Feature Beer Friday: St. Bernardus's Abt 12 Quad

By Eric Ducote

Good morning and welcome back to Feature Beer Friday!  I've been featuring a lot of local beers recently, which I'm not ashamed of at all because there are plenty worth featuring, but today I'm headed across the pond to Belgium.  Belgium has always been one of the world leaders when it comes to beer due to their distinctive Belgian-styled ales.  The small country is littered with small breweries (often associated with monasteries) putting out excellent beers.  Belgian ales were really one of my first introductions to the world past macro lagers, as even before the craft scene blew up in Louisiana these options were readily available. One excellent example of a non-Trappist Belgian brewery is St. Bernardus, known for a wide range of styles and their distinctive Witbier.  Today's offering though, is their Abt 12, one of their three "core" beers and the strongest of the bunch. 

St. Bernardus Abt 12

This beer is a 10% abv Belgian-style Quad, which is sometimes referred to as a Belgian Dark Strong Ale.  Typically Belgian ales start at their enkel or "single" which is the lightest offering and usually drank by the monks themselves. After that is a dubbel which is a little stronger and darker, the tripel which is stronger still although typically lighter in color and more floral, and the quadrupel which is dark like the dubbel and even stronger.  The Abt 12 is one of the most popular and well regarded versions of the quadrupel style.  

The beer pours a brown color reminiscent of a coca cola with a very bubbly off-white head. The aroma is fruity, dominated mostly by sweeter plum flavors but also some grape and a little bit of floral hoppiness.   It's extremely pleasing and inviting, and I can't wait to get in a sip.  The mouthfeel is a little thinner than I remember from my early days of beer appreciation, but the flavors are still full and complex, with some rock candy sweetness, fruity esters from the yeast, and a floral bitter balance from the hops.  This was a fresh bottle of Abt 12, but I'd imagine the sweet and fruity flavors would be enhanced with age while the hoppy notes fade.  This beer has earned a reputation as one of the best in the world, and it does not disappoint.

St. Bernardus Abt 12 should be pretty easy to find around Baton Rouge, either in a corked & caged 750 ml bottle, a 4-pack of 11.2 oz. bottles, or in a gift set along with the dubbel, tripel and a glass like you see pictured above.  I know it's "on trend" to fill the beer fridge with all hazy IPA these days, but here's an outstanding chance of pace.  Cheers! 

      

Belgium: Street Food Bite and Booze of the World Cup

We're sadly halfway through the FIFA World Cup 2014. Our final stop in group play along the street food guide to the World Cup is Belgium (playing Korea Republic at 3pm CDT) . Popular for their delicious chocolate and beer, we will be taking a look at Belgian waffles, and the Rub & Rye cocktail!

Photo Credit: roaminghunger.com

It's amazing how many variations to the waffle one can pull off. The Belgian waffle is an extremely popular street food. You can find carts all over carrying sweet, savory and everything in between waffles! I don't know about you, but this sounds like my kind of place! Wafel and Dinges is probably the most popular waffle truck around in Belgium, and I found a recipe for their Brussels Waffle. You can add anything on top of these things and it will taste amazing. Let me know what combinations you try by leaving a comment or telling us about it on the Facebook page!

Photo Credit: liquor.com

The Rub & Rye cocktail highlights a popular Belgian beer called Peche Mel. For those of you who don't know, peche is French for peach. Rye whiskey combined with maple syrup, fluffy egg white foam, lemon juice and peach flavors makes for a decent sounding drink if you ask me! It sounds like the makings of some sort of peach sidecar. Check it out and let me know what you think!

Westvleteren Tasting to Celebrate BR Beer Scene's 365 Challenge

In order to celebrate the completion of his challenge to drink 365 beers that were new to him during 2011, my brother Eric Ducote of the BR Beer Scene and my co-host on Raise a Glass held nothing back when it came to beers 363, 364, and 365.  He rounded up a stellar beer drinking crew and bought in on a six pack of Belgian beer.  However, this was no ordinary Belgian beer.  This was three different bottles from Westvleteren, a Trappist Brewery run by monks.  Their beer is some of the rarest and highest rated beer in the world.  Oops.  I got to try some!

We actually got to try the Westvleteren Bier Blond, the Westvleteren 8, and finally the Westvleteren 12.  The numbers typically correspond roughly to the alcohol percentage in the beer, so the 12 is obviously pretty strong.  The Belgian beers have a distinctively and deliciously unique taste from the different hops and yeasts that they use in their fermentation process, among other factors.  Bottom line: Delicious!!

First Post

Top o' the morning friendly readers.  Well, actually it is late at night.  This being the first post, I thought I should give a little explanation about what I'm doing here.  The purpose of this blog is to chronicle the many adventures that I have with food and drink.  It will hopefully serve at least two purposes.  First, it will be an excellent way for me to keep up with, and remember, all the meals and beverages that I consume over time.  This will be good for recommending places to eat, thinking about what to cook, and recalling good times spent with good friends around a table or bar.  Secondly, it is meant to be a source for the readers to use to get ideas of their own.  Looking for a review on a restaurant?  Maybe I've been there... and I'll at least tell you what I thought about what I ate.  Most of the culinary and indulgent experiences will come from home, which is Baton Rouge, La.  However, I am a man of travel.  I have been to over 40 of the 50 states, Canada, Mexico, Ireland, Portugal, Belgium, Germany, and The Netherlands, with hopefully many, many more locations all around the world to come.  I hope you enjoy the blog.  Come hungry, start off with a drink to whet your palate, and when you wake up the next day and try to wipe something off your face, don't be surprised if it is the floor!