beauty and the brew

Tonight is so beautiful.

I can't get over it. Every other year, I have dug my feet into the summer ground and refused to move into autumn, but this year I feel totally different. Maybe it has something to do with having graduated eight months ago, so I did not start school this week. I have all this extra money in my bank account from not buying books (except not really at all), I don't have to deal with lost people running around campus (except the theater I work at half the week is on campus), I don't have to worry about studying (except I have the GREs coming up), and I won't have to spend the entire week organizing the thousands of pages from syllabi I just crammed into my bag when I first received them (that one is true).

Despite the cruel fact that with the end of one of life's hardships comes another, totally different but equally difficult one, I can't help but feel somewhat accomplished as I see students running around like lost prairie dogs trying to collect what they need for the new year and hoping that they won't fail any of their classes. I totally don't have to do that this year, and it is actually pretty great.

Anyway, I broke open my beer fridge this evening and went straight for Ommegang, did not pass go, did not collect $200.

So this is my review of Rare Vos from Brewery Ommegang (6.5%), which is their amber ale.

Definitely getting a good, solid two to three finger head off the pour. Thick, frothy volume in golden white. Fades down to about a one finger head, but still, so thick and almost chunky.

There's some heavy haze in here, and the color is true amber through and through.

First off, there's a ton of candied orange peel in the aroma, as well as some apple and pear. Some very faint hoppiness at the end. There's good, solid butter caramel malts in there as well.

Right of the bat... cloves. Absolutely cloves. And coriander. This beer is super mild, more than I expected but I am pleasantly surprised. I was kind of cringing thinking it would be a very robustly sweet beer considering the aroma. No hops present whatsoever, but I licked my lips and got the slightest touch of bitterness. I am definitely tasting some apple peel, to me it is one of the strongest notes. Maybe a little bit of peppercorn as well. As it warms you get this really great, soothing bread-like quality that mixes perfectly with the mild, not-too-sweet fruit (again, like apple peel, or maybe underripe pear).




I really love this beer. As the weather transitions to fall and it gets a little cooler outside here in Michigan, this amber ale is really suiting my mood. It's not crisp and biting, it's not in-your-face refreshing or citrusy acidic. But you don't need that, because there's a really nice fall breeze coming in with the night, and it's wafting through my windows to create the most perfect temperature. It's exactly like this beer..... not too much, not too little. It's subtle, but only because it knows it's so elegant, it doesn't need to be all up in your face like that.

This beer is perfect for today.

Immediately after returning from work, I feel motivated to write a quick review before the night begins (quick being the operative word).

I pulled out one of the few things I haven't tried before from my fridge, Golden Monkey from Victory Brewing Company (9.5% abv), a spiced Belgium Tripel.

It was ok.

Appearance was very cloudy, almost opaque gold.  Thin head, frothiness clings around the edge of the glass with little lacing.

As far as aroma goes, I expected heavy yeast, cloves and banana. But there were some unexpected... definitely black pepper, peach, and a slight ammonia smell. It's not abrasive, but it's definitely a little off putting.

Taste... boring, but kinda boozy. I assumed the banana ethers and cloves and nutmeg. Definitely warms the throat and tummy.

Mouthfeel is highly carbonated with a medium to thin body.

This isn't terribly complex. It's exactly how a tripel should taste if you watered it down. Is that horrible to say? It's not a bad beer, it's just not particularly striking or interesting. And when it says spiced on the label, I expect to notice an obvious amount of spiceage.

I'm going to drink it and I won't be unhappy about it. It's not so bad that I would tell people to steer clear of it. But I definitely wouldn't stick a recommendation on the bottle.

And now, while I drink the rest of this glass, I'm going to upload pictures of actual golden monkeys for your viewing pleasure.

Looking through my fridge and boxes of beer, I actually had a hard time choosing what to review today. I obviously had an even harder time on Monday, because I really did plan on writing something but I blankly stared into the abyss that is my fridge as people often do and eventually started to feel like this cartoon and proceeded to walk away, giving up all hope of writing something decent because all I really wanted to do was find some silly Billy Blanks workout video on youtube and do just enough of it to exhaust me to the point of falling asleep so I could enjoy a full eight hours of rest.