Tailgating 2020 Style: Cigars, Beer, Back Porch

There's no college football tailgating this year thanks to the Chinese virus, but we can still make do with pregame cigars and beer. After a morning spent splitting and stacking wood for the fire pit, I prepped for Saturday's Virginia Tech football game by relaxing with a cigar and beer on the deck. The cigar of choice was the somewhat apropos La Flor Dominicana Special Football Edition 2020 Miami edition. I grabbed some tame New Belgium Fat Tire ale for my afternoon glass. 

The La Flor Dominica stick was one I picked up last January. The annual special release is created especially for the market hosting the Super Bowl, and is made available only in the market hosting that game. Fortunately, I know somebody who knows somebody… Even though I have chosen to not watch any NFL for several years, I grabbed a couple of the sticks with the intent of adding them to our tailgate menu.

The 2020 football edition is a beefy 6 ½ x 50 stick with a mixed Ecuadorian Habano and Maduro wrapper used to create the artistic football design. The binder and filler is from the Dominican Republic. The flavor profile ranges in the medium range, with creamy notes of nuts and toasted bread. The burn was decent, but needed a couple touchups.

Fat Tire Amber Ale is a fitting afternoon beer at 5.2% ABV. The creamy caramel and toasted bread flavors are a nice match for the cigar. 

In truth, we wouldn't have been tailgating in Blacksburg for the afternoon's Virginia Tech vs. Louisville game since it was an away game. That doesn't diminish the disappointment of missing the fun fall activity this year. The time spent sipping and smoking was an acceptable substitute. And it was a Hokies win!

Sunday Relaxation, Cigar and Beer

After burning through the remaining firewood last weekend, we received a new delivery on Saturday. That led to hauling many wheelbarrow loads of wood from the driveway to the rack out back on Sunday. But, it's a wonderful sight now. We're all set for the fall fire pit season.

The weather in the afternoon was exceptional for some post-chore relaxation on the porch. I grabbed a New Belgium Fat Tire Amber Ale and a Rocky Patel LB1 to enjoy in the down time before dinner.

I didn't think much about how the two would pair. I simply had the urge for a Fat Tire and for the LB1. The Amber Ale has a creamy, mild caramel malt flavor. There's a nice, but low key, toasted bread aspect to it as well. It's a refreshing afternoon beverage.

Rocky Patel LB1 features a smooth Ecuadorian Habano wrapper with a Honduran binder and Honduran and Nicaraguan fillers. The smoke certainly carries a bolder flavor profile than the beer. Coffee, cedar, and earthiness come through first. It starts off on the spicy side before some underlying sweetness begins pushing through. LB1 is a medium to full bodied smoke.

Both flavor profiles are enjoyable. They are compatible but mostly stand on their own without complimenting or contrasting one another. Just fine for an afternoon break.

Beers of Winter - New Belgium Accumulation

We discovered this one quite by accident. While shopping in preparation for our annual Epiphany party, I spied a mixed case of New Belgian beers at the local warehouse store. I picked it up on a whim. Returning home with the beers, I realized the box was heavy in the ubiquitous Fat Tire, and the other more interesting beers (to me) were limited in number. During the party, some of our guests were very pleased with the Accumulation White IPA. This is one I'd never had, but fortunately a couple of bottles were left at the end of the evening and we got to try it out later.

I've tried a few other "White IPAs" recently, and have not always been impressed. I think it's hard flavor combo to pull off. Fortunately New Belgium's Winter seasonal Accumulation turned out to be quite tasty. The beer pours a very clear, straw yellow. The bright white head is thick and creamy. The aroma has citrusy grapefruit and lemon, with a slightly fruity aspect. The flavor is a blend of grapefruit and lemon zest, along with a bit of fruit. There's a hint of grassiness that adds some bitterness to the mix. The mouthfeel is light and zesty. The low 6.2% ABV gives no influence over the flavor profile. The overall flavor is that of a mildly hoppy IPA, but with a twist of a hefeweizen thrown in. It's an interesting combination, that actually works.

New Belgium Accumulation is a one-off Winter release from the Colorado brewery.  It's an interesting switch from the typical "winter beer." Admittedly, I am not so sure I would have been interested enough to buy a six-pack had I spied it at the store. However, I am very happy that it was included in my serendipitous purchase.

New Belgium Tap Takeover

This Thursday saw another tap takeover at Capital Ale House in Fredericksburg. New Belgium Brewing Company was the featured brewery this week. As I read the descriptions of the six beers I was struck by the out-of-the-ordinary selections. Usually I'll pick one or two beers to enjoy at such an event. However this time, I was truly curious about all of these unusual offerings, and couldn't settle on one that tempted me the most. Five of the beers were also limited or one-time releases, which made the decision all that much harder. So I opted for a flight — six, 4 oz pours of each.

The beers were enjoyed from right to left in the above photo. First up was Coconut Curry Hefeweizen. This was a very interesting, 8% ABV beer. There was a hint of coconut in both the aroma and in the finish. It's mild and not a prominent flavor. The beer was slightly sweet malt with a noticeable alcohol presence. Too be honest, this was the one beer on the list that I was tempted to pass by. It turns out to be one that I enjoyed quite a bit.

Next up was Paardebloem Belgian Ale. This Belgian Strong Pale Ale is fermented with wild Belgian yeast and has dandelion greens in the recipe. It checks in at 9% ABV. The beer is noticeably dry with some sweetness and a bit of woody, funky yeast. Paardebloem was the option I had been tempted to order if I had opted to go the single beer route, and it turns out I enjoyed it a lot.

I was eager to get to the next beer, Yuzu Imperial Berliner Weisse. This beer is listed at 8% ABV. That's high for the style, hence the "Imperial" appellation. The flavor was fairly mild and not nearly as tart as had I expected. It was tasty but I had been looking for a more traditional Berliner Weisse.

Pluot Fruit Beer is a Tripel brewed with wild Belgian yeast and features the pluot fruit; a hybrid of apricot and plums. The beer was quite mildly flavored, fruity, sweet, and, well, that's about it. This one frankly did nothing for me. At 10% ABV, the beer offered me nothing in the flavor to make it worth the alcohol consumption. I left about half my 4 ounce sample unfinished.

Two IPA's rounded out the menu, and these beers were quite different despite sharing a style designation. French Aramis IPA features a relatively new hop from Alsace, France. The beer is quite floral and earthy in both aroma and flavor, with a creamy mouthfeel. I struggled as I sipped, trying to come up with a way to describe the unique flavor. There's an herbal "green" aspect, a bit like a tea. At one point I had a flash of smoking a clove cigarette, but that's not quite it either. Hard to describe, but I enjoyed very much.

My session ended with Rampant Imperial IPA, the most "usual" of the beers, and the only regularly brewed beer of the group. Citrusy and piney, but not overly aggressive. The finish is dry and leaves a sweet malt lingering in the finish. It was a good finale to the flight.

All too soon it was time to leave to meet family and friends for dinner. Had I had the time, I think I could have finally made a decision and picked a beer or two to enjoy as a full pint serving. I think that pick would be the Paardebloem Belgian Ale. Or maybe the French Aramis IPA. No, I think the Coconut Hefeweizen. Aw heck, I'm glad I went with the full flight!

A Poor Milestone for Craft Beer

I stopped for gas Friday afternoon and as I was filling the tank I glanced down and saw this:

A New Belgian Brewing bottle cap, lying in the parking lot of the local gas and convenience store. It's hardly uncommon to see factory beer trash lying around, but I've often noted the lack of craft beer litter. Unfortunately it seems even the litterbugs have discovered good beer. Seriously folks, the trash can was two feet away.

Drinking The Seasons

Sunday, after Mass, after a trip to the grocery store, after a quick pizza lunch, after doing my dry fire practice, I decided I wasn't doing anything else, except relax with a few good beers. I went to the fridge and dug around to see what suited my fancy on a cold snowy afternoon. I spied a bottle of Sierra Nevada Tumbler Autumn Brown Ale. This hoppy brown ale has a rich caramel malt flavor with a sweet finish. At just 5.5% ABV, it was just right for a mid-afternoon treat.

Later that day, it was time for a beer to enjoy with a pre-dinner snack. Colleen whipped up a batch of the classic Ro*tel and Velveeta queso. (Watch out arteries!) I had just been thinking about opening a New Belgium Snow Day Winter Ale when Colleen mentioned she'd like one. We discussed if the malty beer would go with the spicy dip, and decided to try it anyway. As we stood around the table snacking, it was decided the answer to that question was "just fine." The beer was flavorful enough and had a sufficient hop component to stand up to the warm "cheese" dip.

The Snow Day enjoyment continued with a dinner table full of nacho fixins. Traditionally I'll go for big hoppy beers with spicy foods, but the malty beer paired up well with the spicy beef, guacamole, salsa and salty chips.

If I had not run out of day, I suspect I could have found something with Spring in the name to enjoy next.

Whatta Weekend!

Our son was camping with the Boy Scouts this weekend, but there was no time for romantic candlelight dinners and lazy evenings in front of the fireplace for us. Friday evening we worked at a "Casino Knight" the Knights of Columbus was sponsoring in to support our youth group participating in Work Camp this summer. I helped set up Friday afternoon, then worked the bar all evening. The evening was spent pouring lager for volunteers and players; Boston Lager, Yuengling Lager, and Michelob Ultra (barely a) Lager. Of course, there were a few, ahem, "off-menu" beers available to the bartender and those in the know. :-)

On Saturday morning, we rose early to start the day. I did sneak off for a few hours to meet up with some new shooting friends at the local indoor range. That was a blast (pun intended.) After a couple hours at home, Colleen and I were off to volunteer at the Bingo Hall in support of our son's high school. That made for another long evening. This is the second time we've helped at this activity, and I must say, it's a whole new world for me. Those people are serious about their Bingo! (And it's a successful, and much needed, fund raiser for the school.) The only downside of the evening is the frequent venture into the smoking section of the bingo hall. It's more intense than any smoky bar from days past.

I did have time for a pint of New Belgium Snow Day with some leftover pizza as a late-night treat before heading to bed. I had found a forgotten case of this winter delight in the basement this week and it was just the thing with which to unwind.

Sunday morning we arose bright and early for Mass. Okay, perhaps not so much bright, but early. Our son was due home mid-morning so we went to an early Mass in order to be available to pick him up. While driving him home we experienced the second batch of smoke-drenched clothes this weekend. I must say the camp smoke is much more pleasant than the cigarette-based version we had the previous night!

After a quick trip to the grocery store I settled down for some relaxing reading napping. Later Sunday afternoon our regular shooting friend came to visit and we headed out to the range. We worked in the pistol bay for awhile, before heading over to the shotgun field. The shotgun is a new weapon we've started working with to increase our skill set. It was a good time shooting at static clays, while moving and reloading. That's a subject for a future blog post so stay tuned.

Home from the range, I cracked open a Bell's Pale Ale and threw some steaks on the grill. Both the steaks and the beer where products of the grocery store run mentioned above.

We probably couldn't have packed anymore into the weekend. Two events for good causes, two range trips, some good beers and good food made for two fun days. That's what weekends are all about!

Ah, Monday. Time to start planning for next weekend.

Diversions Of The Day

Unexpected events at work extended Thursday into Friday, and Friday into Saturday. I spent the vast majority of Saturday with my laptop on my lap and phone in hand. I never thought I'd be so thankful for the ability to communicate via SMS and voice at the same time! I had plans to hit the range during the day but it wasn't looking promising. And then late afternoon there was a lull, when I was waiting for others to complete their parts. So I quickly threw the gear in the car and headed over to the range.

Arriving I was pleasantly surprised to see the club had put down gravel in the pistol bay. No more mud, for a while anyway. But, before I even got out of the car my phone rings again. Then I see another car heading towards the bay. Yikes, if I sit in the car and talk, I'll lose my spot. So I walked with the phone in my ear while I set up targets. The person on the other end never commented on the distant sounds of rifle fire! 

As I left the house I spied my losing Mega Millions ticket on my desk and had stuffed it into my pocket. Once I got to the range I reminded that ticket that things could have been different between us! 

I put about 150 rounds downrange. Mostly working on drawing from the holster and target transitions, as I worked my way back from 7 to 20 yards. I totally forgot work for little while. (Okay, there was that one email that needed answering.) I cleaned up my brass, which was easy to do in the fresh gravel, and headed back home, and back to the task at hand. 

A few more hours on the phone and reviewing documents and I was ready for another break. This time my search for a diversion took me to the basement fridge, where I found a bottle of New Belgium Snow Day. Back to my favorite chair, laptop in place and beer in hand, I found some time to read my favorite blogs before diving back in.

I made a good day of it, despite the unexpected projects at work! I am thankful I have these great hobbies to provide the needed breaks.

New Belgium Chooses Asheville

To not great surprise, New Belgium Brewing announced last week that they would be building their East Coast Brewery in Asheville, North Carolina. Virginia was considered early on, but the choices were soon narrowed to Asheville and Philadelphia. CEO Kim Jordan explains the brewery's plans in this video from Beerpulse.

Sierra Nevada Brewing Company also recently announced expansion plans in the Asheville region.

Seasonal Changes

Yesterday I made a run to the "candy store" to pick up the newly arrived Tröegs Nugget Nectar. I look forward with much anticipation to this intense citrus hop delight every year. Not only do I immensely enjoy this beer, for me, it's also my sign that Spring is not far behind. (The 72° temperature was also a hint on this day.)

As I made my way to the register to check out I spied a stack of New Belgium Snow Day. The "out of season" beer was marked down in order to clear it out. We tried this beer for the first time a few months ago, and enjoyed it very much. So how could I resist? Interestingly, the first time I bought Snow Day it was an impulse purchase, and it was again this time. Do you think I need to work on better impulse control? I don't think so either.

So there it is — a beer run that resulted in both a replenished supply of an excellent Winter beer to get us through the remaining cool days, and the first (at least) case of my favorite Spring beer to herald the approaching warmer weather.

There was a side benefit of the impulse purchase as well. Adding in some other random purchases, my beer store tab was actually greater than my gas bill to fill up the car later that day. That sort of takes some of the sting out of the rapidly increasing price of gasoline.

Virginia Out Of The Running For New Belgium Brewery

Despite previous hints that New Belgium Brewery was considering Virginia for an East Coast facility, it appears the state is not on the short list, according to the Denver Business Journal.

Colorado's New Belgium Brewing Co. has narrowed its list of potential East Coast brewery sites to two: the Philadelphia area and Asheville, N.C.

Fort Collins-based New Belgium, which produces Fat Tire Ale, said the facility would create 100 to 120 jobs. It would produce up to 500,000 barrels a year, in kegs and bottles, and serve as an East Coast distribution center, New Belgium spokesman Bryan Simpson said.

The Fort Collins Coloradoan reported last November that New Belgium was considering four potential East Coast locations.

The brewery's beers are available in Virginia and surrounding states, but supplies and selection are somewhat limited. An east Coast brewery would help eliminate that issue.

A decision on the new location is not expected before June.

See "New Belgium Brewing narrows choice of East Coast sites".

Celebrating With Friends

Last weekend we celebrated the Feast of the Epiphany. We mark the end of our Christmas celebrations each year with an open house for like-minded friends. If I do say so myself, it's always quite a feast.

The greater portion of preparing for the event falls to the talents of my lovely wife. She spends a lot of time making and mailing invitations, creating a menu, preparing the food, decorating, and setting the tables. Me? I have the easy part. I'm in charge of the beer selection. Each year I select three or more beers for the beverage menu. I try to find a balance between satisfying the craft beer fan and also the less adventurous. For this year's open house the main beer selection consisted of New Belgium Snow Day, Sierra Nevada Celebration, and Sierra Nevada Tumbler. Yes, we served some wine as well.

As noted previously, I try to keep the beer cellar well-stocked this time of year. That made the preparations all the more easier, as I had more than ample supplies of all of these beers on hand. Wine aficionados and their cellars have no advantage over us. Of course, our guests who know me well are aware of the open-cellar policy too. They're welcome to any beer in the house.

I am happy to report that the beer options were well-received. I did make a late addition of some assorted ciders. I don't believe anyone was left wanting for a drink they enjoyed. Based on a quick survey of the empty bottles, New Belgium Snow Day proved the most popular. In fact, I heard many friends remark how much they liked it. Next in popularity was the Sierra Nevada Tumbler Brown Ale. Apparently we didn't have many IPA fans in the house as the Sierra Nevada Celebration supply was little touched.

Sharing good times and good beer with friends, and introducing them to new flavors is always a good feeling. This gathering held an added bonus as I learned that some friends had recently developed an interest in shooting. I think we'll have to schedule a range outing soon.

And now we can take down the tree.

New Year Traditions

I don't know when they became traditions, but for as long as I remember Colleen and I have been enjoying our own New Year's food traditions. As midnight on New Year's Eve approaches, we break out pickled herring and crackers. Other than the occasional Christmas Eve, I think this is the only time we ever eat this tasty treat. And each year I wonder why I waited a year to enjoy it again. Of course, there's always a good beer or two to go along. This year we had Sierra Nevada Celebration and New Belgium 1554 on hand. Celebration is a Winter staple in our house. The New Belgium beers have only recently been available in Virginia, a development I've been enjoying recently.

Dinner on New Year's Day always sees a bowl of a cold black-eye pea salad on the table. This is one of those meals that we've been enjoying since the early years of our marriage. But again, rarely on any other day. I remember many years confusing the produce man at the grocery store with our requests for jicama for the salad. In recent years we've simply opted to leave that ingredient out of the preparation with no loss in enjoyment of the recipe.

Typically we have some form of pork to accompany the salad. This year a slow cooked Cranberry Dijon Pork Roast was the choice.

We have a lot to look forward in the coming year, but for the next few days I am especially looking forward to enjoying the leftovers of these two dishes.

Black-Eyed Pea Salad

Ingredients:

1 clove garlic, minced

1/4 cup rice vinegar

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons orange juice

3/4 teaspoon Dijon-style mustard

1/4 teaspoon dry mustard

Salt, freshly ground pepper to taste

2 cans (15 ounces each) black-eyed peas, drained, rinsed

2 green onions, sliced

1 each, diced small: red bell pepper, celery rib, small peeled jicama, peeled carrot

1/2 bunch fresh cilantro, finely chopped

Directions:

1. Stir together garlic, vinegar, oil, juice, mustards, salt and pepper in medium bowl. Add peas, green onions, bell pepper, celery, jicama, carrot and cilantro; stir well.

2. Cover tightly with plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight. Serve cold over baby spinach leaves.

Notes:

As mentioned above, we no longer include the jicama called for in the recipe. Besides the difficulty in finding it, the root crop is fairly labor intensive to peel and chop. This year Colleen substituted lemon juice for the orange juice which imparted a citrus kick to the salad.

Preparing For Winter

Some folks gather wood. I gather other necessities.

We'll be warm for a while.

Sierra Nevada: Virginia still in contention

That's the headline over at beernews.org.

(Asheville, NC) – ABC News 13 aired a brief story last night on New Belgium and Sierra Nevada coming to town.

When asked about states still in contention, Assistant Brewmaster, Terrance Sullivan, said, “Virginia is one of them,” along with North Carolina and a few others.

Even though the focus of the news video is Asheville, NC hosting representatives from both Sierra Nevada and New Belgium, the call out to Virginia is worthy of note.

See the News 13 report here.

New Belgium Ponders The East Coast

As mentioned previously, Asheville, NC is one of the East Coast sites under consideration by Colorado brewery New Belgium Brewing Company. The coloradoan.com is reporting that the brewery is also looking at several other East Coast sites, including Philadelphia and two undisclosed locations

New Belgium Brewing Co. has revealed it is considering Philadelphia, Pa., Asheville, N.C., and two other cities for its new East Coast brewery and has announced two new beers in development.

For the past year, New Belgium, known for such beers as Fat Tire and Sunshine Wheat, has been exploring locations for a second brewery to keep up with recent growth.

New Belgium previously named Asheville, N.C., as an option, and on Monday, spokesman Bryan Simpson said Philadelphia is also on a short list of four potential locations.

New Belgium isn't the first Colorado-based brewery to expand operations eastward. Flying Dog Brewery did the same in 2007, eventually relocating entirely to Maryland. One of the reasons given for the move was that 60 percent of Flying Dog's beer was sold east of the Mississippi River. Obviously I don't expect New Belgium to pull out of Colorado, but the trend certainly speaks well of the devotion of East Coast craft beer fans.

See "New Belgium announces 2 new beers, potential locations for East Coast brewery".

New Belgium Snow Day

This one one of the "impulse buys" from our recent beer shopping trip. New Belgium Snow Day Winter Ale is just one of the many beers from the Colorado brewery that are starting to make appearances in Virginia. I'm impressed, and appreciative, that New Belgium doesn't appear to be holding back in making themselves seen in the state. As an aside, just a couple weeks ago I was at a party where there was a keg of New Belgium's flagship beer, Fat Tire, and enjoyed it very much.

Snow Day pours a very dark brown with a thick, long-lasting tan head. The aroma has slightly smoky, caramel malts with piney hop hints. The taste begins with the smokey, roasted malt flavors, followed by the bitter pine hops. Mild citrus notes longer at the finish. Or wait, does the citrus hit first, followed by the roasted bitterness? As we sipped this one we debated which flavors were prominent. They're all there in a very tasty beer. The mouthfeel is creamy and mildly carbonated.

When we saw the 12-packs of Snow Day Winter Ale at the store, I initially hesitated over buying an unfamiliar beer. But I've always enjoyed New Belgium beers when I traveled to Colorado so I figured it was a safe bet. After trying the beer, I'm glad we decided to chance it. I don't suspect those 12 bottles will hang around long.

Impulse Buys

We went out beer shopping this weekend, with one mission in mind, to pick up some Anchor Brewing Christmas Ale. I've read that it's showing up in Northern VA, so I hoped we'd find it here as well. The first store we tried had only the 1.5 liter magnum size bottles, but no standard six packs. The second stop was a bust as well. However, there are lots of holiday beers showing up now, and we didn't make it out of either shop without some impulse purchases.

As pictured below, we picked up Heavy Seas Winter Storm, New Belgium 1554 Black Ale, New Belgium Snow Day Winter Ale, and Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout. Those aren't too shabby as consolation prizes I'd say!

That should do until next time. If at first you don't succeed, try, try again.

New Belgium Considers East Coast Site

By now everyone is aware that we can get (some) New Belgium Brewing beers in Virginia and other Eastern Coast states. Now comes the news that the Colorado brewery is looking at expanding their brewing operations to the east as well. The Asheville, NC Mountain Express is reporting:

Asheville has seen rumors swirl for weeks that New Belgium is considering the city for a new brewery and looking for economic development incentives. Today, Sept. 22, Council member Jan Davis publicly confirmed the rumors at a Council of Independent Business Owners forum. He tells Xpress that while he welcomes the company, he's skeptical about the need for incentives.

In response to a question on how to improve the business environment at the CIBO forum for Asheville City Council candidates, Davis revealed that the city is communicating with New Belgium over a possible move, and that economic incentives for the company are a possibility.

"We have an opportunity with the New Belgium brewery," Davis said. "We're going to have to make a decision on that, whether to help the brewery with incentives or encourage them to be here because of the quality of life."

An East Coast brewery location would undoubtedly increase the availability of New Belgium beers in the surrounding states. It's been previously reported here that Sierra Nevada Brewing is also considering an East Coast expansion. A site in Virginia is on the list of places being considered by the California brewery. Is this a trend? It's just been a few years since Denver-based Flying Dog Brewery relocated to Maryland.

Exciting times indeed!

See: It's official: New Belgium looking at Asheville expansion

Bullets, Belgians, and Burgers

This is perhaps my favorite time of the year. Even though the days are slowly getting shorter, it's still light long enough into the evenings that we can get in some play time after work, yet the temperatures are cooler than they were just a few weeks ago. Recently we took advantage of these seasonal factors after work and loaded up the car to head to the range for a couple of hours of shooting. After a cortisone shot earlier this week, I was even able to move around and do some shooting on the move.

Returning home and stowing the gear, we decide to relax with a beer before firing up the grill. I opened up a bottle of Heavy Seas Letter of Marque that we recently brought back from North Carolina. I've been looking forward to this! The 2011 version of this beer is a Belgian style Dubbel. The beer pours a lovely dark caramel color, with a moderately thick beige head. As I brought the glasses over to the counter to where we were sitting, I could smell the delightful aroma of sweet caramel and dark fruit. The flavor follows the aroma quite nicely with subtle plum sweetness and bready yeast. The finish is clean and the 8% ABV is well-masked. I enjoyed this one very much and would certainly pick up a few more bottles if I came across them.

We all enjoyed that Belgian so much our appetites were wetted for another. A trip to the beer fridge revealed a bottle of New Belgium Trippel that I had picked up just this week. (New Belgian beers are now available in Virginia, and my local chain grocery store had a nice display.) If this had been a planned tasting session, I would have served the Trippel before the Dubel, but this was a serendipitous evening.

The New Belgian version of the Belgian Tripel poured a bright golden color with a thin head. The aroma was sweet with some mild alcohol detected. The flavor was mildly sweet with banana and yeast notes. Some spices was detected but they were not prominent. The alcohol is more noticeable than experienced with the first beer of the evening.

By now the burgers were done and we finished off our glasses and the impromptu Belgian beer evening. Though unplanned, it was quite enjoyable. If I had been scripting the meal, I probably would have served the Dubbel with the burgers, and then possibly enjoyed the Tripel with the lemon pound cake Colleen had baked for dessert. But then again, no one had any complaints about the dinner as it unfolded!