A Report from Beer Mecca (Bruges, Belgium)

There are few times in one's short, seemingly ridiculous life, that a person can state "I had the number one __________." At the very most, it's normally something like "I had the number one fishsticks in Scranton, Pennsylvania." While they might be impressive...well...you get the idea.

I sit only inches away from the number one beer in the world. No joke. When it comes to beer ratings, I go to two sources: www.beeradvocate.com and www.ratebeer.com . These guys don't mess around. If you go to any licensed distributor of foreign beer, craft beer, microbrewed beer, you will see a little notecard implying that either one or both of these two websites rated and approved of it. Each year (in the case of ratebeer.com) or just about automatically (in the case of beeradvocate.com) these websites update a top 100 list of the best beers in the world. I generally refer to these two lists semi-religiously as, every time I've tried one of them, my mind has been blown. A few months ago, when beeradvocate.com briefly premiered a new #1 beer in the world, Russian River Brewing's "Pliny the Younger" (an American or Double IPA), I had the rare chance to taste it. This beer spawned the beginnings of a blog entry that I never published. It was IMPOSSIBLE to describe the greatness of this beer. Sure, the 11% ABV might have had something to do with it, but STILL. This beer was outrageous, and none around me disagreed.

At the time, Pliny was making a tour around the USA, blowing minds and kicking the ass of any beer in its path that dared challenge it. For a few weeks time, it supplanted one Belgian beer that rested comfortably in the number one position on nearly every beer rating website I approached: Brouweij Westvleteren (Sint-Sixtusabdij van Westvleteren) - Trappist Westvleteren 12, a Belgian Quad from the Northern part of Belgium. Following BA on Twitter, it was practically a revolution akin only to the French Revolution of 1789 or the Russian Revolution of 1917. Literally, people were going nuts about this. However, only a few weeks later (more akin to the Russian Decembrist Revolut of 1825, but don't mind me, I'm a history major) Westvleteren gave a loud and clear "Back off," and once again resumed its imperial status on the beer rating websites of the world.

So when I came to Belgium less than a week ago, I made it a point to find this beer. I knew it was rare. The beer itself is brewed in extremely limited quantity in Belgium, never exported, and barely distributed even within the country itself. So in other words, it was now or never. I had heard rumors of one establishment, Trappistenhuis Gent (in Ghent, Belgium) selling it. The night before, sitting in Rochefort (home of the fantastic Trappistes Rochefort 10, 8, and 6) a Flemish man raved about it, maintaining an almost reverent silence as I mentioned the name of this beer. The next day, my family and I wandered to Ghent.

It took about twenty minutes to walk to the Trappistenhuis. Within one minute, however, I was disappointed: the waitress quickly informed us that "It was forbidden to continue selling such a beer." Don't get me wrong though, with a few hundred Belgian beers, many of which were brewed only ten minutes away, I had nothing to truly complain about. I bowed gracefully, assuming that I would have to wait to travel to the monastery itself at St. Sixtus to try this beer. Then I came to Bruges.

I've been in Bruges about four hours now. I've had a few beers already of course, including a Kwak served in the standard "Yard" style glass. Ok, maybe I had one and a half of them. That's not the point here. Casually strolling after lunch, however, we stumbled upon a place named "The Beer Temple." Normally, I'm not one for gimmicky names. This place, however, couldn't be more aptly named. Imagine two whole walls of every Belgian you've ever tasted. They have just that. After marvelling however, I jokingly asked the manager of the store, "I guess you don't have Westvleteren?" Straight-faced, he told me "Yes, I do. All of the varieties are in the back." I guess it pays to ask.

Interestingly, I purchased four of the top ten Belgian beers listed on beeradvocate.com. I had the opportunity to purchase eight of the top ten. I will be trying these in the near future. I hope you will tune in for the reviews. Signing out from Bruges,
Eric

Well Worth Another Try - Tröegs Nugget Nectar (PA)

Everyone needs the occasional second chance. Yes, I'm still talking about beer and not love lost or something generally emo like that. In this case, I'm talking about Tröegs Nugget Nectar.

Anyone familiar with this beer might be a bit surprised by this statement. I mean hell, BeerAdvocate rates it in their "best of," stacking it up against the likes of Russian River Valley, Stone, and a bevvy of Belgian Doubles, Tripels, and Quads that put even the above average brew to shame, leaving it quivering in the deep, dark recesses of beer purgatory.

Here's the thing. I just wasn't impressed the first time I had it. I'm not sure why. Maybe it was a bad day, or the weather was gloomy, or something had so annihilated my ability to taste that I was left blind to the deliciousness enclosed in the 12 oz bottle I bought at a local bar. Something just didn't do it for me. I gave it an initially average review and buried it under a pile of praises I had reserved for other Tröegs' beer like Mad Elf.

Then some glorious person on Twitter alerted me to an event occurring at Carlisle's own Market Cross Pub: on some random night throughout the week, Nugget Nectar would be served for a limited time from a Firkin. I was excited, not only to find out what the hell a "firkin" was, but also to taste this beer. "A Limited Time" in the beer world typically means there's something delicious and rare going on; it's not often that one hears "A Limited Time: Pitchers of Yuengling," particularly in Central Pennsylvania.

It turns out that a firkin is basically a keg laid horizontally, but corked after pressurizing rather than covered with the typical tap. This goes back to the days where "tap the keg" meant "smack the wooden keg with a huge freaking hammer so everyone can drink." The difference is, wooden kegs are a rarity these days so the firkin is one of those novelties within the beer world that people flock to get a pint from.

I arrived at Market Cross about twenty minutes after the firkin was delivered and tapped. Naturally, the thing was frothing like there was no tomorrow and the beer had been shaken up. Regardless, I had a pint poured (yes, Market Cross serves legitimate English-style pints) and let it sit for a bit. Once it did though, I was treated to a bit of aesthetic beery-goodness.

Listening down the bar, I heard the complaints of those who I am sure are a bit more familiar with that yellow fizzy stuff that comes in a can: "It's too cloudy." I don't know if I've clearly expressed it yet in this blog, but cloudy beer is generally something of legendary and epic status in my mind. It makes me go "Hey, there are ingredients in this beer! And the brewer actually cares!" Mostly, this is a result of loving Unibroue and their Ale-on-Lees style. Regardless, I looked to the bartender, who merely commented "Well, that's the best part!" I wanted to shake his hand.

Anyhow. It was a cloudy reddish orange with a minimal head (once the effects of the truck ride over subsided). Strangely enough, it left a ton of lacing once I started drinking it. The nose is very floral and citrusy with some caramel hints as well.

As for drinking it: it begins with some pine and then, slowly but surely, a grapefruit-esque citrus taste with a backing of hops starts to emerge. Then a nice chewy caramel and spiciness comes around with a bit of alcohol (it's a 7.5%ABV). Overall a fun series of tastes to have hit you.

So on second review, yes, I really do enjoy this beer. This isn't as family friendly as the Mad Elf, but for people into some serious beer, I'd recommend it.

Tröegs' Brewing - Nugget Nectar: ****/***** (4 out of 5 stars)
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