Last Weekend's Beers, Part One

So, I had some beers last weekend. I had three very good ones, and one that wasn't to my taste (but empirically very good) at Eulogy Friday, and then picked up some more beer for the house at the Frontier on Saturday.

Let's go chronologically, shall we?

Friday's first was a delightful Belgian IPA, Valeir Extra. Coming in at 6.5% abv, it's not the high-octane American IPA that I prefer, nor was it as hoppy as most of its brethren from this side of the pond. Still, the light body, sour/tart aroma, and almost champagne-like carbonation made it a great choice for a hot day. It's definitely a little on the aqueous side (if it was bad, I'd call it watery) and if you shaved a percent or two off the abv would be a great session beer. Of course, I could call a 6.5% a session beer, but I probably shouldn't. I'd love to know what hops they used, because they complimented (complemented?) the malt very nicely. They were straightforwad bitter, with a touch of tart that went hand in hand with the nice round malty notes. All in all, I give it a B-, but I'm a pretty tough grader.

Next up was a wee taste of St. Louis Geuze. Didn't get a picture, because Dave, the Soft-Nippled Beer Bitch, just gave me a li'l sample. I'm glad he did. I have somehow gotten this far into my beer drinking career without trying a Geuze. I could have gone longer. It is tart. How tart? Very tart. Is now a good time to educate people on what a Geuze is? OK, in a nutshell, it's an unfruited Lambic, in other words, a spontaneously fermented beer (i.e. no added yeast like ales or lagers). It's usually a blend of different batches, old and new, in order to acheive balance and good flavor. I, for one, wasn't a big fan. As I said above, I think it was a well-made brew, but unless you serve it with some real stinky cheese (cave aged bleu, or humboldt fog, maybe) it's just too in your face with the tartness. I will probably continue to try Geuze because I don't want a whole style that doesn't make me smile, but I doubt it would replace IPA or Imperial Stout as my style of choice. Not going to grade it, because I don't think I could be fair.

OK, I'll do the rest later.