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 |  | Brewery Urthel
Ruiselede, Belgium |
| Urthel Saisonnière wins WBA 2010 Europe's Best Seasonal Pale Ale! www.tastingbeers.com/beer/urthel/6168.html
One of the most interesting breweries in all of Belgium or Holland has to be Urthel. The world-class beers are designed and brewed by Hildegard Van Ostaden and the artwork and packaging are creative masterpieces of her husband, Bas. Together they have become two of the most well-known and liked of all Belgian brewers in the United States, frequently taking part in festivals and events and can almost always been seen together, trying new beers and meeting new people.
Since autumn of 2006, all of Hildegard's beers have been produced at Koningshoeven in Tilburg, Holland. |
|  | | Saisonnière WBA 2010 Europe's Best Seasonal Pale Ale!
Saisonnière is brewed with 20% wheat for a style-shifting beer that is part Saison, part wheat beer and part golden/pale ale. Like the best of Hildegard's beers, Saisonnière is deceptively simple on first sip and elegantly simple with a gently building complexity.
6.0% ABV
Available in 11.2oz bottle; 20L keg.
|  | | Hop-It Hildegard returned from the Anchorage Barleywine Festival inspired by the wonderfully hoppy beers she tried there. Barleywines, IPA, Double IPA and all manner of over-the-top beers sparked her creative impulse and the result is Hop-It. Brewed with only one malt (pils) and three hops (Saaz, Styrian Goldings and Magnum), it's a truly unique beer for hop lovers.
Pale golden in color with billowing white foam, the nose is mildly hoppy and spicy. On the palate, it's very hoppy and intoxicatingly bitter but curiously well balanced. The malt and hops intertwine in a beautiful expression of complexity, contrast and complementary flavor. 9.5% ABV Bottle Conditioned
Available in 11.2oz bottle; 750ml bottle; 20L keg.
|  | | Hibernus Quentum Tripel Ale Urthel Tripel was originally a seasonal winter beer, but has since been added to the line-up full time. Like all of Hildegard's beers, it's a highly idiosyncratic member of the Tripel family, unlike any other. On the nose it's slightly spicy and faintly herbal, with a definite bready character. The flavor is well-spiced and hoppy, with a big creamy mouthfeel. It's moderately-long finish is sweet and herbal, with echoes of hops. 9.0% ABV Bottle Conditioned
Available in 11.2oz bottle.
|  | | Vlaemse Bock Once again, a highly idiosyncratic offering from Hildegard. Called Bock as a nod toward the familiar German style of that name, this beer has much more in common with a Dubbel. The word "Vlaemse" is rough slang for "Flemish" and should give the drinker a clue about the beer. Indeed, Hildegard seems to imply that Dubbel is the Bock of Belgium.
Dark russet in color with a faintly tan rocky foam. Spicy and slightly hoppy in the nose, with familiar herbal overtones present to some degree in all Urthel beers. The flavor is surprisingly dry and hoppy, with beautiful cocoa and nutty flavors. Enjoy this beer with sauerkraut and sausages for a pan-European festival. 7.5% ABV Bottle Conditioned
Available in 11.2oz bottle; 750ml bottle.
|  | | Samaranth Quadrium When Bas and Hildegard were married, they did not serve wine at their celebration, they served a special strong beer brewed by Hildegard to commemorate the occasion. It was Samaranth and was inspired by the Quadrupel of Koningshoeven and other big, malty special beers of the Trappists.
The beer was such a hit that it has been in the selection ever since. Dusky, deep brown in color with a slightly off-white foam. In the nose, it's sweet and faintly spicy with notes of dried fruit, nuts, chocolate, and marzipan. On the palate, it's big and bold, massively malty and slightly warming from the alcohol. It is long and shockingly dry in the finish. 11.5% ABV Bottle Conditioned
Available in 11.2oz bottle; 750ml bottle; 20L keg.
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