The Duchesse!  The night finally arrived.  About 3 weeks ago, my buddy PNC brought home a few brews that we were going through.  Well, we didn't get to drink this one then.  We have been talking about it for weeks now.  Actually, I had some of the previous sours and was REALLY looking forward to this beer.  I think I was dreaming about it from time to time.  This beer even came HIGHLY recommended by the Beer Expert guy at Market District in Robinson.  I really have to learn his name.  He pointed out 3 others that he thought were good sour beers and they were spot on great successes in my mind.  Very new and unique to me but a welcomed change.  Well, last night we were hanging with our friends and as we normally do, we were sampling some beers.  I even had a taste test of my knock off version of "Old Speckled Hen" to the original.  The original was the obvious winner but I didn't do a bad job with the home brew.  I think the 'biggest thing' it was probably was missing was more aroma hops to get that huge hop nose that the 'Hen' produced.

So, it finally came time for the Duchesse.  I started doing some searches on this beer and getting some info.  I ran across this link that I think I found the most quality information on the beer.  I'm still sitting questioning the beer I had last night.  I'm not sure if it is a fair and valid review or the beer possibly went south and never recovered.  As I read the reviews out there I think to myself, I must have gotten a bad beer.  It had to have been bad with all the reviews that had such quality things to say about this beer.  After all, the beer guy at the Market District TOTALLY recommended it (though he did mention the "funkiness").  Then I come across the past link I left.  He is the first one that mentions the strong kick of vinegar & the cider notes.  Now, every one that tasted this last night really greatly disliked the beer.  I tried to stay positive.  I tried to stay focused for the love of this review.  But I just couldn't do it.  The beer pours a nice brown'sh red hue in the glass.  It actually looks nice in the glass.  The head coats the top evenly.  The first problem started with the smell.  It was STRONG!  It was potent.  It was very very Apple Cider Vinegar.  I'd even venture to say that it was Apple Cider Vinegar that set around to long.  To me it was not complex, it was not robust, it was just CIDER'sh.  Next, I tasted it.  The taste was worse then the smell.  I don't know if the smell influenced the taste (actually I know it did/does).  Either way, I was not impressed by this one.  I probably will try another one again some day.  But at $25 for a 4 pack it may not be anytime soon.  I was barely able to drink the 6-8 oz for this review.

I have mixed emotions here.  I have been told that this beer comes with good reviews.  I see good reviews on line.  I wanted to like it but couldn't.  This is one of those deals where it was far more then just "I didn't like it".  I could hardly stomach it.  I'm hopeful that maybe we just got a bad brew and the next one will make up for this one.  OR maybe in a few years or after this project is over my tastes will have been revived and broadened to be able to enjoy this beer.  But I'm not sure.  We'll have to see how it goes.  For now, I'm giving this a "bad review" from me.  But again, this is all subjective.  We all have our opinions.  Thanks for reading.

I found this site here for the brewery but it wasn't in English.  I may be a bit lazy sometimes but I didn't dig much deeper.  With a beer that I didn't like this much I usually do not go too much deeper.

Another Saturday night and I ain't got nobody... OK, so not true - My wife is here, my daughter is curled up on the floor watching The Incredibles, and Daughter #2 is fast asleep in bed.  So, actually so far so good on the Saturday night scene.  My have times a changed; this is actually relatively enjoyable.  Of course, I wish my wife wasn't sick and it would also be fun for an unknown drop by but this is pretty much the American dream I'm living.  I can remember being single, living life to the fullest; out every night; partying hard; boy life was good!  Then I met this really hot chick!  She was awesome, nothing go in my way of hanging with her.  She was/is my lobster and we went out and partied sometimes, and stayed in and hung out; man Life was GREAT!  Then we got married... I don't think for her and I things changed drastically with the marriage.  Except of course, we did move from the east side of Pittsburgh to the West.  We started partying OUT less and hanging in more.  Found more young married couples like ourselves and hung with them; partied hard and things were good.  Life was EXCEPTIONAL.  Sure there is/was times I'd attempt to live life vicariously through single friends; out every weekend partying it up and meeting new girls.  But you know, life is/was good where I was at!  Then we had baby girls!  Two of them just 3 years apart, life has changed drastically for us lately!  Things are challenging.  Parenting is hard.  Don't let anyone tell you differently.  It is a daily struggle of right and wrong!  But life is AWESOME/SPECTACULAR/FANTASTIC!  I don't want it to be any different!  Its great.

Of course, tonight is the night I get a text from my dear brother-in-law - at apparently one of the greatest bars on the planet?  Or at least they have a lot of great beers in Ohio.  Place called Boardman, Ohio - Vintage Estate Wine and Beer.  In his words, not mine this place has "more beers then china has rice!".  Haha, although it is something I would probably say about a place.  I very briefly reviewed the website but jumped quickly as I started thinking. o O ( Ah the life with out kids... how nice!  Look at the places we could go! ) O o . then I smacked myself as I often times do.  It is nice!  I'm sure it is great!  But I am truly happy where I am.  So, I open a new brew and sit back and relax and enjoy "The Incredibles" in the background.

I did go to my beer fridge and search for the "oldest beers in there" worrying about last nights dilemma.  I found an Atwater Dirty Blonde; I cracked it open to try and honestly, couldn't tell if it was bad or was just me being paranoid.  So, to be fair I am not reviewing that beer tonight - instead I'm going to review the last of my bitter beers that I have had stored away for the last 2-3 weeks that I've been excited about.  It is just chilling now.

On to the beer - Monk's Cafe - Flemish Sour Ale - The bottle reads - "Flemish Sour Red Ale - We blend young and old beers to make this mildy sour sour ale.  Light bodied with a lactic/sour nose and a bit of sweet and sour in the finish.  Very refreshing."  As it sits under my nose, I get small hints of sour coming from the glass.  My mouth immediately starts to salivate as I've been looking forward to this beer for about 3 weeks now.  I take a large sip and pow!  It hits me.  It is definitely a sour ale!  I see why the guy at Market District said it has a distinct, acquired taste.  This beer is not for the beginner in my opinion.  Though it is light on the tongue, it is a dark looking beer with a bunch of sour which tries to be subtle but really does not hide itself well.  It is there in the front and all the way through the finish.  The smell is interesting also, it smells of maybe sour apples or something pungent but "fresh" (if that is possible).  It has beer like qualities in the nose of sweet maltiness but the smell of maybe green/yellow apples punches through.  When I poured this beer the head was strong and aggressive.  As I drink it, the head lingers on the side gently and lays on top of the beer silently.  It never leaves as it is proud to be part of this pour.  The color is red'sh brown but in the bowl like glass I poured it into it is hard to determine exactly the color it should be.  But it is pretty.  As you sip it the texture and taste of beer is on the front but it is quickly washed away by a gentle yet secure sour taste that just cleans your palate as if to clear the way for the next sip.  It is a dry taste that definitely makes my mind confused - is it refreshing or is it dry?  It is yummy I know that.  I'd recommend this to any fan of beer looking for something a little bit different and big.  So far, my trips into the sour beers has not disappointed; they are everything I had hoped for in this style and more.  I may have to go back to Market District and look for that other 4 pack the "beer guy" told me was good stuff!  I think I'm definitely ready for more of this style.

EDIT:  Left out the link - as per site: BeerADay which I am assuming is a similar style blog this is a Philadelphia beer?  Seeing as I have a bunch of East PA Followers - please enlighten me.  I'm confused as this beer say "Product of Belgium" on it?  But no, this BeerADay site links this to its site for this brew - I'm cut and pasting so taking NO CREDIT FOR THE FOLLOWING INFO... right or wrong - this is what the site states: 

    Monk’s Cafe is a Belgian beer-lover’s oasis in Philadelphia, billed as a “Belgian Café & Beer Emporium”. Their Flemish Sour Red Ale is a private label beer brewed by Brouwerij Van Steenberge, and rumor has it this beer is actually the same as Van Steenberge’s Bios Vlaamse Bourgogne. But who cares — isn’t Flemish Sour Ale more to the point?

Please - East PA fans - enlighten me and leave notes here.  Either way I REALLY liked this beer!

OK, so I'm a bit tired, and under the weather so - hopefully one of the beer experts reading this blog can help me out.  I found this name 'Brouwerij Van Honsebrouch' and thought it was the name of the brewery.  Then I go to the website.  The website is a little clunky with the flash that it uses.  It is a cute idea attempting to send you through the castle as you view their pages but to me is quite annoying.  The confusing part is when I reached the site I found that this was the home of Kasteelbier.  I'm not sure if Kasteel is the brewery?  If Brouwerij is the parent brewery?  Just not sure of the layout of this one.  Anyone that has info on this I'd be interested in hearing.  The site did not really provide a lot of detail on that.

Anyway, enough about that - more about the beer.  I actually am really glad I've found sour brews.  Its just a really nice change of pace from your normal every day beer.  That said, they are definitely an acquired taste and I would not recommend this beer to people that are just starting to branch out and try "new beers".  It was a brownish color in the glass.  Definitely hazy and maybe a little yellow.  But that does not show up in the picture I have to the left.  I was sort of surprised by the color; I was expecting it to be a light color like the last sour beer.  The smell was very distinct fruity ester yeasty blend.  I got a huge amount of citric lemony sour taste in every sip.  The nice thing that I found was that it was a balance of strong sour bite and a solid body to support it.  It put me in the mind set of a lambic style bubbly brew but not quite so sweet.  To me, it had almost more of a wine or carbonated wine beverage characteristic to it then beer.  I really wouldn't describe this as a typical beer flavor.  There was a nice head that stuck around for the entire glass.

I will definitely be pursuing more of these sour beers in the future.  I really am finding a quality about these that to me is very appealing.  I do not believe many people I was hanging out with were very interested in the flavors.  'Lite' even suggested the beer tasted and smelled of 'ass'.  He was not hiding any fact that he DID NOT LIKE this beer.  And would NOT BE recommending it to any of his fellow light beer drinkers in the near future.  OK by me, that just means more for me to drink.

Well, time for me to walk to the fridge and find today's beer of the day... what will it be?

I poured this beer into a snifter style glass and watched as it settled.  As I stare at this beer in the glass I see bright yellow clear liquid.  If you examine it really close you can see the very tiny bubbles that makes this beer so fizzy.  As this beer hits your tongue you can tell with in seconds it is special.  This beer explodes with flavor right from the start.  I get a very over whelming hit of green apple.  It has a very acidic bang to the mouth.  It is a very light and clean taste.  If  I didn't know any better I would call this a cider.  There is almost a bit of vinegar smell to this glass of bubbly.  I get a hint of the aged oak that the bottle talks about being aged for 20 months but I think I would prefer a bit more oak.  I really think it is a very nicely balanced beverage.  I'm not sure I could sit down and drink many of these.  It is a bit sweet and the sour kick in the after taste makes you feel a bit parched.  Over all I'm extremely happy with this beer.

I really wasn't sure what to expect from this one.  I' have been seeing a lot of articles out there talking about sour beers.  I didn't know what to expect honestly.  I had hoped for something similar to what is in this bottle of Petrus.  Its so completely different then anything I've been drinking recently it is a welcome change.  The 7.3% alcohol makes this a nice beer two drink right after a nice dinner to sort of cleanse the palate.

Ok, so that is all I have - I'm looking forward to the second two Sour Beers I bought.  If they are half as good as this one I'm going to be a very happy blogger.  Have a great night and I'll catch you tomorrow.