Unibroue Ephemere Apple Ale

Unibroue, a brewery based in Chambly, Quebec, Canada brews a plethora of Belgian inspired beers, each of which is unique in its own way. Today's beer is Ephemere Apple, a light summer brew, made with apple juice, coriander, and Curacao (a type of orange). At 5.5% alcohol by volume, it's a tad stronger than the "normal" summer beer, but lighter than many of Unibroue's other offerings. It poured the color of apple juice, with a long-lasting but small white head. The beer is quite effervescent, which makes it nicely thirst-quenching. The apple juice is quite obvious, and makes the beer taste almost like a cross between a witbier and a cider. Hops are very subdued, but the coriander and orange peel give it a Belgian Wit character. Unibroue has also brewed peach, strawberry, cranberry and raspberry versions of this ale. This came in a 4-pack from World Market called the Unibroue Taster Pack. Also included in the pack was a bottle of Chambly Noire, Blanche de Chambly, and Raftman. I'm looking forward to checking them all out.

Dogfish Head Red & White

Tonight, my wife and I shared a bottle of Dogfish Head's Red & White. Since I've become a light-weight drinker now that I'm 50, there was no way I was going to drink this 10% abv, 25 ounce bottle myself. Dogfish Head advertises this as a cross between a Belgian Wit and a red wine - hence the name "Red & White". It poured a beautiful pinkish orange with a small white head. The head evaporated almost immediately, which didn't surprise me considering the higher gravity of the beer. This is an unfiltered beer, and there was a lot of sediment in our two glasses. Sediment doesn't bother me, as long as it doesn't feel like I'm drinking pulpy orange juice. This is a fine marriage of a wit and a red wine - they complement each other perfectly. It had the orange/coriander presence from the wit, and the grapes gave it the vinous quality I expected. It was quite sweet and refreshing. I'm glad I didn't attempt to finish the bottle on my own though; the alcohol content was quite obvious after drinking the first half of the glass. This is a teriffic specialty beer from my favorite Delaware brewery! Check it out!

Wit Beer Taste Comparison - Japan vs USA

In the spirit of the Olympics, I decided to open up two different Wit beers, or White Ales in this case, and pit them against each other. The one on the left is Otter Creek White Sail Belgian Style White Ale from Middlebury VT. The other one is Hitachino Nest White Ale from Ibaraki, Japan. The Otter Creek poured a medium gold color, and was nearly crystal clear. It had a smallish white head that evaporated rather quickly. The Japanese contender poured a cloudy orange-gold color, with a larger white head. It too dissipated rather swiftly. The Hitachino Nest had a very strong orange flavor, almost like it had added orange juice in it. The coriander was also very obvious. The Otter Creek was more subdued, at least as far as the orange flavor, and had more maltiness to it. Coriander was still evident, but less obvious. It also had more hop flavor and is sweeter in general. I don't think there was a clear winner here, because the beers were so different. I think I preferred the tangy strong orange of the Hitachino Nest, but the rest of my taste testers preferred the sweeter, maltier Otter Creek. You can't go wrong with either one.

Ruby Tuesday Emergency Dinner

At about 2pm this afternoon, I realized that the house seemed awfully warm, so I looked at the thermostat - yep - 83 degrees. Now what? The air conditioner was running, but the house kept getting warmer. This is Florida in August, so the outside temp was hovering in the mid 90's. I took a look at the outside unit, and the fan was just sitting there - immobile. #1?#$! air conditioner!! So, tomorrow the repairman will be here, but now the house is 85 degrees. My wife and I didn't feel like cooking dinner in a toasty humid house, so it was off to Ruby Tuesday's. We each had a big fattening burger and a Blue Moon Belgian White Ale. Blue Moon is one of my guilty pleasures. It's tart, refreshing and tastes great on tap with an orange slice thrown in. Sleeping will be a treat tonight. It rained, but the house is still 85. Hopefully with the windows open and the fans running, the slightly cooler outside air will come in.

A Tale of Two Wheat Beers

Today, I want to talk about two distinctly different wheat beers. The first is from Blue Moon Brewing, which is a branch of Coors. Blue Moon's Rising Moon Spring Ale is a member of their Seasonal Collection, and it's flavored with the zest and leaves of Kieffer limes. It poured a light amber color with a huge head. This is the kind of head a wheat beer should have! It's very refreshing, and I could taste the lime flavors from the additional ingredients. This is a very nice American Style wheat beer, great for the warmer months.

The second beer is from Belgium, and it's a traditional Belgian Witbier. It's Hoegaarden, and many folks consider it the best Belgian Wit available. This is the first time I have tried it, and it's excellent. The Belgians have their own special yeasts that impart a truly unique flavor. This one is also citrusy, and a little spicy. Witbier's are usually brewed with orange peel and coriander, and I believe that's true with this one.


Whether you pick the American, or the Belgian, you can't go wrong. Both are refreshing thirst-quenching beers for these warmer months.

Samuel Adams White Ale at Mimi's Cafe

Tonight I enjoyed a nice meal at Mimi's Cafe, and a Samuel Adams White Ale on draft. Their White Ale is their Spring offering from the Seasonal collection. I always prefer draft beer when I can get it, so this was a treat. The beer is an American version of the Belgian Witbier and was cloudy like a wit. It had a nice citrusy flavor, and was a little spicy. It's very similar to Blue Moon's White ale. It went well with my Chicken Cordon Blue, which was also delicious. It was good with my wife's dinner too - an excellent pot roast. Check out Mimi's!