

didds (Brought up on Shepherd Neame Masterbrew, now drinking too many very hoppy IPAs.

If you're used to hoppy, then something that depends more on malt and Brett may seem pretty bland. I must admit things like Rodenbach Grand Cru are a bit of a step too far for me, although I can enjoy a lot of other Belgian beers.

@AC Although a lot of the Trappist monasteries may have been brewing for internal consumption since the 19th century, it was only really after WWI that they started selling to the outside world - certainly true of Westmalle and Westvleteren.

[JMN2]

I used to be a big Belgian beer fan about a decade ago but then I just went off the yeast so now I'll have a Belgian beer about once a year, and I absolutely hate those ghastly Belgian saison cask ales the trendy microbreweries brew for the Hipsterati.

[BrummieDave]

Last night, and all on draught, I enjoyed:

Beavertown - Gamma Ray
Brewdog - Jack Hammer
Siren - Sedimental
Brewdog - Pump Action Poet
Siren - Soundwave

All very good, modern beers.

[AleisterCrowley]

I've normally got a few bottles of Soundwave in - local M&S stock it, as do Waitrose Windsor

[redsturgeon]

I've normally got a few bottles of Soundwave in - local M&S stock it, as do Waitrose Windsor

Yes Soundwave is a staple for me toovery refreshing and drinkable brew.

I was very pleased when I heard that my local brewery, Red Cat, was getting a new member of staff who had worked with Siren and it has shown in their beers this year.

Interestingly my new favourite Brewery, Unity Brewing, was set up by a guy who left Red Cat a couple of years ago.

Very incestuous

John

[AleisterCrowley]

Hopefully there'll be something decent on at the Clachan tonight - if I make it (still not 100% - think I've got a 'virus', or ransomware...)

[BrummieDave]

Yes, Siren is widely available in cans, my enjoyment last night was in having them all on draught (and implicitly, out of the house, with friends). The increasingly wide availability of Northern Monk, Beavertown, Siren and others is to be welcomed, but being in a pub still beats drinking at home.

[AleisterCrowley]

100% agree - I'd rather have a bottle of Soundwave at home than no Soundwave in the pub, but I'd always prefer the pub

[redsturgeon]

Yes, Siren is widely available in cans, my enjoyment last night was in having them all on draught (and implicitly, out of the house, with friends). The increasingly wide availability of Northern Monk, Beavertown, Siren and others is to be welcomed, but being in a pub still beats drinking at home.

I'm lucky with my local, they usually have at least one RedCat brew on tap, either hand pumped up from the cellar or straight from a cask at the back of the bar, they often have a Siren brew too. There is usually a choice of five or six small brewery beers plus alongside the normal Greene King pap.

John

[AleisterCrowley]

Do you ever get to the Black Boy on Wharf Hill ? That used to be a great pub back (gulp) 15 years ago or so

[redsturgeon]

Do you ever get to the Black Boy on Wharf Hill ? That used to be a great pub back (gulp) 15 years ago or so

Occasionally, and it is a good, idiosynchratic pub, but it is another half a mile further than my local and the choice of beers is not quite as good although I believe they usually have the excellent Flowerpots from Cheriton.

My daughter works at my local and her best friend works at the Black Boy!

John

[GrandOiseau]

All very good, modern beers.

What is a "modern" beer?

[JMN2]

All very good, modern beers.

What is a "modern" beer?

Used to be hop-forward but nowadays don't often have any hop bite, often hazy if not murky, brewed with new world hops from NZ and USA, taste like exotic Del Monte fruit cocktail, arty-farty snazzy artwork on the label, brewer has a beard and wears raw selvedge denim...

[BrummieDave]

To me, in calling the 5 beers I drank last night 'modern' beers, I was differentiating them from longer established brews from some of the more famous long standing companies that we're all familiar with, and have been drinking for decades.

The 5 beers are from relative new entrants, albeit breweries that have established themselves over the past few years and will undoubtedly stand the test of time and still be around when all the 'bandwagon jumpers' and beardy hipsters have withered. Other attributes that draw me into using the term 'modern beer' include that they are keg not cask and thus both fizzier and colder than, say, a traditional bitter, relatively strong with them being between 5.4% to 7.5%, very hoppy, lots of citrus notes (as the websites like to say), and last night at least, served in 2/3rds of a pint glasses, in new bars rather than in a pint mug in a trad pub. They are also of course, modern in terms of their naming and the way they are marketed.

So taking one example, 'Brewdog Pump Action Poet', a 7.5% keg IPA is 'modern' when compared to 'Banks's Mild' in its taste, style, delivery manner, and place where you'd buy it.

So 'modern' in terms of the brewery, the taste, temperature, and both manner in which they were served and where they were bought.

And most importantly, bloody enjoyable too!