Benz hosts Belgian beer tasting

CEDAR RAPIDS  - Benz Beverage Depot, 501 Seventh Ave. SE, drew a crowd Wednesday night at its Belgian beer tasting event.

Belgium is home to 115 breweries that produce about 800 beers - some of which have been considered the best in the world. Belgian breweries range in size from the massive InBev corporation to the six official Trappist breweries.

The Benz tasting featured 12 Belgian beers, ranging from light and fruity to dark and dry. Among the beers were:

Blanche de Namur: The cloudy appearance is created at a low temperature but disappears when the beer gets warmer or when it is kept too long in the cold. Fruity with scents of coriander and bitter orange. Smooth beer, thirst-quenching but mild, slightly acidulous, powdery consistency on the tongue.Lindemans Kriek: In origin, this sweet-acid drink was obtained by adding fresh black cherries to a barrel of 6-month-old Lambic. The addition of fruit provokes a new fermentation in the oak barrels. After another 8 to 12 months, only peels and stones are left and the Kriek-Lambic is ready to be filtered and bottled. The residual sugar can be adjusted with straight-on fruit juice to give a re-fermentation in the bottle. This traditional type of fruit beer is more acid and less fruity. Tart cherry flavor with a tone of malt and a hint of strawberry.Piraat: This beer pours a cloudy light orange-amber, with lots of thick, foamy white head, which leaves solid chunky lacing around the glass as it recedes. It smells of grainy malt and soft spices – coriander, cloves, a bit of yeastiness and a very slight alcohol edge. The taste is much fruiter than expected, the malt very much in the forefront, and muted citrus, honey and candy sugar notes fighting to show in the morass. The carbonation is quite mild, the body moderately solid, and it finishes dry.St. Feuillien Brune: Opaque, deep chestnut brown body with 2 inches of airy, beige-colored foam. Sweetish aroma of brown sugar and toasted caramel transitions to notes of green raisins and caramel cubes, brown sugar, tart fruitiness and cutting spices. Slight earthy bitterness. Touch of warming alcohol on the end. Malty, bittersweet finish with a lingering spiciness.Chimay Premiere: This is a dubbel style ale from Abbaye Notre Dame de Scourmont in Belgium. The aromas of dried fruit, especially raisins and prunes, mixed well with a spice and nuttiness. The aromas carry into flavors of sweet dried cherries and cinnamon mixed with creaminess and notes of hops. Its taste, which imparts a silky sensation to the tongue, is made refreshing by a light touch of bitterness.Wostyntje Mustard Ale: Kent Goldings hops are added at the beginning of the boil while Challenger hops, dark candy sugar and the crushed mustard seeds are added after about 50 minutes into the boil. The addition of light candy sugar and fresh top-fermenting yeast to the bottle starts the secondary fermentation in the bottle. The beer pours a golden russet color with a thick rocky head and a spicy mustard nose. The palate is a bit tart with a light malt character and a bit of Belgian yeastiness.

Lindemans Kriek: In origin, this sweet-acid drink was obtained by adding fresh black cherries to a barrel of 6-month-old Lambic. The addition of fruit provokes a new fermentation in the oak barrels. After another 8 to 12 months, only peels and stones are left and the Kriek-Lambic is ready to be filtered and bottled. The residual sugar can be adjusted with straight-on fruit juice to give a re-fermentation in the bottle. This traditional type of fruit beer is more acid and less fruity. Tart cherry flavor with a tone of malt and a hint of strawberry.

Piraat: This beer pours a cloudy light orange-amber, with lots of thick, foamy white head, which leaves solid chunky lacing around the glass as it recedes. It smells of grainy malt and soft spices – coriander, cloves, a bit of yeastiness and a very slight alcohol edge. The taste is much fruiter than expected, the malt very much in the forefront, and muted citrus, honey and candy sugar notes fighting to show in the morass. The carbonation is quite mild, the body moderately solid, and it finishes dry.

St. Feuillien Brune: Opaque, deep chestnut brown body with 2 inches of airy, beige-colored foam. Sweetish aroma of brown sugar and toasted caramel transitions to notes of green raisins and caramel cubes, brown sugar, tart fruitiness and cutting spices. Slight earthy bitterness. Touch of warming alcohol on the end. Malty, bittersweet finish with a lingering spiciness.

Chimay Premiere: This is a dubbel style ale from Abbaye Notre Dame de Scourmont in Belgium. The aromas of dried fruit, especially raisins and prunes, mixed well with a spice and nuttiness. The aromas carry into flavors of sweet dried cherries and cinnamon mixed with creaminess and notes of hops. Its taste, which imparts a silky sensation to the tongue, is made refreshing by a light touch of bitterness.

Wostyntje Mustard Ale: Kent Goldings hops are added at the beginning of the boil while Challenger hops, dark candy sugar and the crushed mustard seeds are added after about 50 minutes into the boil. The addition of light candy sugar and fresh top-fermenting yeast to the bottle starts the secondary fermentation in the bottle. The beer pours a golden russet color with a thick rocky head and a spicy mustard nose. The palate is a bit tart with a light malt character and a bit of Belgian yeastiness.

Food complementing the Belgian brews included baked brie with strawberry, apple, rhubarb jam; aged cheddar cheese and salami; and beer bread pizza with pepper bacon, blue cheese and fresh mozzarella.

To see a slide show of the Belgian beer tasting event, click

here.