Special beers – Beerndx

Special beer: ’t IJ van de Duvel (2020)

We like to write about special beers, we also drink them, but that is part of the job. Most of the time we have written about special beers from lesser known names. Until this time. Now we are going to talk about a special beer from the well-known brewers Duvel and ‘t IJ.

Among beerlovers it is no secret that Duvel bought an interest in brewery ‘t IJ in 2015. Shortly after (in 2017), a first collaboration arose in the form of a Black Rye IPA called ‘t Ei van de Duvel. A very well-found name that very clearly brought together the best of 2 worlds in terms of name and design.

The beer with the sinister alcohol percentage of 6.66 percent was an immediate success and sold out in no time. There was still a lot of requests to start production, but it has not been brewed since.

Until now, or not?

The collaboration and the smooth sales apparently tasted like more because out of the blue there was suddenly… ‘t IJ van de Duvel. And as it befits the name; the devil is in the detail.

‘t EI has become ‘t IJ and instead of the Black Rye IPA they have turned it into a Hazy IPA and the color of the label has been adjusted. It is still a very good quality beer, the dark alcohol percentage has remained the same and these beers are also sold like hot cakes.

With warm and sunny days ahead, this is a beer that we recommend in any case.

P.S. And if it starts to rain all summer long.

The ‘Gouden Carolus Cuvée van de Keizer Blauw’ 2015

The first week of working from home is over. It is a bit of a hassle, working at the kitchen table while the children are asking every 5 minutes if I will play with them, but I must say I’m managing quite good. I can’t complain though, compared to my wife who works at a nursing home during the corona crisis, working from home isn’t so bad. Since my wife has had a long week, it seemed to me like the perfect time to open a bottle of ‘Keizer Blauw’ from 2015. A beer we both like to drink fresh, but we have never drunk a matured version before.

The children are in bed, time to put 2 spotless glasses on the table and pick up the bottle from the basement. What is peculiar, is that the bottle continues to foam gently but steadily when uncorking (given the fact it’s matured). The foam head has some residue on top of it, just be sure I remove it.When pouring it in the glasses, it foams slightly less than with a fresh one, but still more than enough.

Time for the first sip … Man this beer is delicious! Over the years, the flavors taste like they blended into each other and the less carbonation present makes the beer softer. You’d almost forget that it’s a beer of 11 percent. The taste is reminiscent of caramel, chocolate and hazelnut, a combination that would do well in many desserts.

Often there is a tip with regard to food pairing. However, I am not going to give you that tip. Honesty commands me to say that it is usually just chips I’ll eat with it, and when we truly want to celebrate, a piece of old cheese. I can recommend both with this beer though, so still a tip!

La Trappe Quadruple magnum bottle Limited Edition

Good news for fans of matured beer. The creator of beer style Quadruple has released a special magnum bottle on the market in limited edition. The same beer, but in a larger, specially developed bottle.

The bottle – developed by the O-I factory in Rinteln Germany – was developed to allow the beer to mature. When the bottle and the beer do their best, the quadruple will develop further in the bottle, eventually making the taste rounder and softer.

Striking about the bottle are the details on the outside. For example, there is a bottling year on the side of the bottle and the expiration date is 10 years after production, while this is normally 3 years.

La Trappe Quadruple is already an excellent beer for maturing (and for drinking fresh), we are curious about the result and have some in the cellar.

Extraordinary beers #2

The following beer is very rare. Mainly due to the fact that the beer was never officially released. We are talking about the Kapittel Wood Experience. Read on to find out more about this special stuff.

Name beer: Kapittel Wood Experience
Brewery: Het Sas te Boezinge en Kapittel
Year: 2017
Percentage: 6%
Style: Blend van Oud-Bruin en Dubbel
Country of origin: België

A bottle of Kapittel Wood Experience without label.

What makes this beer special?

Only 1000 bottles (75cl) are produced. The beer was given to various festival visitors. They were very curious for the responses. We found this bottle at beer collector Huub van Dijk. Back then, he managed to gather 3 bottles at a beer festival. However, the beer has never been officially released.

What does it taste like?

This we can explain best by describing how it was made. It’s a mixture of Paulus Oud Bruin and Kapittel Pater. This mixture of beers was distributed in 5 different barrels, namely Sherry, Porto, Armagnac, Cognac and Bourbon. After the barrel-aging process, the barrels were mixed again. Perhaps the extensive process is also the reason it was never released.

Where was the beer sold?

As mentioned before, this beer was never released. Therefore, the labels are missing on the bottles that you can find. The beer is very well suited for long storage. And if you know how to find one, you can still drink it. Unfortunately, the chances of finding one are very small.

What is the actual value?

Honestly, we have absolutely no clue. This is mainly because there is no available data from recent sales. In the this case it will most likely be what it’s worth for someone.

Extraordinary beers #1

The very first extraordinary beer we want to discuss is the Lazarus Calvados Infused by Broeder Jacob. This tasty Belgian beer has become a very rare appearance.

Name: Broeder Jacob Lazarus Calvados Infused
Brewery: Broeder Jacob
Year: 2016
Percentage: 8,5%
Style: Belgian strong golden ale
Country of origin: Belgium

What makes this beer extraordinary?

This beer is a limited edition beer produced in 2016. During that year lagering of beer was very popular among local breweries. By this time, Broeder Jacob had already produced some nice cominations with espresso and port for example. A combination with Calvados was a welcome addition to this product range.

How many bottles were produced?

Unfortunately, the exact number of bottles produced is unknown. After the Calvados edition, some beers lagered on sherry, whisky and armagnac barrels. Hower, the Calvados edition always stayed most favorite among beer enthusiasts.

What does it taste like?

The beer is mostly orange colored with a pretty foam head. The scent can be described as fruity and tastes sweet, malty and pleasurable boozy.

Where was the beer sold?

At the time, these bottles were sold at a small number of specialized liquor stores in The Netherlands and Belgium.

What did it cost and what is the actual value?

In 2016, the beer was sold for about 5 euros (75cl bottle). Nowadays, these bottles are offered for prices varying between 15 to 20 euros.