BTN: Shelton Bros brewers at The Trappist

With the Craft Brewers Conference on their way out of town, Shelton Brothers amassed a stunning set of brewers (Cantillon and De la Senne from Belgium, Nøgne Ø and Haand Bryggeriet from Norway, Diel du Ciel from Canada) for an event at the Trappist in Oakland. Too many beautiful things to drink. All the beers below were on tap. While waiting in line and scanning for priorities, a friend walked over with a splash of the Cantillon Lou Pepe Kriek. What a way to get things started. Super bright in color, the Trappist notes that it's aged for 2 years then refermented with a liqueur. Could be the best intro to a tasting ever: delicious quenching awesome refreshing fruit, could drink forever. I continued with a trip to extreme funk. The Boon Lambic Foeder #10 is aged for three years and all from a single batch--unblended and unusual. Musty nose, funk aplenty, earthy, very spicy, funkiness I liked, This was interesting, it doesn't rise to the world of the intensely complex and I think plenty of folks wouldn't think muchly of it. But I just liked it for its playful funk. The Revelation Cat Pineau des Charentes Lambik (from Italy! never had this style from Italy) wowed me. Awesome texture, aged cardboard (which actually tastes a whole lot better than it sounds), pure elegance, unique, crunchy oats, texturally shocking and some funk but plenty else, but also some elements of grains, awesome. Trappist notes: 2 year old unblended aged in fortified wine barrels. The Cantillon Fou' Foune was, the Trappist notes, a lambic infused with apricots from bordeaux vineyard, aged 3-4 mos. It was peachy and bright, bright tart, thin, pointed, precise and very very fresh. I liked it's pointedness, but it's a bit more of a food beer that screams for food to shine, versus the Lou Pepe Kriek that just screamed deliciousness straight out of the glass. I'm pretty eurofocused with regards to beer at the moment, so it was very neat to try a splash of the Baird Numazu Lager from Japan. Lots of distinct grainy black pepper, good, very balanced, very peppery and flavorful. I think this would be a great food beer. More Cantillon awaited so I went for a glass of the Cantillon St. Lamvinus, a 2 year old lambic fermented in oak casks with wine grapes from France. It was bright and pointed with a fruit-driven nose. Tasted lots of fruit juice with slight brett, utterly fresh. Sort of like the freshest juice box ever infected with just a smidgen of brettanomyces. This is a great beer to just sit down and drink. Refreshing yet somewhat intellectual. Onto the other brewery (newly) located in Brussels--the De la Senne Zinnebir. Feels like in the same family as De la Senne's Taras Boulba, but weighter and a more rustic feels of grains about it. Superb, crunchy, but very layered, beautifully constructed.

The brewer from Norway's Nøgne Ø had been wandering about the very crowded bar earlier pouring tastes of his sake - I tried two, the second was absolutely delicious, but the crowd and phenomenal beer choices had me moving back to less crowded ground. For beer, the Nøgne Ø Imperial IPA #500 smelled of candied watermelon jolly rancher liqueur. It offered a fantastic plush nose with slight herbs. A nose that was immediately attractive. I enjoyed the couple of sips I had (in fact, I really enjoyed it) but left wondering whether settling down for an entire glass would be like. Felt more like a short term crush than a beer I'd want to settle down with. Back to Brussels yet again for the De la Senne Equinox. Superb rye with biscuit nose, fantastically aggressive spice. Texturally, the beer had an awesome feel, light yet very streamlined and delicate. An amazing beer of balance. Finally, oh finally, was the De Struisse Black Damnation IV. De Struisse has taken their utterly beautiful Black Albert Belgian royal stout and aged it in number of different barrel treatments--this one spent six months on very old rum barrels. My palate by this point is pretty questionable for reliability, but the complex dark stewed fruits in evidence here had me preferring my plain ole experience with the Black Albert. I should make sure I'm aging some of that to see what time aged in bottle does for it (I think great things) versus the stewy nature that the barrel treatment seems to hace left on this beer at the moment. Victory! What a phenomenal set of beers, friends, conversations, and I even dealt with the crowded conditions pretty well, I'd say.

Lovely tasting. I love Lou Pepe and almost all the other Cantillons. Did you try Struises sour ale Struiselensis? If you like sour ales, it's a must - one of the most exciting beers I have had this year. Senne is lovely, too. I especially like the Taras Boulba and their StoutErik for being so light (low enough in Alcohol that they are allowed to be sold outside of the alcohol monopoly here!) and crisp yet characterful.

I enjoyed the couple of sips I had (in fact, I really enjoyed it) but left wondering whether settling down for an entire glass would be like. Felt more like a short term crush than a beer I'd want to settle down with.

Here's my note for the #500 Imperial IPA:

Impressive stuff!

But it is impressive for all the wrong reasons.

This was the 500th batch for the brewer, so, as the back label says, they played with numbers: "5 hops, 100 IBUs, 5 malts, 10% alcohol". The hops used are the American and NZ varieties of Chinook, Simcoe, Centennial, Pacific Gem and Nelson Sauvin hops.

It smells like grapefruit juice and cats' piss - who knew a beer could smell like a stereotype of NZ Sauvignon Blanc? Rich, slightly sweet palate, crisp but cloying. The finish tastes ashy.

I enjoy their regular IPA even though it is very American in style; but this imperial IPA fails for me: I am not able to finish a bottle. It is too cloying, too big, too full of everything. It's not often that I leave a bottle of beer unfinished.

Keith,
What a treat!! Thanks for the notes. Are most of these brews easily available?
-Shaji

Did you try Struises sour ale Struiselensis?

I have not tried it, haven't even seen it. I will most certainly try it based on your enthusiasm for it.

It smells like grapefruit juice and cats' piss - who knew a beer could smell like a stereotype of NZ Sauvignon Blanc? Rich, slightly sweet palate, crisp but cloying.

That's the thing about certain double IPAs - the extra alcohol and weight give them opportunity for more complexity, but often at a risk, not just of hotness, but of sticking cloyingness. I am curious, however, to experience more about how such beers interact with food.

Keith,
Are most of these brews easily available?

Shaji,

Depends. Shelton Brothers is a major beer importer and parts of their portfolio are distributed widely. But a goodly portion, well represented here, are allocated due to high demand and low supply. Consumers have to keep their eyes open and shop around regularly to find Cantillon even in the Bay Area, which I'd say has pretty decent access to these beers (though I wonder how much selection/availability varies even among major metropolitan markets).

Oh, and Otto, have you ever run into Cantillon's lambic that is made with Pineau d'Aunis grapes? I went into geek-giddy overload when I read that such a thing ever existed. Don't know anything beyond that, but if it is something they plan to make again, I'd consider signing away the rights to my firstborn to try one.