The Bar Towel

Just wondering if anyone else still has some bottles in their cellar.

Tonight, I opened a bottle for the first time in maybe 7 or 8 months and was very surprised at what I found. The bottle I opened reminded me alot more of Orval than the common ABTs (Chimay Bleu, Rochefort 6,8,10, Terrible etc.).

Orval adds a different yeast strain (actually one of the same found in the lambics) called Brettamyces Bruxellensis, providing it with complexity rarely found in the non sour beers. I detected the horse blanket character typical of the aged Orval in this bottle of Achel 8 Bruin and was wondering if anyone of you have noticed this in some of your bottles. It was also decidedly dry compared to my recollection. Running through ratebeer, the descritptions are typically that of the ABT: big brown belgian with sweet malts, strong ester aroma (beit banana, pears, etc), typically spicy etc....

No mention of horse blanket. Usually stating an underlying sweetness (not dry).

I actually love it in the form I had it tonight (It was amazing as an ABT as well). And the yeast that dries the beer and provide it with this horse blanket flavour is a very uncommon infection even in Belgium where it resides along the Senne River Valley. I am hoping that this is an intended design element in this beer because it would mean that it would evolve greatly over the long run.

If anyone has any bottles left and it doesn't tast like the Chimay Bleu, Rochefort or Terrible beers please let me know.

Daniel

Mmmm.... Horse Blanket...

(??)

I'm sorry but, what the F*CK does a Horse Blanket taste like, and why would ANYONE want to drink something that tastes like that?

PS. I am familiar with PIGS in a BLANKET, and I quite like that, although not in my beer...

JWalter wrote:I'm sorry but, what the F*CK does a Horse Blanket taste like, and why would ANYONE want to drink something that tastes like that?

I've noticed it in some beers as an aroma, but not a flavour. It's that sort of musty/barnyardy aroma that you can get off of some Belgian beers. Hard to describe it, but you'll probably know it if/when you smell it.

Thanks Greg, ok, I've googled it and voila - http://www.bjcp.org/styles04/Category17.html - lo and behold, yes, it's a term used to describe a certain barn yardy sort of character, but I mean, come on, you have to admit that is a pretty absurd description, how many real people have ever smelled or tasted a horse blanket... (or would want to?) Shouldn't flavor descriptions be of things that people can actually relate to?

Orval often has this character as Daniel mentioned. Guess what the Beer Bistro paired it up with at their Trappist beer dinner? and yes, it was pretty good once I got past the idea of what I was eating...