Hopostle
Unibroue-La Fin du Monde
MY REVIEW: Excellent Belgian style tripel! Quickly becoming one of my favorites! Score to my liking on a 1 low-10 high scale: 10 Canada- Tripel- 9% ABV. La Fin du Monde has a brilliant golden color with vigorously effervescent foam. It is mildly yeasty with a pleasingly complex palate of malt, fruit and spice notes followed by a smooth, dry finish. BeerAdvocate’s #13 of 25 All-Time Top Beers 2008. It took 18 months of research before La Fin du Monde saw the light of day in February 1994. Representative of a style that was originally...
read moreTaste Testing Belgium’s Most Sought-After Trappist Ale
Taste Testing Belgium’s Most Sought-After Trappist Ale – and Its Easily Available Alternatives The world-famous Westvleteren 12 is delicious, no doubt about it. But is it really that much better than the competition? In craft beer circles, it’s practically legendary: an intensely boozy, powerfully flavorful, and incredibly rare Belgian quad called Westvleteren 12 (aka Westy 12). It’s one of a few different beers made by reclusive Trappist monks at the St. Sixtus monastery in rural Belgium, true to the region’s...
read moreIntense Belgian Ales
Intense Belgian Ales Belgium’s strong ales have a heavy alcohol presence, sweetly malt-heavy flavors, and a richness that’s perfect for drinking on frigid, windy nights. They’re loosely grouped according to strength: dubbels are usually 6-7% ABV, tripels are usually 7-9%, and quads stretch into the double digits. The higher you go, the darker and more intense the flavors become. Oh, and what about singles, you ask? Confusingly, they don’t really exist, at least as it relates to beer store shelves. Dubbels tend to be...
read moreBreckenridge Vanilla Porter
MY REVIEW: Great Vanilla Porter beer. I love the smooth vanilla flavor. I first tried this beer at The Breezeway Restaurant and Bar in Sanford, Florida while at my book signing party for Exodus of Our Lives: Finding Your Promised Land . Score to my liking on a 1 low-10 high scale: 8 Real vanilla beans from Madagascar combined with caramel and Munich malts create a beer that’s balanced and flavorful. Aromas of vanilla and toasted grain set the stage for mellow flavors of vanilla and dark roasted malts. Don’t let its deep mahogany color fool...
read moreDuck-Rabbit Rabbator Dopplebock
MY REVIEW: Good doppelbock beer. On the slightly sweet side. Score to my liking on a 1 low-10 high scale: 8 North Carolina- Doppelbock- 8.5% ABV. Pours dark brown-black in color. Big, complex aromas of roasted malts, dark chocolate, earthy hops and tobacco on the nose. Roasted, smoky, rich flavors with dark fruit and molasses, toffee and brown sugar flavors. Tobacco lingers. Smooth. The Duck-Rabbit Duck-Rabbator Dopplebock is our version of this delightful, malty, German style lager. Originally conceived to sustain monks during their fasting,...
read moreMoretti La Rossa Dopplebock
MY REVIEW: Very good doppelbock beer. One of my favorites! Score to my liking on a 1 low-10 high scale: 10 Italy- Doppelbock- 7.2% ABV. A rich sweet taste and an intense fragrance of roasted malt mark this beer. The amber color that characterizes the beer comes from the malt used in the recipe, with a good use of aromatic and bittering hops to balance the malts. Birra Moretti La Rossa is a double malt beer produced using 100% high quality barley malt. This gives it a full, caramelised malt flavour and an intense aroma of roasted malt. Its...
read moreAndechs Dopplebock Dunkel
MY REVIEW: Very good doppelbock beer. One of my favorites! Score to my liking on a 1 low-10 high scale: 10 This world famous bock from Bavaria’s Holy Mountain is not meant to be rushed, but savored slowly. As solid as a rock, Andechs Doppelbock Dunkel presides over the evening meal with a color reminiscent of dark copper with nuances of fiery red. Its clear gleaming look harmonizes with its firm, fine pored head. Also the aroma delights the connoisseur: soft roasted accents and a nuance of dried fruit carrying a vein of caramel. This...
read moreLeffe Brown Abbey Ale
MY REVIEW: Economically priced, tasty Belgian abbey ale. I love this ale! Score to my liking on a 1 low-10 high scale: 9 Belgium- Belgian Dark Ale- 6.5% ABV. An authentic Belgian abbey beer, brewed according to the traditional recipe of the Abbey of Leffe. Dark brown in color from darkly roasted malt. A delicate taste of vanilla and clove, and the full aroma of toffee and caramel. MALTY, BALANCED, ESTERY, SPICY and MEDIUM-BODIED PURCHASE 12 oz...
read moreSt. Bernardus Prior 8
MY REVIEW: Very good Belgian abbey ale. Great beer to sip when reading a good book or writing! Score to my liking on a 1 low-10 high scale: 8 St.Bernardus Prior 8 is a traditional abbey ale brewed in the classic “Dubbel” style of Belgium’s Best Abbey Ales. It has a ruby to purple color, smooth, creamy richness of texture that is almost oily, and a malt-fruit complexity reminiscent of coconut. (8% ABV.) It finds the perfect balance between sweet, bitter and malty tastes. One of the original recipes from the days of...
read moreSt. Bernardus Pater 6
St Bernardus Pater 6 is a traditional abbey style dubbel, chestnut in color, very fruity with notes of melon and very fresh banana, finishing with slight bitterness. Delightfully easy to drink. (6.7% ABV) One of the original recipes from the days of license-brewing for the Trappist monks of Westvleteren. PURCHASE 11.2...
read moreAbout Me
Jan Puterbaugh has been a pastor since 2008, is a musician/songwriter and a writer. He is passionate about helping people discover who they are in Christ and healing their lives from past pain, as well as finding true fulfillment in life through their relationship with Jesus. He and his wife, Kelly have been married for 33 years, have two married daughters and five grandsons. They live just north of Orlando in Florida. 