(I’m writing this at 2 AM while watching the Men’s T20 WC Final play out its thriller in Guyana. What a game!)
In June, I tried some new beers. I have a lovely bottle shop - Sessions - that is a mere ten-minute walk from home, along with being right next to a Woolies, so it sometimes becomes a pitstop for me after a grocery run. Their collection of craft beers and international beers is huge. The shop owners are knowledgeable, helpful, and also have a resident English bulldog Kuma who sits royally atop a chair behind the cashier counter, and even gives you a high-five sometimes.
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This month, we also had some family visit from India, and they were only too keen to try something totally different to the beers they get back in India, and so I had some company which is always nice. I was also thrilled to find some of the beers I had sampled and enjoyed in Belgium in November last year on the Sessions shelves, and so over the next few days, we got some of these home to try.
The ones I thoroughly enjoyed:
Delirium Tremens (Belgian strong ale) - I first tried this one in Ghent in November last year. A taste developed with the use of three different kinds of yeast, this is a truly delicious beer I could happily take long swigs of. It won Gold at the European Beer Challenge 2024 in London alongside a Master Brewer award for Joris Dheedene. I love the milky white, ceramic-style bottle and graphics. It’s got 8.5% ABV, and has the same name as a life-threatening medical condition of advanced alcoholism. And it was at one point in the 90s awareded the best beer in the world. Yep it’s delicious.
Venom Cherry (Sour fruity ale) - At a comfortable 4% ABV, this is a light, sweet-and-sour beer perfect for a casual quickie. Nice red color too.
Garage Project Spicy Pickle (Sour, spicy ale) - Chilli, cucumber, dill, pickle, . . . hello! What a ridiculously disarming flavor profile, and it just works somehow. Delicious.
The ones that were so-so:
Kaiju Krush (Tropical Pale Ale) - Decent, summer ale that won Gold Medal at Australian International Beer Awards 2024. At a very nice 4.7% ABV, this makes for a crisp, malty, tropical fruity beer with flavors of citrus, pineapple, and even papaya.
Yeastie Boys Mangoes into a Bar (Hazy IPA) - Chose it for the mango. Tasted much better than I expected. At 5.8% ABV, it is refreshing and very balanced.
Brugze Zot (Golden blonde) - The “crazy beer from Bruges” was something I tried when I visited the picturesque coastal town, that’s become somewhat saturated with tourists since Martin McDonagh’s brilliant film. “Close all the gates of Bruges and you have a ‘zothuis’ (madhouse)!” are words of Emperor Maximilian of Austria. Brewed at De Halve Mann, Brugse Zot is a golden blond beer with four different kinds of malts, and a distinctive spicy flavor. Was a so-so for me.
The ones that didn’t hit the spot:
Burnley Blood Orange Radlor - Radler is the German equivalent of a shandy (beer and lemonade). Perhaps the lowest ABV of all I tried at 3.2%, this is an easy, quench-thirsting drink, but the pulpy orange flavor didn’t do it much for me.
One Drop Golden Egg Sour - Yep it tastes exactly like the name; sour eggs. Nope.
Sailors Grave Bloody Caesar - The one I wanted to like, but did not. I’ll admit I got taken in by the artwork on the can, which is stellar. Flavor-wise, they use lacto-fermented Goshen Country Roma Tomatoes and are supposedly “refreshing with a delicate umami tang” which was a bit too tomato juice-y for me.
Bridge Road Raspberry with Lime (Sour Ale) - Low in ABV, and made in the style of a German gose beer which apparently is brewed through lacto-fermentation, giving it a sour flavor.
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