REVIEW 47: CUVÉE VAN DE KEIZER (BLAUW)

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:  Belgium

BREWERY:  Brouwerij Het Anker 

STYLE:  Strong Dark Ale

ABV:  11.0%

PURCHASE:  25.4-oz. bottle (gift)

SERVING:  Said bottle, poured into Chimay-branded chalice. Half-inch head with a pour of normal speed (around twenty seconds). A faster pour resulted in a whole inch. Head retention is average, the lone "criticism" you could possibly make about this beer.

APPEARANCE:  Dark walnut brown color. Luminescent for a dark beer. Beige head. Great lacing--almost picturesque in that regard.

BOUQUET:  Dark fruit--namely figs--shares the spotlight here with caramel, toffee, fudge--yes, fudge--(seemingly) chocolate or cacao, and malted grain. Quite possibly the most addictive aroma I've ever experienced in a beer. I want to spray my room with it.

PALATE:  Tastes like a "dessert beer," especially after the first half-chalice. As for the body of the beer, it's medium leaning toward slightly heavy. Sweet entry, with dark fruit, fudge (particularly in the aftertaste), and caramel notes entering immediately but remaining subtle. Fig and plum seem to be the order of the day, palate-wise. Aside from that, this features a euphoric finish of just-right caramel-cocoa-toffee-like sweetness merged with roasted malt. Confectionery-inspired aftertaste. Alcohol factor is sneaky, as this goes down just as smoothly as most stateside brews; the strength is on tape delay. Oh, there's carbonation: Prominent, but constrained. Overall, this gets better and better and better as it warms to the 50-degree mark or so.

MUSINGS AND METAPHORS:  Cuvée van de Keizer. "Grand Cru of the Emperor." This is a beer that perfectly, perfectly, masters the balance between smooth and complex.

This is brewed only one day out of the year: February 24th, the birthday of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, "Gouden Carolus" (a term found right smack front-and-center on the label), who was raised in Mechelen, the home of Het Anker ("The Anchor") brewery. In actuality, The Anchor brews two beers in honor of Emperor Charles: A Strong Pale Ale ("Red"); and this, Blauw ("Blue"). The colors red and blue correspond with the labels, as you can guess.

My verdict? No need to get into details; it's the best beer I've ever had. Move over St. Bernardus. Move over Lost Abbey. Move over La Fin du Monde. This has now taken over Crockett's top spot.




GRADE:  A+