Belgian Ale Night

Last night we had AM, ALS & RWM over for fish tacos and a sampling of Belgian ales. NDM sucked down a fruity lambic while the rest of us worked our way through 5 bottles of ale.

• The first, and still my favorite, Chimay Grande Reserve. I don't think anything can beat this dark, sweet, malty, creamy elixir. I wouldn't normally have started out with this one, but all the others needed some time in an ice bath to reach the proper temperature.
• Next we hit the Slaapmutske Triple Nightcap. Creamy like one expects from a corked Belgian, but much lighter than the Chimay. Despite a nice bitterness I found this beer a little short on character.
• Third was the Caracole, whose snail label I really liked. (I'd assumed this beer was named after dressage before I noticed the snail.) This beer was close kin to the Slaapmutske, with some more Christmasy aromas of cloves and allspice.
• Finally another winner with the Koningshoeven quadrupel! You can tell where my tastes lie; this was a much darker, deeper brew than the preceding ales. Harsher and less creamy than the Chimay, it was still an excellent beer.
• We finished off with another lighter ale, the Chouffe. At the end of the night whatever faculties I use to judge beer are mostly spent; this was an acceptable version of the light Belgian ale.
  

Besides the great food (NDM even made corn tortillas and refried beans from scratch to go with her usual fantastic fish; my only contribution was a hot slaw for the tacos) and beer I had an opportunity to learn all about chlamydia's effect on koala population decline from RWM, an expert in the field. Beer and education, what more could you ask for?