Cantillon Zwanze 2010 Blanche de Quenast

While at Monk’s Cafe in Philadelphia for the Pliny the Younger event, my buddy Matt and I decided to order a bottle of Cantillon Zwanze 2010 Blanche de Quenast and share it (the $50 price tag helped encourage sharing). The beer pours a pale and cloudy straw yellow color with a thin bubbly white head. The aroma consists of hay, barnyard funk, grass, lemon, and wheat grass. The taste is funky and dry with bits of hay, straw, and barnyard funk. Hints of lemon and vinegar peek through from the background, and there is an oat and grassy spice on the finish. The alcohol content is 4.0% ABV. This was a wonderfully dry and grassy beer and it feels like drinking while on a farm. I loved its funkiness, and the light citrus accents were well balanced.

Millbock Brewing Company Black

My friend Tierney won a mixed pack of Millbock Brewing Company beers, and brought them over, so I decided to try the Black, a Russian Imperial Stout. The beer pours a black color with a frothy tan head that leaves some lacing on the glass. The aroma consists of coffee, chocolate, vanilla, caramel, and toasted malts. The taste is dry and toasted malts with a dark chocolate flavor, caramel, mocha, and coffee. There is a really dry finish with roasted malts. The alcohol content is 9.5% ABV. This was a very roasted Russian Imperial Stout, and if you like dark chocolate flavors and toasted malts, this is the beer for you. I liked the mocha accents that provided a nice accent.

Odell Saboteur

My buddy Jason brought me back a bottle of Odell Saboteur from Denver when he was visiting home recently. The beer pours a dark brown color with a very lofty and bubbly head that leaves a hint of lacing on the glass. The aroma consists of a light funkiness, toasted malts, caramel, and a hint of coffee. The taste is dry and toasted with some malts up front with coffee and caramel. There is a very faint funk to it, but the brett isn’t as prevalent as I expected. The alcohol content is 10.0% ABV. I can’t say I was overly impressed with this beer, despite the fact I really wanted to love it. I think it’s because I was really expecting a huge brett appearance, and it was very subdued. Overall it was a good beer, but it wasn’t what I was expecting.

Old Schoolhouse Uncle Big's Brown

My buddy Matt brought over a bottle of Old Schoolhouse Uncle Big’s Brown to share with me. The beer pours a dark brown color with a frothy off-white colored head that leaves some lacing on the glass. The aroma consists of toasted malts, caramel, and coffee. The taste is dry and full of roasted malt flavor. There are hints of coffee in the background with a light caramel sweetness on the finish, but it is somewhat subdued. The alcohol content is 6.0% ABV. This was a rather dry brown ale with a decent compliment of coffee flavors. It wasn’t my favorite brown ale, but it was pretty good overall.

Founders Curmudgeon's Better Half

Al’s of Hampden recently held a Founders Curmudgeon’s Better Half event where he poured the bottles from a case so more people got to try the beer, rather than simply sell the 12 bottles. The beer pours an amber color with floating yeast flakes and a thin bubbly white head. The aroma consists of maple, plenty of caramel, oak, and grass. The taste is sweet and smooth with plenty of maple and bourbon om the front end. Caramel has a big presence in this beer, and vanilla and oak come out on the finish with hints of grass. The alcohol content is 11.9% ABV. Bourbon, maple, and vanilla stand tall in this beer, and I thought it provided more maple and bourbon accents than CBS. Overall it wasn’t quite as good of a beers as CBS, but it was really enjoyable.

Mikkeller Belgian Triple

I ordered a glass of Mikkeller Belgian Triple at Al’s of Hampden. The beer pours a golden color with a bubbly white head. The aroma is faint but has some banana and pepper that are slightly detectable. The taste is pretty fruity with banana all over the front end of the beer. Pepper and grass take up a large part of the profile, and it has a dry yeasty finish. The alcohol content is 9% ABV. While I wouldn’t say this was a world-breaker of a Triple, it was a decent beer and is probably a good introductory sample of the style. I wouldn't seek it out again, but if someone offered it to me, I wouldn't turn it down either.

Green Flash Rayon Vert Belgian-style Pale Ale

Another bottle I received in a beer trade with Beer Club 4 Men was Green Flash Rayon Vert Belgian-style Pale Ale. The beer pours an amber color with an extremely lofty and frothy white head that leaves some lacing on the glass. The aroma consists of lemon, barnyard funk, grass, pepper, and hay. The taste is light and dry with plenty of pepper and hay on the front end. It has a bit of lemon flavor to it with some funkiness on the finish. The alcohol content is 7.0% ABV. I really enjoyed this Belgian-style Pale Ale with a wonderful dry finish and a good funkiness to it.