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.
Doesn’t it look good?
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.
Just a bit of foam.
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!
Winkelen, ik gruwel haast bij het idee alleen al. Althans wanneer we het hebben over het struinen langs allerlei kledingwinkels. Winkel in- winkel uit met mijn vrouw om allerlei broeken, shirts en schoenen te passen om uiteindelijk iets te kopen in de eerste winkel. Het wachten bij de pashokjes naast andere ‘slachtoffers’ en vooral het ontwijken van de verkopers die vragen of ze je ergens bij kunnen helpen. De voorafgaande lunch en de afsluitende borrel in een café naar mijn keuze maken de dag enigszins draaglijk. Echt uitkijken naar een dagje winkelen zit er voor mij helaas niet in. Tenzij..
In een winkel als deze raak ik nooit verveeld!
We naar een heel ander type winkel gaan, de bierwinkel! Er zijn er meerdere waar ik graag even binnenstap. Van een kleine specialist tot de grotere Belgische bierverkooppunten. Uiteraard kom ik er graag om nieuwe bieren uit te kiezen, maar er is meer!
In een goede bierwinkel:
Staat de muziek nooit op standje technoclub
Geven ze advies wanneer je hierom vraagt
Weet je altijd iets te vinden waar je blij van wordt
En als je helemaal gelukt hebt, kennen ze de klant.
Zo overkwam het mij afgelopen week dat de eigenaar van een bierspeciaalzaak zei: “Ik heb nog wat kratjes Gouden Carolus Cuvée van Keizer uit 2015 op te kop kunnen tikken met twaalf flessen erin. Dat is wel iets voor jou toch? Ik heb maar drie kratten dus de schappen zullen ze niet halen.” Even bedacht ik mij dat de al kelder aardig vol zit en ik stond ook al met een krat Ter Dolen in mijn handen. Bovendien zijn deze flessen meestal aardig aan de prijs. Toch maar even vragen: “Wat mag dat kosten zo’n krat? “Ik zal er een mooi prijsje van maken” klonk de eigenaar als een ware verkoper “€ 89,95 is ie voor jou”. Voor negen tientjes was ik spekkoper en vijf minuten later lag de kist in de kofferbak. Dit is dus waarom hier zo graag kom. Mooi weekend in het vooruitzicht!
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.
Taste the silence.
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.
A job application came in from Rob. Can I do an internship at BeerNDX? During the introductory meeting, we obviously could not ignore the question: “Do you drink beer? “Yes, preferably Amstel.” Do you also drink different beers? Our second question was. Yes, Jupiler. Since we had an excellent conversation with Rob, he began his internship at BeerNDX, provided he had to discover more of the beer world. So there was a beautiful Saturday in early March where Rob went to discover the (matured) beers of Hertog Jan, and what better place to taste these beers, then at the Bourgondische Bierkelder (Burgundian Beer Cellar).
On a beautiful sunny Saturday, Rob and our photographer entered the food halls in Breda. Crossing the food halls we came to a door that would lead us to the Burgundian Beer Cellar. The first thing you see as you walk down the creaky steps are candles on empty beer bottles and especially lots of full bottles of beers of all shapes and sizes. Inquiry with Bas shows that he now has a total of around 9000, mainly 75cl, bottles in Breda and Megen.
Today Rob joins the matured Hertog Jan tasting, with the following beers: The Hertog Jan Double from 2015 and 2019, the Hertog Jan Triple from 2015 and 2019. The Hertog Jan Grand Prestige from 2019, 2015, 2010 and to top it all off a ‘Hertog Jan Ongekend # 2’ from 2014. It can only be called ‘Burgundian’ if the tasty beers would be accompanied by some tasty food, and so during the tasting, several tasty things passed by. Including ‘bitterballen’ (look it up!) made from Zealandish bacon.
The beers for the tasting, next to each beer the matured counterpart.
Rob listens to Bas’s story with full attention. We start with a Hertog Jan Double from 2019 and he gets a leaf on which he can take notes. Fermentation? Aftertaste? Suddenly Rob looked as if he was reading Chinese, but with some explanation from Bas Schampers he did pretty good. In addition to the Double from 2019, a glass from 2015 was poured. Rob immediately started to take a big sip, but he saw the rest smelling the beer first, so he did as well. When asked what he smelled, he said: “The 2015 beer smells different from the 2019 beer, but I have no clue what I’m smelling. ”I do taste that the beer from 2015 is a bit more sweet, while the beer from 2019 has a more bitter taste”. It appears that the 2015 double has very little carbonation, Rob adds. Bas explains that the carbonation disappears from the beer over time, but that it also matters out of what bottle the beer is poured. The neck of the jug ensures that more air can enter, so that the carbonation disappears faster. “Learned something new” said Rob, who is passionately writing along.
Rob in action.
In the meantime, plates with mozzarella, Serrano ham, fuet sausages and much more are brought to the table. Time for the Hertog Jan Tripel from 2015 and 2019. First, Bas explains that this type of beer is generally not very suitable for maturing, but that it is interesting to try as an experiment. Rob likes the Tripel from 2019 a lot. He starts to learn how to taste and describes the aroma as spicy. The taste he finds pleasantly bitter along with some spices. He says somewhat proudly, “I find the taste of this beer complex”. The 2015 Tripel is immediately a lot less complex. The bitterness has almost disappeared, in terms of taste it becomes a bit more intense, but that is mainly because it has become a lot sweeter. Apparently not everything gets better with age.
The fellow tasters extensively test the Hertog Jan Triple.
It seems to be time for the final, the Grand Prestige.
But first, a plate full of all kinds of Syrian delicacies arrives. Since Rob’s head was still full of newly acquired beer knowledge, he was unable to remember the names, but it certainly was tasty.
Time for Rob, who until 4 hours ago would still see the Grand Prestige as a dark beer, to taste the holy grail of Hertog Jan. “This sight doesn’t immediately make me thirsty, it is really dark beer man.” While he then tries – as an accomplished taster – to find out which scents he can discover, the terms of the other tasters fly around in the cellar. “I smell raisins.” “Clear notes of liquorice and chocolate” the other shouts. Rob seems to summarize it all and notes “Sweet” with determination.
After reconsideration, Rob again compares the 2019 Grand Prestige with that of 2015.
The 2015 is then poured and many of the tasters in the hall are a bit disappointed. The carbonation has largely disappeared, but not much has changed in taste. Rob looks at me questioningly and says: “I don’t taste any difference at all, maybe a little less bitter ?!”. When Bas pours the 2010, the smiles return to the faces, the intensity in the beer has increased enormously. The beer has become fuller, sweeter and at the same time very pleasant. “I do taste a big difference here,” he says, while he expertly writes on his testform: “Sweeter”.
While the ‘bitterballen’ from Zealandish bacon are served (seriously tasty!) Bas serves us the closing, the ‘Hertog Jan Ongekend # 2’. It is a Grand Prestige that has been in a fermentation tank for a full year (!) Before it was bottled, that promises something. The year of fermentation has ensured that this Grand Prestige has become 10.5%. Looking at Rob’s tasting note, it quickly becomes clear what that extra year has done. “Sweet, licorice and spicy” is written on it.
The afternoon of tasting is over and we climb out of the cellar. When asked what he thought of it, he replied: “Heavy afternoon dude, did not know that there could be so much taste in beer. Particularly liked the Double, Triple and the food. I also got thirsty, so time to look for a bar to drink some beer.
