Van Steenberge Beer Dinner

March, 2006

First, A gregarious man, multifarious brands, and a boatload of know-how to boot. Jef Versele's trip to Indy, Gulden Draak hurt me, and a Sour Ale comes from Philly.

This is pretty much how I'd sum up the beer dinner I attended in Broad Ripple at the Corner Wine Bar just a few months ago. Jef Versele, one of Brouwerij Van Steenberge's owners and also their director of sales came to Indianapolis to see how his beers are doing in our fair state, all 22 of them. He was also interested in how they are fairing in our due state. Van Steenberge might be most famous for their heavyweights, Gulden Draak and Piraat, but they also brew the two Augustijn Abbey ales (only one of which is available in the US), Bornem Double and Tripel, Bruegel Amber, and Monk's Cafe' Sour Ale. Most of these brews are available in Indiana and they are all worth checking out, but it's the introduction of Monk's Sour Ale that has me very excited.

Monk's Sour Ale was initially only available in the US at Monk's Cafe' in Philadelphia. It was brewed (and named) specially for them as their house Flemish Sour Ale. It might be my ideal session beer. It's a bit strong for a session beer, 5.5% abv, but it is just so easy and pleasing to drink. There is enough residual sweetness and malt flavor to keep it tasty but with a stiff sour tang that swoops in to give the beer a perfectly clean, dry finish.

I have only seen this brew at Monk's in Philly and at one beer distributor (Pennsylvania speak for beer store) in the Philly suburbs. I am thrilled is has made its way out to the crossroads of America.

Unfortunately, there was no Monk's at the beer dinner in Broad Ripple. But there was a lot of Van Steenberge's other brews and some very good food from the Corner Wine Bar. I like that place. Really cozy. They just need to shift their focus to beer and change their name to the Corner Beer Bar. Just kidding. Kind of.

The thing that struck me most about all the beers was the amazing head and lace. Sticky, voluptuous gobs of ivory froth clung to the glass after each sip. Jef attributes the incredible head and lace to a brand new Steinecker Stromboli internal boiler system that was installed in his 100 hectoliter brewhouse in 2005. This system gently heats and circulates the wort in a thin layer over a ìwort spreaderî to maximize surface area and encourage an optimal evaporation rate without high ìthermal loadsî which might damage the proteins that are important for head formation and sticky, lacy goodness. Science and beer, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G.

While the new brewhouse technology at Van Steeberge is very cool, their devotion to traditional Belgian styles is certainly an important aspect of their brewing philosophy as well. The recipe for Augustijn is from the Augustijn Abbey and some proceeds from each bottle sold go back to the Abbey. What is very traditional about this beer is that they pitch a wild strain of yeast during secondary fermentation. Jef was not sure exactly what type of yeast it is, there isn't much Brett character, but whatever it is it certainly dries the beer out. And this is a fairly strong Belgian ale, 8% abv. The combination of very little residual sugar and high carbonation make this an interesting big beer. I got mainly muted cloves in the nose and on the palate. This beer went quite well with the rich, somewhat sweet, tomato and sausage filled pastry second course.

The two Bornem beers we tried were very good. The Dubbel is really spot on. Great Belgian nose, some caramel notes on the palate, a fairly dry beer with medium-high carbonation, it finishes quite clean. The Bornem Tripel is slightly stronger at 9% abv and is an excellent (and very Belgian) example of this style. From what I've seen, American Tripels tend to be on the sweet side whereas Belgian versions tend to be drier. The Bornem is definitely on the dry side with big fruity esters and some heat on the nose with a touch of clove. This one also has medium-high carbonation.

The Bruegel Amber Ale was tasty. The bottles we had at the dinner were showing medium to high diacetyl, a molecule produced by some types of yeast during fermentation that can smell and taste buttery or like butterscotch. It is generally considered to be a flaw in most beers, but different people react differently to diacetyl and low levels are considered good in some styles of beer like Scotch Ale. While the Bruegel is fermented with a yeast of English origin which tends to produce diacetyl, Jef assured me that they try to keep the diacetyl level much lower in the Bruegel and this batch was an anomaly. But I kind of liked it. It went very well with the honey-dijon, spinach, pretzel salad. The Bruegel is a fairly light, 5% abv amber colored beer that tastes more like an English Ale than something of Belgian origin. But that's about par for the course. Belgian brewers produce every kind of beer under the sun.

Then there are Piraat and Gulden Draak. As I said, these two beers are probably the brewery's most famous productions. They each weigh in at a hefty 10.5% abv and are superb examples of a well crafted, big Belgian beer. Piraat was served as an aperitif and Gulden Draak with dessert and as a digestive. Both were very good.

Piraat is the lighter colored of the two brews and the somewhat more aggressive on the palate. It shows a very solvent like nose with a goodly dose of fruity esters thrown in for good measure. You can definitely smell the alcohol here. It's fairly sweet, but not overtly so for such a big beer. It finishes with a slight astringency. Very big. Very strong. Very good. It will get your motor running.

Gulden Draak is a completely different animal. While it is just as strong as Piraat, the fire is tempered with rich toffee, coffee, and chocolate notes that meld nicely with a very subtle orange peel spicing. It seems dryer to me than Piraat and is quite easy to drink despite its strength and complexity.

So keep your eye out for the Monk's Sour Ale and try some of Van Steenberge's other finely crafted Belgian ales while you wait.