Beer and Food Pairings

Garlic is so powerful it is often hard to match garlic-rich foods with beer. For such occasions I always recommend Duvel. Pictured is some pork fat on Russian black bread with some veggies and a little bit of young garlic accompanied by Duvel. I consumed this atop a roof in Sheepshead Bay in Brooklyn, NY.

Duvel is considered the quintessential Belgian Golden Strong Ale by many and was a gateway beer for me. Duvel was one of the first Belgian ales I ever tasted and it was eye opening. The combination of pilsner malts and Saaz hops with a high alcohol ale was a revelation. Duvel is the flagship beer of the Moortgat Brewery, which was founded in 1871 and Duvel was first brewed to commemorate the end of WW!.

Moortgat also brews the Maredsous line of beers, which I adore. In the past few years, they have acquired Brasserie d'Achouffe and DeKoninck. Also, Moortgat invested in the Ommegang Brewery and has recently completely taken ownership of the brewery. Despite these numerous holdings Moortgat has been able to maintain the quality of their products (even if some beer geeks continue to protest that Duvel "used to be better").

Fun Game

Can anyone figure out what is wrong with this picture?

Eylenbosch (part 2)

Two summers ago I also got a chance to sample another Eylenbosch product thanks to a friend (thanks Max!) . Usually, it is difficult to figure out what old bottle of lambic you have because it is missing a label. However, in this case the we had a label but it did not tell us much. This was supposedly a 1982 bottle, so we did a little snooping. We have a label, we have an atypical 750mL flip-top bottle, and we went searching.

I went on the great resource that is the Burgundian Babble Belt to ask for assistance. The brewer and lambic encyclopedia Frank Boon was sure this was also a Faro. Here is my rating:

750mL swing-top bottle with a green and white label that simply states "lambic." Prying the rusted swing-top leads to a slight pop. The pour produces almost no head, just some bubbles. Aroma presents with oxidization that has created a very "cheap" lambic aroma that has just some faintly sour aspects. After smelling the beer I expected the worst for the flavor. Fortunately, the flavor is much more tart and lively. Some stronger sourness is present and only a light oxidization is apparent. The the tartness sits at the bottom of my throat for a while. I found the beer too tart and sour in the flavor to be to be such an old Faro (~28 years old at the time of consumption), which was stronger than the 1988 Eylenbosch Faro Extra. Still had plenty of life for almost 30 years old. It was a very fun experience and the oldest lambic I have every consumed.

Eylenbosch Faro Extra

What is Faro? Take your traditional lambic and add of sugar, simply put. They are usually well-carbonated and sweeter than gueuze.

A few years ago I got a hold of a 1988 Faro from a closed brewery, Eylenbosch. It was a cool experience, here are some pictures and my review of it.



750mL bottle pours a clear copper with no head but visible carbonation.

Aroma is signature Faro, in a good way. Both the sweetness and the barnyard funk of a lambic are slightly muted. Just light sweetness, does not presently poorly (probably hiding the age). The lambic aspect is leafy with barrel wood apparent, and some olive-like flavors (which I attribute to age). A nice lightly sour, lightly dry aftertaste. The body is light and the beer goes down very easily. I doubt too many Faros can age this well and I am surprised with this bottle. Just a little bit of sediment, almost none, at the end of the bottle. I suspect the Faro must have been pasteurized, otherwise live lambic and sugar would lead to a bottle bomb. The sugar must be fighting slow oxidation from becoming apparent while the lambic is still detectable.

To place it in a tier, I enjoyed this old Faro a little more so than the Girardin, Cantillon, and Lindeman's and a good standard deviation above Boon's version. The only other fresh Faro I liked as much was surprisingly the Mort Subite version I had on tap at the cafe.

Photos courtesy of my buddy Andy D.

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