The Bar Towel

So, what do you think of the Summer Release beers you've tried so far?

Of the ones that were new to me, I've only tried the Erdinger. Here's the review notes I wrote on RateBeer...

"Light golden colour, slightly hazy, with a generous white head. Aroma is muted and dusty, with some lemon and clove notes. Body is thin but refreshing, definately hit the spot on a warm summer evening. Flavour is simple but pleasant, and typical for the style. Certainly not the best weissbier I’ve ever had, but decent enough that I might pick up another couple of bottles for the hot weather that is supposed to continue all week."

And here are my notes from a couple of them that I've had before:

Edelweiss Hefetrüb Weissbier (rated June 4/03):
"Hazy lemon-yellow colour with a fluffy white head. Nice aroma with the expected notes of banana, clove, and a hint of bubblegum. Nice start - but then I tasted it, and found both the body and flavour to be very thin and lifeless."

Christoffel Blond (rated Jan 16/03):
"Hazy golden-orange colour with a big shaving cream head that leaves some beautiful lace as it recedes. Spicy hop aroma with just a hint of skunk, but not enough to turn me off. Great herbal hop bitterness in the flavour, with a citric edge and a yeasty malt undertone. Finish is crisp and bitter. Pilsners rarely excite me, but this one really caught me by surprise."

As an aside - after the beerbistro fest, I went down to St. Lawrence and picked up some mussels, as well as a loaf of French Farmer's Bread at the Stonemill Bakery. My wife steamed the mussels in a bottle of Christoffel Blond along with some onions and garlic, and I drank another bottle of Christoffel while eating them, sopping up the delicious broth with the fresh, chewy bread. A simple, cheap & perfect meal for a hot summer night.

Those mussels sound awesome, I can sensorily imagine your dinner!

Not great at descriptive ratings, but the Schofferhofen Hefeweizen was fine, it tasted light and seemed a bit hoppy-bitter (I tend toward a rounder fuller Weizen with a tart citrus aspect and more banana/clove expression.)

Looking forward to the Erdinger and the Christoffel, old friends.

The Rogue Half-E-Weizen was a bit different (in a good way) and undemandingly refreshing in palate among the herbs and ginger. The Pineapple Lambic was ok for a strongly flavored fruit lambic of its sweeter type (and it's not the labelled 1.5 per cent ABV but 3.5, FYI.)

There was some new british Porter there I grabbed and haven't tried yet either. I forget Saison Dupont totally but it'll probably rock my socks. Hey where's that rumored Sinha (Lion) Stout BTW?

I've picked up everything available at Wilson & Dufferin with the exception of Christoffel Blond. I haven't had a blond yet that I really liked so I'm giving it a pass for now. The fridge is pretty packed too.

Of the new stuff I've had the Schofferhofer Hefeweizen and the Saison Dupont (though from my Quebec haul.) I like Schofferhofer better than the Paulaner hefeweizen and the Hacker one. It's hard to compare to my favourites Denison's and Magnotta's since they're more likely to be fresher than the bottle. It's pretty close to them. Pending a try of the other weisse releases, I'll likely buy more of it.

I had the Saison Dupont about three weeks ago. I tried it cold, cool and at room temperature. While I did manage to finish the whole bottle, I can't say I really enjoyed it. Of the three temperatures, the room one was the best. I probably won't bother looking for it. More for you guys!

Belgian wrote:There was some new british Porter there I grabbed and haven't tried yet either.

A new porter is (potentially very good) news to me. What is it called? I did a quick search on the LCBO website for "porter" but came up with nothing beyond the usual suspects...

The Huyghe Floris Honey completely took me by surprise. I expected to find it as unpalateable as many of the sweet and/or fruit Belgians that have generally not satisfied my tastebuds. Man it was good.

The honey flavor literally leaps out of the bottle on opening. It is a pungent, flowery honey aroma...not at all artificial or processed. The color is very light yellow with almost no haze and only a thin whisp of a head. The flavor is sweet but not syrupy...a very lovely blend of the floral honey front with a nice, soft hop backing. This is a fantastic summer beer...one I could easily see my wife and many lager drinking friends enjoying. It's almost like an appetizer beer. It could be a session beer but the taste is so alive and satisfying I can't imagine drinking more than one...I wouldn't want it to become ordinary.

I have also tried the Christoffele Blonde. I too experienced the giant "shaving cream" head (even though I poured it properly) but it dissipates in a few minutes to a simple lace. The colour is also very light with a crisp hop aroma in the glass. This struck me as a very satisying pilsner as well...very well rounded flavor profile with just the right lingering hop after taste. Splendid (and for a guy who doesn't generally like lagers that's saying something).

Lastly I tried La Choulette Blonde. It has a more malty, frumpy nose when poured. The colour is more clear golden than the other two with a medium, frothy head. The first taste unfortunately reminded me of sushi...(!) It has an odd slightly off taste that I can't quite put my finger on. Did I have this beer too closely on the heels of the prior one? Second taste...maybe it's the fact that I drink Saporro when I have sushi that is calling up this sushi comparison. I think the beer tastes like a hybrid between a Japanese lager and a Belgian Trappist beer. It's not horrible but just incongruent if that makes any sense at all.

I too am looking forward to the Saison Dupont. I plan on snatching a case of it as soon as I can find some.

Follow up: Also had the Schofferhofer Hefeweizen. Disappointing. A very typical nose to it for the style. Poured very heady but it vanished quickly to a thin lace. Typical haze from the bottle conditioning. Tasted a little confused...I got some odd banana like hits backed up with clove and a strange metallic taste (which could've been forgiven in a can but this is a bottled beer). It also seemed to stick to the tongue in a cough syrupy way that was not altogether appreciated.

Not the best hefeweizen I've had but certainly not the worst.

lister wrote:...with the exception of Christoffel Blond. I haven't had a blond yet that I really liked so I'm giving it a pass for now.

As noted in some of the previous posts in this thread, Christoffel Blond is not a blond ale, but a pilsener--and a particularly characterful one at that.

With all the expectation surrounding Saison Dupont, I hope it doesn't disappoint. It's certainly one of my all-time favourites, but the smaller 25cl and 33cl bottles (which I don't have much experience with) are notorious for their variability in comparison with the larger 75cl bottles (of which I've had many). I hope that's not the case. Bottom line, if you don't like Saison Dupont, then you don't like saison, and if you don't like saison, you don't like beer.

Wheatsheaf wrote:As noted in some of the previous posts in this thread, Christoffel Blond is not a blond ale, but a pilsener--and a particularly characterful one at that.

Ah. I skipped over the Christoffel paragraphs. If I feel in the mood for a pilsner next month I may pick it up rather than the Stone Hammer, King or Steamwhistle usuals.

Bottom line, if you don't like Saison Dupont, then you don't like saison, and if you don't like saison, you don't like beer.

I guess I don't then.

Wheatsheaf wrote:

lister wrote:...with the exception of Christoffel Blond. I haven't had a blond yet that I really liked so I'm giving it a pass for now.

As noted in some of the previous posts in this thread, Christoffel Blond is not a blond ale, but a pilsener--and a particularly characterful one at that.

It blew away the Erdinger I had last night.

I would describe Christoffel as a very unique, classic beer - nice balance of a very entertaining hoppy shape combined with the type of graceful suppleness I'd ascribe to really great fresh Urquell.

I'd say get it right now before it becomes light-struck on the shelf (sealed cases are great for that insurance) and store it dark & cool to experience Christoffel in optimal condition over the coming months. It really is a good deal at 2.50, and that swing-top bottle is a hoot! (give empties to your beer-making friends.)

Wheatsheaf wrote: With all the expectation surrounding Saison Dupont, I hope it doesn't disappoint. It's certainly one of my all-time favourites, but the smaller 25cl and 33cl bottle... are notorious for their variability in comparison with the larger 75cl bottles

Well I hope the several bottles I just snagged are okay. I'll be sure to have 5 or 6 this weekend to establish some empirical data! Nothing sadder than a bad example of a great beer.

I had the Rogue Half-a-Weizen on Monday and quite enjoyed it.

I had the Saison Dupont last night. And then I had another.

It was in pristine condition as far as I can tell, small bottles de damned.

Lightly spicy, hint sour, complex, fragrant, elegant palate, indefinably stamped with a thousand Belgian idiosyncracies that somehow still add up to 'beer.'. In my Maredsous glass it shines like a blonde belgian hottie wearing a lacy white dress. A great beer in fine shape.

After a nice relaxing late lunch and two Steam Whistles and a Boddinton's, at The Longest Yard (*hick*), I threw caution to the wind and wandered over to the Yonge & Davisville LCBO. I was surprised to find that it has the Chapeau pineapple lambic despite what the LCBO website says. (All the inventory people need to be dragged out into the street and beaten within centimetres of their lives. It's Canada, metric ya know!) So I'm enjoying this fine beverage as I type. No head to speak of. Definite, no bones about it, pineapple smell. If you're a fan of the fake sugary crap lambics, as some so eloquently put it here, then you should like this stuff. Nice and sweet, pineapple taste. Yum!

It shall accompany me, along with the hefeweizens, to any outdoor patio, BBQ, balcony, lawnchair, beach or pool that I find myself participating in this long weekend. Cheers!

lister wrote:surprised to find that it has the Chapeau pineapple lambic despite what the LCBO website says. (All the inventory people need to be dragged out into the street and beaten....)

So I'm enjoying this fine beverage as I type. No head to speak of. Definite, no bones about it, pineapple smell. If you're a fan of the fake sugary crap lambics, as some so eloquently put it here, then you should like this stuff. Nice and sweet, pineapple taste. Yum!

Inventory is updated not as they stock shelves, but periodically. Hence, a beer (eg. Saison) can come and go with no indication of having ever been there, or as n your case sit there unaccounted for. Luckily the LCBO is so reliable in every other way.i

And yeah the pineapple is okay, it has some decent Lambic sourness you won't find in some Gueuze releases we've seen. I don't rate it highly as a "beer" but as some kind of cosmic glucose elixir from Planet Tropicana, well it really does do the trick. You could probably even pour it over ice in the blender for a cocktail, or bake a tasty pineapple cake with it, too.

Jon Walker wrote:The Huyghe Floris Honey completely took me by surprise. I expected to find it as unpalateable as many of the sweet and/or fruit Belgians that have generally not satisfied my tastebuds. Man it was good.

I'm drinking one right now, and I have to agree with you - this is a helluvalot better than I expected it to be. Unlike the artificial, cloying sweetness I've found in the other Floris beers I've tried, this one tastes fresh and natural, and is quite refreshing despite the sweetness. I may actually go and buy a couple more bottles, which is a rare thing for me to say about most fruit/flavoured beers.

I've got a Chapeau chilling in the fridge right now, so that may be next on the list tonight...