Brewnotes » Sonata

Slaapmutske Triple Nightcap

Ben Brouse — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 20:53:23 +0000

A relative newcomer to the Belgian scene, Slaapmutske was started in 1999 by Dany De Smet. The name Slaapmutske literally means “sleeping cap” (night cap in the US). “In fact, all the Slaapmutske beers tend to be of the strong, beddy-bye variety.” The beers are currently made at the De Proef brewery. With that background, I couldn’t wait to taste this.

This is an extremely hazy, pale colored strong beer with flowery hops notes, a huge kick and lingering bitterness. Coming in @ 8.1% ABV, the alcohol on this beer is deceptive. This is the kind of beer that you would expect from a Delirium Tremens brewmaster.

Current Beeradvocate rating: B+

A good example of the new avant-garde beers coming out of Belgium. However, in my opinion I would not seek this beer out as I believe the finishing hops are out of balance and overpower the rest of the beer.

Sonata: Malheur 12

Ben Brouse — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 17:46:14 +0000

Emmanuel De Landtsheer started the brewery in Flemish Brabant in 1997 but the family had a long tradition in brewing.

“Malheur 12 is brewed with a significant portion of dark aromatic malt, providing some interesting nutty aromas and flavours” as described by the late Michael Jackson.

This is a rich, dark in color, refermented and bottle conditioned ale. You can’t help but notice the hop aroma and well-balanced flavor this beer exhibits. A touch of sweet alcohol but still very dry. Honey and rum notes.

Current Beeradvocate rating: A-

What I like about this beer is the mouthfeel and how easy this beer drinks. The richness of this beer would be great with a steak and a cold winter night. Watch out, this beer comes in @ 12% ABV. Wow!

La Chouffe

Ben Brouse — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 18:27:43 +0000

Picture taken from here.

Michael Jackson describes this beer with the following characteristics, “golden-to-peachy colour and a sweet, fruity, aroma and palate, with citric notes, becoming tarter, winey and more complex with age”

Coming in at 8%ABV, this beer is as smooth as I’ve tasted. The alcohol is virtually undetectable and deceptively sneaky.
According to the brewer, La Chouffe should be served without disturbing the yeast from the bottle conditioning but I don’t seem to care either way. These bottles change over time and have dates on the neck – clear indications that brett is in play.

Current Beeradvocate rating: A-. For those of you who know me, I believe there is nothing that quite compares to this beer and for that, I rate this beer a must try.

Chouffe, originally started by brothers-in-law, was sold in 2006 to Moortgat, producers of Duvel. One taste of these beers and its clear that they use crystal malts, dry sugar and coriander – confirmed by the website here. Hops are not pronounced and therefore are probably Styrian Goldings like most belgian brews.

For those of you wondering, Chouffes are the red-hatted gnomes on the bottle.

Leffe Blonde Ale

Ben Brouse — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 21:08:48 +0000

This is the first entry in our Sonata column. Enjoy.

One of the quintessential widely available abbey blonde ales of Belgium. This beer is now brewed in the Stella Artois brewery in Leuve. The history of the Leffe abbey can be found here.

Michael Jackson describes this beer with the following characteristics, “sunny colour; a fragrant, faint, clovey-ness of aroma; a restrained orangey fruitiness in the palate and cedary dryness” He later suggests that the Leffe beers are made using the Vieux Temps yeast.

Coming in at 6.6% ABV, the dryness suggests the beer is fortified with cane sugar. There is little to no hop character present in this beer. No evidence of bottle conditioning is present.

Current Beeradvocate rating: B. I feel this rating is off. You either like this style of beer or you don’t.

Our opinion: The beauty of this beer is it’s ability to be paired with seafood. It will not overpower something like sea bass but it should clean the palate, leaving you ready for that next bite.