This festival brings together some of the most innovative and brilliant breweries from around the world for 2 days to bring some very special beers for the delight of many a beer geek. In addition to the hosts - Brouwerij de Molen from The Netherlands, the following breweries were attending:

• Brouwerij Emelisse (The Netherlands)
• Mommeriete Brouwerij (The Netherlands)
• De Struise Brouwers (Belgium)
• Picobrouwerij Alvinne (Belgium)
• Mikkeller (Denmark)
• Evil Twin Brewing (Denmark)
• Närke Kulturbryggeri (Sweden)
• Haandbryggeriet (Norway)
• Buxton (England)
• Thornbridge Brewery (England)
• The Kernel (England)
• Gänstaller-Bräu (Germany)
• Brasserie de Mont Salève (France)
• Birrificio del Ducato (Italy)
• Jester King Craft Brewery (USA)

I was not expecting to be able to go this year, since I only had 1 day annual leave left and the airfare from Vancouver to Amsterdam can be expensive. However in the last few days of August the airfare dropped significantly. I mentioned the possibility of going to my wonderful wife, and she was supportive of the idea. Next thing you know I was booking the trip – flying out from Vancouver on Thursday 27th of Sep, and basically heading from the airport to the festival for 2 days, then flying back on Sunday 30th.

In the weeks leading up the festival I managed to arrange a few beer trades with other attending beer geeks via the craft beer community site ratebeer.com, as there is some great beer from Canada that is hard to get in Europe (and of course, vice-versa). As a consequence I had a somewhat heavy suitcase filled with carefully packed beer.

My flight with KLM was comfortable enough and I got a few hours sleep. After arriving at Schiphol airport, I checked into my hotel – CitizenM right at the airport, had a quick shower and change of clothes, unpacked some of my trading beers and then headed into the airport train station to try and find my way to Bodegraven. It turned out to be simple enough – a 16 minute train journey to Leiden, change trains and then a 25 minute journey to Bodegraven. Then it was just a 10 minute walk to the festival.

The festival was split across 2 locations – the Mill which is also where the De Molen restaurant and beer shop are located, and the brewery – which is just 2 minutes walk down the street.

Handing over €20 at the ticket tent got me a program, a very nice tasting glass, 8 tokens and a bottle of water. I also got an additional token for being the first attendee from Canada (plus I got to stick a pin in Vancouver on their world map).

Before I could even work out a plan of attack, I was found by some of my friends from the beer scene – Vincent and Bernt, and led into one of the rooms of the brewery where a bunch of the attending brewers had stands, where I quickly got hold of my first festival beer, Konjaks! Stormaktsporter from Swedish brewery Närke Kulturbryggeri. Then I joined my friends at a large table nearby (there was plenty of undercover seating provided), and proceeded to enjoy the many fine beers the festival had to offer and have many beer-related conversations.

I’m not going to include reviews of all the festival beers I tried, but I will list them (more or less in order of consumption) and then provide details of a few highlights.

The beers:

• Närke Konjaks! Stormaktsporter
• De Molen Sodom & Gomorra Barrel Aged
• Thornbridge Heather Honey Stout
• Struise T.H.R.E.E
• Mikkeller Spontandoubleblueberry
• De Molen Hemel & Aarde Bowmore/Caol Ila BA
• Alvinne Melchior Bourbon Barrel Oak Aged
• De Molen Heftig Hamoentje
• Emelisse Milkstout
• De Molen Hel & Verdoemenis Bunnahabhain B.A.
• Buxton Tsar Bomba
• Struise O.N.E
• Birrificio del Ducato Vielle Ville
• Mikkeller Spontanframboos
• Alvinne Cuvee de Mortagne
• Struise T.W.O.
• Evil Twin/De Molen Whisky BA Christmas Eve at a New York City Hotel Room
• De Molen Nacht & Ontij Cognac Barrel Aged
• Jester King/Mikkeller Weasel Rodeo
• Jester King Funk Metal
• De Molen Koetjes & Kalfjes Milk Stout
• Emelisse White Label Imperial Russian Stout (Ardbeg BA)
• Alvinne Mano Negra
• Struise Bompon
• Mont Salève Barley Wine Gamay Barrel Aged
• De Molen Lief & Leed
• Närke Pannknektarnas Porter
• The Kernel Imperial Brown Stout London 1856
• Närke Jólners Dricka
• De Molen Mout & Mocca Bourbon BA

The highlights:

Konjaks! Stormaktsporter from Swedish brewery Närke Kulturbryggeri. This is an 9.6% ABV imperial stout, matured on oak casks for 10 months, 5 of them on Cognac casks. It pours a solid oily black with a golden brown head. The aroma is cognac, chocolate and wood. It has an oily mouthfeel, and is smooth on the palate with some wood and booze on the finish. The flavours are cognac, oak, toffee and coffee.

Sodom & Gomorra Barrel Aged from De Molen. This is a 12 .8% ABV heavy imperial stout, brewed with a small percentage of smoked malt and matured on various whisky and bourbon casks. It pours black with a minimal pale head. The aroma is bourbon, vanilla, chocolate and a hint of coffee. It is full bodied, rich on the palate, sweet with a reasonable complexity. The flavours are chocolate, caramel, balsamic vinegar and hint of vanilla.

Spontandoubleblueberry by Mikkeller. This is an 8.5% ABV spontaneous fermented beer with 1 kg of blueberries per litre. It pours a dark red/maroon with a large dark pink head that leaves a lot of lacing. The aroma is sour funk, blueberries, and balsamic vinegar. It is very well balanced between fruit, sour tartness and sweetness. The flavours are blueberries and sour plums.

O.N.E. (Our Nastiest Effort) by De Struise. This is a 10% ABV bourbon barrel aged dark strong ale. It pours dark with a decent off-white head that leaves some nice lacing. The aroma is fig, cherry, marzipan and plum. It is sweet and smooth on the palate with a slightly slick mouthfeel. Taste is plum, prune, grape, candi sugar, currants.

What I love about festivals like this is not only the multitude of excellent beers (many of which are exclusive to the festival), but also the great sense of camaraderie you get in a gathering of beer geeks. Here you can talk at length on beer related subjects with like-minded people. Lots of people bring hard to find beers to trade with each other, or just to share. So on top of all the great festival beers, I also got to try some excellent rare beers that others were sharing.

Some of the great beers I got to try thanks to the generosity of others:

Bourbon County Vanilla Stout (2010 vintage) by Goose Island Beer Company. This is a 13% ABV imperial stout spiced with fresh vanilla beans. I actually received this one in a trade from Vaisha in return for some good Canadian beers, and decided to share it around the table in thanks for all the great beers that had been shared with me. It pours black with a small beige head. The aroma is vanilla, chocolate and raisins. It has a slick and creamy mouthfeel, and is rich, sweet and complex on the palate. The flavours are chocolate, vanilla, liquorice, a hint of bourbon and a touch of oak. I think this beer is definitely worthy of the hype it receives.

Kentucky Breakfast Stout (KBS) by Founders Brewing Company (Michigan, USA). This is a 11.2% ABV imperial stout brewed with a hint of coffee and vanilla then aged in oak bourbon barrels. It pours a solid black with a small brown head. The aroma is chocolate, coffee, vanilla, with a hint of bourbon and wood. It has a slick mouthfeel and is sweet and smooth on the palate. The flavours are chocolate, vanilla and a hint of coffee.

Ten FIDY by Oskar Blues (Colorado USA). This is a 10.5% ABV imperial stout which comes in a can! It pours thick black with a light brown head. The aroma is chocolate, vanilla, oak and liquorice. It has an oily mouthfeel and is smooth and well balanced. The flavours are chocolate, fig, vanilla and dark fruits. This beer definitely taught me that cans are not to be snubbed!

Oude Geuze Golden Blend by 3 Fonteinen (Belgium). This is a 6% ABV Gueze, made with 4 year old Lambic that accounts for 25 % of it’s contents, the rest of the blend is made up by a “secret” combination of 1, 2 and 3 year old Lambics. It pours a cloudy yellow orange with a small pale head. The aroma is funk, lemon juice and sour fruits. It is refreshing on the palate and very well balanced. the flavours are apricot, pear and sour plum. A very nice blend indeed!

Wild Dog Barrel-Aged Gonzo by Flying Dog Brewery (Maryland, USA). This is a 9.5% Imperial Porter, aged and seasoned for three months in wood barrels from Stranahan’s Colorado Whiskey. It pours black with a small off-white head that leaves some lacing. The aroma is chocolate, bourbon, soy sauce and molasses. It has a creamy mouthfeel, is sweet on the palate and pretty well balanced. The flavours are chocolate, vanilla and dark fruits.

Ola Dubh (12 Year Old) by Harviestoun (Scotland). This is a 8% ABV Old Ale, aged in casks formerly used to mature Highland Park 12 Year Old Malt Whiskey. It pours thick black with a small pale head. The aroma is toffee, molasses, chocolate, oak, whiskey, raisins and honey. It has a slightly slick mouthfeel, and is sweet on the palate with a touch of mineral bitterness in the finish. The flavours are liquorice, raisins, honey and oak.

I should mention the food – they provide some great food that goes well with beer. As well as standard fare such as burgers and sausage on a bun, there was some fantastic salami, cheese, Bitterballen (a Dutch snack, kind of like a meat stew ball battered with breadcrumbs and fried) and chocolate cake.

Another thing I like about this festival is they provide regularly spaced glass washing stations. These provide soapy brushes to clean your glass nicely, and glass rinser (hooked up to a hose) that rinses the glass. This means you have a totally fresh glass between tastings, so no cross-contamination of flavours or aromas and nothing to inhibit good head formation.

As well as doing some beer trades with people, I visited the small shop they have at De Molen, where they have not only a lot of great De Molen beers, but also a considerable number of other excellent beers from around the world (naturally including many of the visiting breweries). Because I was doing so many trades I had to restrain my purchases from the store to a limited selection. Here’s my entire haul, including beers received from trades:

Overall, I had a fantastic time over the 2 days of the Borefts Festival, and it was definitely worth the cost and hassle of the 9 hours flight each way. It was extremely well organized, there were some absolutely fantastic beers and the company was excellent. I highly recommend that anyone who considers themselves a “beer geek” should start saving up and planning to attend this festival next year.

The first bier served was Elysian Avatar Jasmine IPA, a 6.3% IPA flavoured with jasmine flowers, from Seattle’s Elysian Brewing Co.

The accompanying dish was a Dungeness Crab Salad with cantaloupe, zucchini, lime and jasmine cream.

The bier is a relatively clear amber with a small pale head. The aroma is jasmine, candi sugar and apricot. It is reasonably well balanced on the palate, with some sweetness and a light bitterness. The flavour is heavy on the jasmine, with hints of summer fruits – peach, apricot, melon. Overall it was surprisingly tasty and refreshing.

The crab salad was quite tasty and slightly sweet with a some great flavour coming from the slice of cantaloupe (which looked a bit like a Kraft Single) and a bit of a sweet floral taste from the jasmine. These elements complimented the floral notes of the bier to make a great pairing.

The next bier was Green Flash Le Freak from San Diego based Green Flash Brewing Company. This is a 9.2% Belgian Tripel/Imperial IPA cross.

The accompanying dish was Roasted Potato Gnocchi with smoked pork belly, mushrooms, and tomato concasse.

The bier pours a clear orange with a sizeable pale head that leaves a lot of lacing, and has noticeable carbonation. The aroma is orange marmalade, coriander and a hint of grapefruit. It has a creamy mouthfeel with a background sweetness and a hoppy finish. The taste is apricot, grapefruit and touch of pine. Green Flash manage to successfully combine the elements of a Belgian Tripel with an IIPA, which is quite an achievement. Overall the bier was enjoyable but I found the bitterness grew to be almost overwhelming by the end of the glass.

The gnocchi with pork belly was absolutely divine – roasted pork belly and potato is always a winning combo, extra points for mushrooms as well. The earthiness, roastiness and meatiness of the dish brought out the citrus elements of the bier and mellowed the hops a little to make a pretty decent pairing.

Beer number 3 was Bear Republic Racer 5, a 7% IPA from Californian brewery Bear Republic Brewing Company.

The accompanying dish was Fraser Valley Braised Pork Cheeks with crispy tofu, ginger confit, pork-dashi broth, and green onion.

The beer is a slightly hazy pale amber with a small pale head. The aroma is quite hoppy –  spruce, pine and some citrus. The taste is pine and grapefruit with a little candy. I’m not a big fan of the hops that were used in this one (Chinook, Cascade, Columbus and Centennial), finding them a little too in your face with the pine and citrus. There didn’t appear to be a lot of substance behind the hops.

The Braised Pork Cheeks were tasty with a lot of umami flavours. Pairing wise I couldn’t really detect much harmony happening, so this ended up being my least favourite pairing of the evening.

The final bier was Alameda Yellow Wolf Imperial IPA from Portland’s Alameda Brewhouse, clocking in at 8.2% ABV.

The dessert was a Lemon Mousse with fresh raspberries, candied lemon zest, and lemon-schezuan pepper cake.

The bier is a cloudy dark orange with a tiny pale head. The aroma is passionfruit and a touch of pine. It was somewhat subdued on the palate with a short finish and some lingering bitterness. The taste is passionfruit, grapefruit, pine and lemon peel.

The dessert had a delicious tartness from lemon and raspberry – I absolutely loved it. Pairing wise it toned down the pine of the hops which made the beer more enjoyable. However, I found the lemony tartness of the dish so appealing I ended up abandoning the bier to just enjoy the dish by itself.

To summarize, this bier pairing dinner was very well done, with some outstanding dishes that, for the better part, paired well with the biers. The only exception was the Braised Pork Cheeks with the Bear Republic Racer 5. For some reason this pairing just didn’t click for me, although I should say that I did thoroughly enjoy the dish. I think the most harmonious pairing was probably the Elysian Avatar Jasmine IPA with the Dungeness Crab Salad.

First up was Brad’s contribution, India Saison – a collaboration between Norwegian brewer Nøgne Ø and Australian brewer Bridge Road Brewers. This is a 7.5% Saison featuring some Australian hops (Stella and Galaxy).

This bier is a cloudy yellow with virtually no head. The aroma is passionfruit, lime, grapefruit, summer melons and pineapple. It starts sweet on the palate and ends with a bitter finish. The taste is fresh grapefruit, passionfruit and a hint of melon. Overall it was quite well balanced and refreshing, and sits in a harmonious middle-ground between the Saison and IPA styles.

Next up was Red Hill Scotch Ale, from Red Hill Brewery in Australia, clocking in at 5.8% ABV.

This bier is a clear rust colour with a small pale head. The aroma is strawberry, leather, raisins, lychee and caramel. It has a slightly creamy mouthfeel, a medium body, and is smooth on the palate with a sweet grainy finish and a slight tannin aftertaste. The taste is raisins, caramel, wood and toasted grain. Overall I found this a little lacking in substance for a Scotch Ale.

The final bier of the evening was Thisted Limfjords Porter/Double Brown Stout from Thisted Bryghus in Denmark, another bier I received recently in a trade. This one is a 7.9% Baltic Porter.

This bier pours a solid black with a good beige head that leaves behind some lacing. The aroma is liquorice, chocolate, leather, sandalwood, soy sauce and a touch of smoke. The mouthfeel is slightly oily and it has a roasty bitter finish with a hint of booze. The taste is liquorice, oak, burnt sugar and chicory. This was pretty decent but I really felt it could do with a little aging.

The first bier served was Russell Honey Blonde Ale, a 5% ABV blonde ale that’s part of Russell’s “Session Series”.

The accompanying dish was a Strawberry and Mozzarella Salad with sumac, mesclun mix, parsley and celery hearts.

The bier is a pale clear yellow with a pale head. The aroma is honey and citrus. It is relatively light on the palate, is medium bodied, and has a subtle bitterness on the finish. The flavours are grain and citrus peel. Overall a light and refreshing bier.

The citrus of the salad, as well as the slight tartness of the strawberries paired well with the citrus elements of the beer to create an overall crisp and refreshing first course. The meat and cheese from the salad also further brought out the crisp elements of the beer.

The next bier was Russell Main Street Pilsner, a 5% ABV pilsner.

The accompanying dish was a Thai Sausage with glass noodles, daikon, pea shoots and carrot.

The pilsner, poured from a can, is a very pale yellow with very little head. The aroma is creamed corn and wet straw. It has a very light body, is almost non-existent on the palate and has a short finish. The flavours are corn bread and citrus peel. I’m generally not much of a fan of pilsners and hence found this bier somewhat uninteresting.

The thai sausage was absolutely delicious, and there was some fantastic lemonyness in the noodles. Unfortunately for me this didn’t really bring anything out of the beer, which being a pilsner does not have much depth of character. The citrus of the dish helped give the illusion that the beer had some citrus character but I feel all the flavour really just came from the dish.

The third bier was Russell A Wee Angry Scotch Ale, a 6.5% ABV bier crafted in the style of a 19th century 90 shilling Scotch Ale.

This bier was accompanied by a filet of Halibut, with brown butter hollandaise, almonds and broccoli.

The scotch ale pours a translucent reddish brown with a reasonable pale head. The aroma is wet hay, burnt sugar and malt. It is roasty on the palate, with a bitter roast finish. The flavours are caramel, burnt toast, coffee dregs and a touch of hazelnut.

The Halibut was a very buttery dish – almost overwhelmingly so. It was very tasty but quite rich and heavy. Pairing wise, it smoothed out the roastiness of the beer and gave it a nice butterscotch like character.

The final bier of the evening was Russell IP’eh, a 6.5% ABV English-style IPA.

This accompanied the dessert course, which was To Die For Banana Bread, with thyme, ice cream and Dulce Leche.

The IPA pours a clear rusty amber with a good sized pale head and vigorous carbonation. The aroma is freshly cut grass, pine and passionfruit. It is relatively light on the palate and has a bitter hoppy finish. The taste is pine, spruce, a hint of caramel and toffee. I’m somewhat surprised they call this an English-style IPA when it is so obviously hopped with American Cascade hops, which makes it much like a typical Pacific Northwest IPA.

The banana bread was very tasty (although it was still partly frozen when served). I found it kind of strange that a rich dessert like this would be served with an IPA, and I feel it did not pair well – if anything it emphasized the hoppiness of the beer and made it harder to drink.

To summarize, I found this was another Ensemble Tap dinner where the food excelled and the bier didn’t quite live up to its side of the pairing bargain. The pairing I feel worked the best was the first one, where the citrus elements from the Strawberry and Mozzarella Salad complimented the citrusy notes of the Russell Honey Blonde Ale, with the other elements of the salad playing a good supporting role.

First up was Grottenbier Bruin, which is a newish bier from St. Bernardus Brouwerij (famed for the wonderful St. Bernardus Abt 12 ). This bier is a 6.7% Abbey Dubbel, and it is claimed to have been aged in the Caves of Kanne, Belgium.

The bier pours a dirty brown with a small pale head that leaves behind some lacing. The aroma is quite unexpected – sour candy, banana bread, barnyard, violets and hint of heather honey. It is surprisingly light on the palate with a floral finish and a hint of bitterness. The taste is lavender, camomile, honey, candi sugar, violets and a hint of citrus. This was quite enjoyable, unexpected and unique.

The next bier was Kinn Svartekunst F.E.D.I.R.E.S.P. from Norwegian brewery Kinn Bryggeri. A shout must go out to my Norwegian friend Bernt who gave me a couple of bottles of this in a beer trade. This bier is a 10% ABV stout that is described as a “Foreign Extra Double Imperial Russian Export Stout Porter”.

This bier is a dark brown with a small chocolate head that leaves some lacing. The aroma is chocolate, oak and liquorice. It is medium bodied with a bitter roast finish. The taste is coffee, oak, burnt sugar, with hints of liquorice and chocolate. I found this bier a touch harsh, perhaps it would mellow a little with age.

The final bier was Brad’s contribution, Palo Santo Marron from Dogfish Head Brewery.  in Delaware, USA. This is a 12% malty brown ale aged on the wood of the Palo Santo tree from Paraguay.

This bier is ruby black with a reasonable chocolate head. The aroma is sandalwood, oak, chocolate, raisins, cherry and brown sugar. It has a creamy mouthfeel and is full bodied with a smooth, slightly umami finish featuring lots of wood and some roast. The taste is cocoa, toasted malt, oak, aniseed and dark dried fruits. I really enjoyed this beer – for me this was definitely the highlight of the evening.

Each of the ladies involved gave a bit of a talk about their biers, but unfortunately the sound system didn’t allow anyone seated upstairs to hear a single word. Luckily some of the ladies visited our table during the evening for a brief chat.

The evening started with a glass of Saltspring Island Elderflower Golden Ale.

This bier was served from a cask, and poured a cloudy orange with no head. The aroma was passionfruit with touch of pine. It had a medium body, no carbonation, and a somewhat piney finish. The flavours were wheat, passionfruit and spruce.

Next up was the Townsite Zunga Golden Blonde Ale.

The was accompanied by some local artisan cheese capapés.

The Townsite Zunga Golden Blonde Ale was a clear pale gold colour with a small pale head. The aroma was walnut, caramel, damp laundry. It was light on the palate with a nutty aftertaste and a hint of bitterness. The flavours are bread and walnut.

The canapés were a good accompaniment, the goats cheese and walnut was especially tasty and complimented the bier.

The next bier was the Howe Sound 4 Way Fruit Ale.

This was paired with a Dungeness Crab roll.

The Howe Sound 4 Way Fruit Ale is a cloudy orange with virtually no head. The aroma is nice and fruity – passionfruit, peach, apricot, hint of fresh grass and mint. It has a crisp mouthfeel, sweet on the palate, and a good body contributed by the wheat which gives it some depth and citrus tang in the finish. The flavours that came to mind for me were are peach, apricot, passionfruit, coriander, mandarin (although the actual fruits used were passionfruit, mango, raspberries and pomegranates). It is a great summer bier, tasty and refreshing while still having some character.

The Dungeness Crab was in a daikon roll with Mexican spice and accompanied by a mango pureé and corn salsa. This was delicious and paired excellently with the fruit character of the bier.

The next bier was Big River Vienna Lager.

This was paired with Slow Baked BC Halibut.

The Big River Vienna Lager pours a clear amber with a small pale head. The aroma is wet grass, grain and honey. It has a crisp lager taste, is well balanced and has a slightly malty finish. The flavours are caramel and malt. This was a quite enjoyable bier.

The Slow Baked Halibut was served on a bed of English peas, pearl onions, tarragon, pea shoots and fresh horse radish. The fish was tender and had quite a subtle flavour, most of the flavour of this dish coming from the supporting greens. It seemed to pair well with the Vienna lager.

Next up was the Spinnakers Hoptoria.

This was paired with a Braised Beef Shin.

The Spinnakers Hoptoria pours a clear amber with a minimal pale head. The aroma is fresh hops and hint of caramel. It is very hoppy on the palate with a hint of toffee in the background, and a bitter finish. The flavours are toffee, spruce and camomile. I found this bier a little too hoppy for my liking and a little one dimensional.

The beef shin was served with smoked tomato, pomme pureé and green asparagus. This was a truly excellent dish but I struggled to gain anything from the bier pairing. I’d love to try this dish with a smoky brown ale or porter rather than a hop-centric bier.

The next bier was the Crannog Back Hand of God Stout.

This was served along with a nice selection of chocolates from Urge Chocolates.

The Crannog Back Hand of God Stout was a great beer for dessert. It pours black with a small pale head. The aroma is burnt straw, liquorice, vanilla and hint of coffee. It has a medium body, and is slight smoky with a roasty finish. The flavours are coffee, toast, dark chocolate and a hint of liquorice.

The 3 types of chocolate provided – salted caramel chocolate, 55% cocoa nibs, and black pepper chocolate – were all very tasty. What blew me away here was the pairing of the black pepper chocolate with the stout. This was definitely the best pairing of the night and a real eye-opener for me. The sweet chocolate combined with the spiciness of the pepper brought out characters of the stout that you wouldn’t otherwise notice.

Finally to wrap up the evening was a glass of R&B Orange ESB.

This bier pours a cloudy orange with a small pale head. The aroma is orange, passionfruit, and apricot. It is somewhat thin on the palate with a bitter citrusy finish. The flavours are orange, grapefruit and spruce. I was a little disappointed with this as a closer, and it seemed a little strange for this to follow a complex stout.

Overall this was a great night with some good biers and fantastic dishes which generally paired well. Kudos to the lovely ladies that were involved in the making of these brews and it was great to have the chance to meet some of them. One thing that would have made it better for me would have been if there was an information sheet that gave a little background on the night’s biers and the “Sisters of the tap” that were involved, especially since it was easy to miss the speeches.

The first bier served was Phillips Slipstream Cream Ale.

The accompanying dish was a Potato Consommé with white cheddar potato dumplings & leeks.

The bier is clear brown with a small pale head. The aroma is caramel, maple, brown sugar. It has a slightly creamy mouthfeel, somewhat thin palate, well carbonated, malty with a hint of bitterness in the aftertaste. The flavours are burnt sugar and malt. This bier doesn’t have a lot of character.

The potato consommé was tasty, and had some good savoury & umami elements.

Pairing wise, what flavour the beer does have is mostly lost to the lingering flavour of the food. The food mellowed out the bitterness in the bier’s aftertaste but the bier doesn’t really show up any new character, pretty much seeming like a mellow and vaguely malty brew.

The second bier of the evening was Phillips Hoperation Triple Cross IPA, which is described as a Belgian IPA.

The accompanying dish was Crispy Sweet Breads with roasted cauliflower, parsley and sauce gribiche.

The bier is golden with a small pale head. The aroma is apricot, caramel, citrus and a hint of fresh cut grass. The taste is orange marmalade, peach, pine. It is reasonably thin on the palate with a crisp bitter hoppy finish. I feel the hops dominate a little too much – there isn’t much of a Belgian character to back it up. I can detect some subtle aspects of a Belgian Tripel but they are too low-key.

The crispy sweet breads dish had a good range of flavours and it was an enjoyable dish. The gribiche was the highlight, providing a tasty tang.

Pairing wise, the food mellows the bitterness a little and brings the other aspects of the hops, forward, with a little background fruitiness.

The third bier of the evening was Phillips Amnesiac Double IPA, whose description reads “Mind blowing amounts of hops give this beer tons of flavour and aroma”.

This was paired with Braised Pork Cheeks with roasted apples, celeriac noodles, apple cider gastric.

The bier is a clear amber with a decent pale head that leaves behind some nice lacing. The aroma is heavy on the hops – pine, spruce. It has a slightly creamy mouthfeel and lots of hops on the palate. The taste is pine, spruce, pineapple, grass.

The food had a mouth-watering aroma. The pork was extremely tender – fell apart on the fork – sweet and tasty with good caramelization. The roasted apples and celeriac noodles accompanied the pork nicely.

The pairing was quite good – the sweet and tart elements of the food mellowed out the bitterness of the hops.

The forth bier of the evening was Phillips Ginger Beer.

The Ginger Beer was paired with a dessert of Panna Cotta with apricot purée, candied ginger, ginger beer marinated apricots.

The Ginger Beer is a clear pale amber with a small pale head. The aroma is all ginger. It is light on the palate with some ginger bite, especially at the back of the throat. The taste is ginger with a slight mineral/vegetal aftertaste. A little harsh but that’s kind of normal for ginger beer.

The Panna Cotta looked a little like boiled eggs (in fact out waitress joked that she was serving us “deconstructed devilled eggs”). It turned out to be very tasty though. There was a good apricot zing with a slight ginger tang and a good amount of sweetness.

This was probably the best pairing of the evening, with a good zing from both the beer and the food.

After the dinner, Phillips provided a bonus bier - Phillips Double-barrel Scotch Ale. This is a scotch ale that has been aged in Bourbon barrels and the Cabernet Sauvignon barrels.

This pours a clear rusty brown with a small pale head. The aroma is caramel, wood, toffee. It is a little thin on the palate with a short, slightly dry finish. Taste is toffee, wood.

The Phillips guy mentioned that this years is a little different to last years – in my opinion this is a change for the worse. This year’s has a lot less character, missing any of the nice maltiness or complexity that was present previously.

To summarize, for me this pairing dinner was more about the food than the bier. With perhaps the exception of the Ginger Beer, the biers seemed more aimed towards casual session drinking than being the kind of biers that you’d choose to have with a good meal. The chefs did a good job of trying to match the foods to the biers, but I feel that the biers didn’t really bring much to the table.

This week Brad brought along a bottle of Avery Mephistopheles Stout from Avery Brewing (Colorado), an Imperial Stout that weighs in at 16.43% ABV.

This bier pours a dark black with a subtle red tinge, and has a nice chocolate head that leaves behind a little lacing. The aroma is oak, liquorice, coffee, chocolate, vanilla, and booze. It is warming to the palate with a slight slickness to the mouthfeel. The taste starts big and chocolately, followed by some vanilla, lots of oak, a little liquorice and a bitter roast coffee finish. It has a bit too much overall booziness which makes it a little harsh, but it has a good depth and will probably age nicely.

My contribution was a bottle of Mikkeller Black (Cognac Edition). This is an imperial stout from Danish microbrewery Mikkeller, and the beer was aged for 3 months in Cognac barrels. It weighs in at a huge 17.5% ABV.

This bier is a thick dark black with a good chocolate head that leaves behind some great lacing. The aroma is incredible - liquorice, toffee, dates, wood, cognac, vanilla. The mouthfeel is oily and the bier has an incredible complexity on the palate – sweet to start, slowly fading to a subtle bitterness on the finish. The taste is raisins, plums, toffee, figs, chocolate and coffee. It is an amazing beer that is good for sitting back with, slowly sipping and savouring.

I had the Gruyere baked eggs with sourdough toast, bacon, rosti, tomato and baked beans.

This made for a fantastic brunch – the bread and jam were a nice accompaniment, the beans were tasty, but the highlight of this dish was of course the baked eggs – especially when eaten with a little of the bacon. It was like a very good egg and bacon pie without the unnecessary pastry.

This week we started with Brad’s bottle of Avery Salvation from Avery Brewing in Boulder, Colorado. This is a Belgian Strong Ale that the brewer describes as having “luscious apricot and peach aromas delicately interwoven with spicy suggestions of nutmeg and cinnamon”. The ABV is 9%.

This bier’s appearance is clear golden with a pale head that leaves behind some nice lacing. The aroma is peach, apricot, marmalade, pear, hint of wet hay. It has a reasonable body, slightly syrupy mouthfeel, and is sweet on the palate with a little bitterness in the finish. The taste is stone fruits, honey, citrus.

This was enjoyable, and seemed almost like a Belgian Tripel to me.

I brought along a bottle of 8 Wired iStout, an Imperial Stout from 8 Wired Brewing in Blenheim, New Zealand. They describe it as “Brimming with luscious roasted coffee and chocolate malt flavours which are balanced by a brisk bitterness and bold freshness from the hops”. The ABV is 10.5%

This bier pours a thick, syrupy black with a chocolate head. The aroma is liquorice, chocolate, coffee, oak, vanilla, star anise, black sugar, dates, raisins. It has an oily mouthfeel, is well balanced on the palate and has a good level of complexity. The finish is slightly dry with a touch of bitterness. The taste is chocolate, roast coffee, molasses, oak.

The aroma made me salivate, and I very much enjoyed this bier. It stands up well in the very competitive style of Imperial Stout, and is definitely the best beer I have seen so far out of New Zealand.