Only a relatively small fraction of the posts on the New York Times‘ The Pour blog have anything to do with craft beer – but the fact that a media outlet as far-reaching as the Times even covers the topic regularly is undoubtedly a positive sign for the industry.
Yesterday, writer Eric Asimov wrote about a blind taste test the newspaper conducted of 20 Belgian-style beers.
He leads off with what i think is a pretty apt description of the “Belgian” style – that it’s so defined by diversity that it’s hard to call it a “style.”
A GOOD selection of Belgian-style ales is like the very best kind of buffet, offering an assortment of flavors, aromas, styles, strengths and types. You want strong ale, sour ale, sweet ale, dry ale, golden, dark, wheat, fruity and malty. When we set out to draw a stylistic standard for a planned tasting of Belgian golden ales, it seemed as if we’d taken on an impossible task. But glory does not come to those who quit easily.
The winner, in Asimov’s estimation? Oro De Calabaza from Jolly Pumpkin.
Check out the article to see where the rest ranked, according to the Times.
(via Beervana’s Jeff Alworth, who we don’t think has Asimov envy.)
~~~NON SEQUITUR ALERT~~~
This clearly isn’t worth its own post, but as it’s nearly 8:00pm, and neither coworker Ben nor I have left the office, it’s clear that we’re well beyond our peak mental capacity for the day. A couple open cans of Mama’s Little Yella Pils from Oskar Blues inspired us to write some impromptu haikus, on the fly. Judge our woeful poetry below.
Ben Karl’s:
I really love beer
Beer really loves me, sometimes
Tasty, golden love.
…and mine:
I like to drink beer
It’s something that gets you drunk
But that’s not the point.
Thu, Feb 25, 2010
Beer News, Misc