So here we are at the halfway point. To be completely honest, I almost didn’t even realize that was the case. Thankfully for me, my soon-to-be father-in-law did. And in honor of this momentous occasion, we headed down the street and picked up beer number 26, Duvel from…um, Duvel? Moortgat Brewery? I’m not really sure.
But that’s not (that) important. What is important is this milestone and the great beer that went with it. I’d like to breakdown the first half of this project but I dont’ want to take away from the task at hand. So with that, I will talk about the beer first and the journey later this week.
Duvel was selected for two reasons. First, we’ve hit summer time and I’ve been meaning to start leaning towards beers that are best consumed in these beautiful, sunny months. And Duvel hits that mark perfectly as a Belgian ale. It embodies all that is a Belgian ale: crisp, refreshing and effervescent.
As usual, a beer always greets you first and foremost with its scent and Duvel has a great hoppy smell with slight hints of spice. What ramps up the smell of Duvel, in my opinion, is that the bottle is corked. The moment the cork popped out I was hit hard with the smell and was quite pleased.
Next, was first taste and I continued to be impressed. But to be clear, it wasn’t exactly the first taste that impressed me. It was the aftertaste that truly won me over. The way it sat on my tongue for several moments after won me over on this Belgian ale. But let’s not take away from the first taste, either.
The way the beer comes off with its crisp, somewhat dry taste combined with the creamy head is nothing short of refreshing. This is definitely a summertime beer that should be enjoyed under the sun. With that said, I drank mine after 9 p.m. Go figure.
Finally, Duvel gets full accolades as a beer of this magnitude should. Not only does it get a resounding “Thumb’s Up” but it’s also being added to the list of “52′s Faves.” Now that I think about it, I feel like I need to add a category along the lines of “This is a beer that I need to talk Khaos into buying so I can drink it again.” Let’s work on a name for that. Until then, Duvel wrapped up the first half of this year-long project wonderfully. I can’t wait to see what the second half as in store…
