Beer Review: Straffe Hendrik Wild

Straffe Hendrik Wild with O.G. Copyright 2015 by Andrew Dunn.

Classes started this past Monday, so I have been in a whirlwind of class preparations and other work. But after a nice round of good news and vibes yesterday, I felt like celebrating with a beer.

My trip to Florida earlier this month yielded some nice beer finds. Among them was Straffe Hendrik Wild. This is a triple, labeled a Bruges Tripel Ale, brewed once a year by the De Halve Maan Brewery in Bruges, Belgium.

This is a typical triple that has been “refermented with a wild Brettanomyces yeast,” according to the website. Brettanomyces, which you hear the trendy folks call “Brett,” is essentially a funk agent. It gives Belgian beers, such as saisons and Oud Bruins, that funky, musty, wild taste and smell.

I will be honest. I was a little scared of this one.

Smell: Yeasty, wheat-y, banana-y.

Straffe Hendrik Wild poured into O.G. Copyright 2015 by Andrew Dunn.

Sight: Wild pours a yellow orange with a tall fluffy white head. There is also some tart to the nose.

Taste: Sweet and very fruity up front. You can taste banana, mango, and, according to my wife, blood orange. This is a very spicy beer. It finishes bitter, but not harshly so. There is a faint sourness. But there’s almost no funk. Honestly, this beer’s taste is complex. Hard to pin down. Wild, indeed.

Alcohol: This beer has a typical triple alcohol content at 9 percent. But it tastes and feels much lighter. This one could be dangerous, sneaking up on you.

Overall: I really liked this beer. It’s not quite a triple. Not quite a sour. It’s a little of everything. I think it’s a fun beer to try. I would definitely drink it again. I’d really love to know what it would taste like with some time on it. I may look for another to age.

Bottom line: I paid $4.50 for a bottle in Panama City Beach, Florida, shop. That’s pretty average for a Belgian. But considering it is only brewed once a year, I think it’s a good deal.

Beer Review: Straffe Hendrik Heritage

Straffe Hendrik Heritage poured into a Thirsty Monk branded glass. Copyright 2015 by Andrew Dunn.

Barrel aging beers is apparently all the rage these days. Two of the breweries I hit last week in Asheville, North Carolina, Catawba Brewing Co. and Wicked Weed Brewing, have a whole line of barrel brews.

I’m of two minds on this. On the one hand, I love the experimentation with beer. On the other hand, I like beer more than wine and hard liquor.

Don’t get me wrong, I like whiskey and wine just fine. But I drink beer because I like the taste of beer. And I think that’s why barrel-aged beers probably won’t ever be my favorites.

I like them quite a bit. They’re fun to bring to parties. But I can’t say I’d make them my everyday beer.

Well, how about a barrel-aged quad?

Temptress!

In fact, Straffe Hendrik makes one. Straffe Hendrik Heritage is a barrel-aged quad that matures in an oak barrel for more than a year. And it just so happens that the Thirsty Monk in Asheville had it on tap last week.

Smell: Burgundy wine and raisins.

Sight: Deep, deep mahogany with a beige woody head. Just a hint of ruddiness. It has lots of thick lacing all the way to the last drop.

Taste: Tart but deeply sweet. You get a port and red wine flavor to the beer. There is a deep, deep vinous flavor with a sour tinge. You can really pick up the oak.

Alcohol: Heritage throws its weight around at 11 percent. I leaves a lingering alcohol presence on the back of the throat.

Overall: I dug this. If all barrel-aged beers tasted like this or if all sours tasted like this, I could get behind them. I’d still not say it’d be my go-to beer. In fact, I’d still prefer just the regular Straffe Hendrik Quad. But if I was cutting into a thick juicy rare steak, this would pair very nicely indeed.

Bottom line: OK, this one’s price is all over the map. I paid $8 for a five ounce pour. I saw a 2011 bomber bottle in a shop for $32. I saw a later vintage bottle for less than $15. If you can find it for the latter or on tap, then go for it. Otherwise, I’d say it’s over-priced.

 

Beer Review: Straffe Hendrik Quadrupel

Straffe Hendrik Quadrupel and O.G. Copyright 2015 by Andrew Dunn.

To reward myself for a day’s worth of grading today, I cracked open a Straffe Hendrik Quadrupel. This is a beer brewed by Da Halve Maan Brewery in Bruges, Belgium.

The brand, which is one of two owned by De Halve Maan, also comes in a tripel variety. But you guys know how I feel about quads.

Smell: It has a light prune aroma. It’s not an unappealing scent. Just an earthy, dried fruit smell.

Sight: This quad pours chocolatey brown with a nice hazelnut head.

Straffe Hendrik Quadrupel poured into O.G. Copyright 2015 by Andrew Dunn.

Taste: This beer has a strong boozy burn to it, like a fiery whiskey. I think it would benefit from aging. There is also a sweet malty flavor. It has a bit of that roasted malt flavor you get from a porter or a stout. That makes it stand out a bit.

Alcohol: Straffe Hendrik’s quad waddles in at 11.2 percent. That’s high by any measure. As I mentioned, the alcohol is pronounced. So this won’t be a beer you will be chugging at the beach.

Overall: I do like the toasty malt flavor. While I don’t mind the burn, some may be turned off by it. I really do think I’d like to try it again with some age on it. All in all, though, it is a good beer and worth a taste.

Bottom line: This beer runs about $5. While that seems a high price to pay, it compares quite well with other more expensive quads. So it is worth buying if you are looking for a cheaper quad option.