Brouwerij Van Steenberge Monk's Cafe Flemish Sour Red Ale

While at Al’s of Hampden, I ordered a glass of Brouwerij Van Steenberge Monk’s Cafe Flemish Sour Red Ale. The beer pours a brown color with red and cranberry hues and a thin bubbly off-white colored head. The aroma is malty and yeasty with sour cherry and raspberry. The taste puts the vinegar upfront, but not too sour or puckering, with a sour cherry twist, all built on a caramel and yeast backbone. The after taste has a sweet cherry tinge to it. The alcohol content is 5.5% ABV. Monk’s Cafe has a great flavor mixture, but I was surprised that it was not overly sour. I would recommend this beer for those that have not converted themselves to sour beer drinkers yet, as it is quite tasty and not too intense.

Brewery Van Steenberge Witches' Brew

On my first visit to Honeygo Wines, I picked up a bottle of Brewery Van Steenberge Witches' Brew Golden Ale. The beer pours a golden color with an extremely lofty and foamy off-white head that leaps out of the glass, due to the bottle conditions. The aroma consists of sweet candisugar and Belgian yeast with hints of grape. The taste is sweet and bubbly with a lot of Belgian yeast and candisugar and a lovely light bubbly mouth feel. The is an earthy hop finish with the beer that balances out the sweetness and the alcohol bites the sides of the mouth. The alcohol content is 9.3% ABV. While the sweetness in this beer is quite excellent, the earthy hop balance is what is most surprising and enjoyable.