HALLELUJAH! HALLELUJAH!
So, again, I’ve been very, very lazy and haven’t been posting much about my ongoing European trip. The latest trip was to Bruges, Belgium to attend a wedding. Check out my lady friend’s post about our phenomenal eating experiences.
Bruges is very interesting. Well, Belgium in general is interesting. It’s a country about half the size of Michigan, with two different official languages in the different Walloon and Flanders parts of the Country – French and Flemish, respectively. In Bruges, they speak Flemish. Because only about 3 million people in the world speak Flemish, they all also speak INCREDIBLY good english, making it a breeze to get around and chat with folks.
Kriek - the Perfect Marriage!
The last stop we hit up in Bruges was pretty much the greatest beer store in the world (Bacchus Cornelius). Here, I picked up a ton of different kinds of Gueuze and Kriek, which are normally very, very expensive in the U.S. when you can even find them. These are very unique, Lambic-based beers that are only made around Brussels using wild yeast fermentation.
These Kriek’s were beautiful – very subtle sour cherry hints to the sourness of the Lambics. Pretty awesome – and I learned to pour fast to create lots of Mousse!
FOAM!
Samuel Adams and I have been friends for a long time. We’ve hung out at weddings. We’ve watched the big game together at a sports bar. Sam has been there for me when an otherwise boring party or get together seemed hopeless. While Sierra Nevada is preferable, it seems that quite often Sam is the only quality choice. My true love is my Michigan craft beers, but Sam has been a valued friend—like a steaming mug of hot-chocolate served with melty mac and cheese, with a side of mashed potatoes and apple pie a la mode for dessert, Samuel Adams is comfort beer.
Having said all that, Samuel Adams Coastal Wheat sucks. They tried and failed. Miserably. I bought a six pack over a week ago and still have four of them in my fridge. Coastal Wheat touts itself as a hefeweizen style beer, with a subtle lemon finish. I won’t take them to task on the lemon finish, it is present but it seems to conflict with the objectionable, yeasty, initial flavor. Quite often in a hefewezen you can taste banana or clove, but the overall bready, yeasty mouthfeel dominated, making for quite an unpleasant drinking experience. No other flavor stood out, other than the lemon at the end. Overall a big thumbs down for Sam Adams Coastal Wheat.
There is no joy in trashing a beer from an otherwise fine organization. Samuel Adams has well over a dozen beers on the market; no one person will love them all. I’m content to check Coastal Wheat off my list and move on to the next beer. Sam and I will make it through this rough patch, our friendship can withstand one lousy beer. Besides, I have a wedding to go to next month and I have a good feeling Sam will be in attendance. It wouldn’t be the same without him.
One place Sam won’t be is the Michigan Summer Beer Festival. Be on the lookout for the Epic Portions yearly wrap up and best of list sometime next week. Until then, stay thirsty, my friends.
Tap that! Awesome ride.
Can’t wait! Will post recipe soon, but its adapted from Cherry Fever Stout recipe in the Joy of Home Brewing by Charlie Papazian, a text that has captivated me for the better part is two weeks.
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