Photos: 2008 Belgian Beer and Mussel Mania
July 24, 2008 11:23 am Beer MusingsSchlafly’s Belgian Beer and Mussel Mania is not so much a “festival” as it is an excuse to get together and drink some beer. I don’t really need an excuse to visit the Tap Room, but having one is always nice. We didn’t arrive until about 8PM on Friday evening, so not surprisingly a lot of the neat-o beers were depleted. But, never one to complain, I just enjoyed things like the Wit and the Tripel instead.
I did get to sample the cask Biere de Garde and I have to admit, I’m not a fan. Part of the reason I enjoy Belgian beers so much is because of their spritzy effervescent nature and the cask just kills that. It’s missing some of things that make a “Belgian” beer in my mind. Interesting experiment, but not something I would want to see back. What did you think of the festival?
Paul :
Date: July 24, 2008 @ 1:41 pm
I couldn’t make it at all on Friday and Saturday. By Sunday, when I stopped by, there was no Tripel either so I had some Grand Cru. The mussels, which I often order anyway, were much better than usual–must have been fresh from the festival.
Paul :
Date: July 24, 2008 @ 1:44 pm
And I think I agree about cask Bière de Garde. Then I wonder if we have come to expect something that was not part of the original product. Wouldn’t old school Bière de Garde have been cask? That’s not to say we can’t enjoy the improvements enabled by modern science and technology, but I think it does raise some interesting issues about how styles and flavor profiles are defined.
Paul :
Date: July 24, 2008 @ 1:45 pm
Not that I got to taste the cask Bière de Garde.
Mike :
Date: July 24, 2008 @ 2:00 pm
I too thought about about the Belgian beers originally being cask and that the beer was probably more traditional that way. But it still wasn’t really for me.
Ruination :
Date: July 25, 2008 @ 11:43 am
I thought the Grand Cru and Barrel-Aged Grand Cru were really tasty. If either of those are left tomorrow, I might swing by for a growler.
I found the tripel a bit lacking - kind of a thin under-carbonated mouth-feel, not enough fruity nature to the flavor, and the yeast wasn’t as present in the taste as I thought it might have been from the nose.
Didn’t get to try the cask Biere de Garde or the Wit.
vyvvy :
Date: July 25, 2008 @ 11:40 pm
Fun time at the ‘fest’ ~ while they had their big beers and such I found this year’s wit to be the best of the bunch on Friday.
Derek Bean :
Date: July 26, 2008 @ 9:35 pm
My wife and I stopped by on Saturday night and were told that they were out of mussels–just like when we went to the “Cod & Cask” Festival and they were out of both cod and cask! Honestly, I don’t know why we continue trying to go to these events when they continue to run out of the namesakes.
Guess I’ll just stick to Burns Night and Hop In the City. It’s hard to run out of Scotch Ale at Burns Night, or beer at The Hop.