WWBG

Editor’s Note: This biweekly column is sponsored by Dominion Wine and Beer (107 Rowell Court, Falls Church). It is written by Garrett Cruce, a Certified Beer Server in the Cicerone Certification Program.

At the end of “The Matrix,” Keanu Reaves’ Neo suddenly sees the code in everything he looks at while in the matrix. It’s a transformative experience —-he is the master of his domain.

I felt like Neo when I began to understand the basics of Belgian beer styles. The Belgian section of a store or menu can seem daunting with all the numbers (Rochefort) and color-coded labels (Chimay) and styles (dubbel and tripel). And what’s a quadrupel anyway?

The truth is that many of the Belgian beers that we typically can get fit well into the established styles that I’ll cover. Today, I’m going to introduce, or reintroduce, you to the Belgian strong golden ale, the dubbel, the tripel and the Belgian strong dark ale (sometimes called a quad or quadrupel).

Before I look at the individual styles, I want to mention the common ingredient in most Belgian beers that gives them a character all their own — yeast. Belgian yeast is distinctive, imparting a uniquely fruity flavor that can sometimes seem spicy, like black pepper or clove. When non-Belgian breweries make Belgian-styled beers, they do so with this special yeast.

The large numbers on bottles or bottle caps and colored labels are a handy code devised by brewers as a short hand for their styles. I’ve read that the numbers refer essentially to the ABV of an original recipe, but that current recipes for these styles have different amounts of alcohol. I have also read that they do not refer to anything, but are merely representative for a particular brewery. For instance, Rochefort uses a “6” to denote their dubbel, while Westvleteren uses an “8”. Though unscientific, color and numeric coding can help you choose the right beer when you know what else to look for.

Let’s look at the four categories and the beers that represent them.

Belgian Strong Golden Ale
This beer is light in color, hence the name, with mild bitterness and high effervescence. Though relatively high in alcohol at around 9 percent ABV, these beers don’t taste like it. The original strong golden ale is our example, Duvel.

Duvel (ABV: 8.5 percent)
The aroma is mildly spicy with some citrus evident as you take the first sip. The taste that follows blends the spice with a citrusy bitterness from the small amount of hops that shine through. Overall, it’s no surprise that Duvel is a clean, pleasant beer. If you’re looking to have this with a meal, it pairs well with a wide variety of dishes.

Dubbel Ale
This beer pours a dark brown with fairly high effervescence. Generally, dubbels are malty with a slight sweetness, though not all will exhibit this sweetness. They tend to be slightly high in alcohol hovering around 8 percent ABV, which is not apparent in the flavor. (more…)

Editor’s Note: This biweekly column is sponsored by Dominion Wine and Beer (107 Rowell Court, Falls Church). It is written by Garrett Cruce, a Certified Beer Server in the Cicerone Certification Program.

Happy Friday, Arlington!

Let me introduce myself — I’m Garrett. I’m a beer lover, be it craft or import, and a Certified Beer Server in the Cicerone Certification Program. I’ll be writing the beer articles in ARLnow for the folks at Dominion Wine and Beer. I’m on Instagram as CraftHockey, check out my posts for a preview of what I’m going to write about, and more. I can’t wait to share some great beer with you all!

The beers I want to share with you today have two things in common: they are imperial stouts and they were aged in barrels. Either attribute makes them special, but together they transcend your average barrel-aged ale or imperial stout. Let’s step back for a second and learn about what these two things mean.

I used to wonder what it meant for a stout — or any style of beer — to be called “imperial.” Well, in 18th century Russia, the ruling class loved stouts. They were imported from England, but the long trip took a toll on regular stouts. Imperial stouts were developed for export using more hops and malt giving them much higher ABVs so they could stand up to the long journey.

One of the first breweries making this rich beer was Thrale’s Anchor Brewery in London. They were bought in 1781 by Barclay, Perkins & Co. who went on to establish the classic recipe for the imperial stout. Now, we call nearly any beer that has a very high ABV an “imperial.”

Barrel aging, like the “imperial” designation, is something that is saved for only the most special of beers. When the alchemy that is barrel aging works, the result is magical. Wood contains a chemical called lignin, among others, which is absorbed by the beer and converts to vanillin over time — it tastes like it sounds.

Of course, beer was stored and sold from wooden barrels for many years even into the 20th century, but great lengths were taken to ensure that the wood didn’t impart any of its own flavors. According to Randy Mosher, in 1992 Chicago’s Goose Island was one of the first American craft breweries to commercially age beer in bourbon barrels to take advantage of the flavors they can impart.

Let’s look at four barrel-aged imperial stouts that are available now.

Schlafly 2013 Imperial Stout aged in bourbon barrels (ABV: 10.2%)

Before you even drink this opaque black stout, it’s clear that this has been in aged in wooden barrels. The aroma has the caramelized sugar and woodiness to be expected with a beer in this category. The big pay-off is in the taste, though — its a mixture of molasses from the sip to the aftertaste with a sharp edge from the alcohol. As it warms in the glass, Schlafly Imperial Stout’s molasses grows more complex with the addition of stewed fruit. This stout is a warming treat to sip and savor.

Boulevard Brewing Co. Smokestack Series Imperial Stout aged in whiskey barrels (ABV: 11%)

This powerful imperial stout fools the nose at first, as it has the aroma of a dry stout. There’s little hint of the barrel-aged goodness in the glass. Once you taste it, though, the wood comes through along with sweet caramel and the tell-tale alcohol bite. I particularly enjoyed this when it warmed up in the glass. Interestingly, this stout poured and feels thinner than most stouts of it’s type, but that is not a negative. Boulevard’s Imperial Stout is a rich gem that is perfect as the days get colder again.

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