Corsendonk

[shyster512]

I picked up a boxing of Corsendonk Beer which contained a dark ale and a pale ale. The dark ale was really good, but the pale ale blew me away. I really enjoyed it. Any one else familiar with this Belgiom Brewer?

[barturtle]

I am quite familiar with Corsendonk, and I too enjoy it from time to time. But I will admit it has been a while, as I always seem to find a new beer to try.

There used to be a saying among a group of beer drinkers that I hang around (though I haven't heard it in a while so it may no longer be true)

If you like your beer chunky, get the small bottles. If you like cardboard, get the 750s.

The small bottles always seemed to have a flocculation problem (though I don't mind it) and the big bottles always seemed to have the slightest of cork taint(but rarely enough to curtail enjoyment.)

[Sijan]

I don't think I've had the pale ale but I enjoy Corsendonk Abbey Brown Ale quite a bit. But then, I am rather partial to dubbels and not generally a fan of pale ales - at least not hoppy ones.

[shyster512]

The pale ale sure was not hoppy; I found it very fruity/apple like in nose and taste. It may be a tad sweet on second tasting, but refreshing none the less. I actually bought the boxed pair to try the Abbey Brown, and I, like you, enjoyed the dark, too.

[mier]

Corsendonk is a so called abdijbier,a beer that has its origin in an abbey or a monastery but is made nowadays by a commercial brewery.Yes they are very tasty.If you like these kind of beers i can recommend you Witkappater enkel,dubbel or triple ,also here very hard to get, or Grimbergen something alike but almost everywhere to get, even in supermarkets.

Eric.

[Sijan]

I picked up a bottle of the pale ale and will try it out as soon as I get over being sick.

[TBoner]

Belgian pale ales are quite different from American or British pale ales. They are generally malt-driven with a soft, fruity, rounded nose and palate. They work terrifically with pork, FWIW.

Corsendonk brown and pale ales are both exemplary beers. I wish we still got them in these parts.

[shyster512]

Speaking of pork, I drank a German dark ale about a week ago that smelled just like smoked barbeque pork. It also tasted like smoked barbeque pork- almost undrinkable to me. In fact, I poured most of it out. Now I like barbequed pork to eat, but drinking it was not at all pleasant. I can't remember the name of the ale, but I will not forget the bottle so as to avoid future purchases of this oinker.

[Sijan]

Sounds like you tried a rauchbier such as Schlenkerla. They are quite different but I like them.

[barturtle]

That is one of my fav smoked beers. Quite wonderful.

[shyster512]

Excellent call, Dan. That was it. I could not get past the thought that I was drinking my barbeque pork. I really did not enjoy the taste, but I figured someone must or they would not sell it. Have you been well enough to taste the Corsendonk pale yet?

[Gillman]

This beer (Schlenkerla) is a smoked beer, the barley malt is smoked over beechwood fires, to dry it. It is an early method of drying malt, before the era of coke and smokeless heat.

So the beer has a smoked tinge, much like some malt whisky has a smoky taste from the malt also being dried in this fashion (except over smoldering peat).

In the part of Bavaria where the smoked beers are made (centered in and around Bamberg), the old ways die hard. That can bea good thing, but for everyone.

Some Bamberg beers are less smoky than the Rauchbier mentioned. Schlenkerla itself makes a wheat beet which uses only 5% smoked malt which is very good and which I prefer to the full-on flavor of the Rauchbier.

There is an argument in beer history circles whether a smoky taste was regarded as a defect. In some parts of Europe, including apparently England, it was. In other parts, the taste became accepted as part of the palate of the local beers.

You can blend the Rauchbier with a regular good German or German-style dunkel or bock beer and get some of the beechwood smoked taste but not an overwhelming one. If you have the rermains of a pack, don't discard the rest of the beers, blend them.

Gary

[shyster512]

You can blend the Rauchbier with a regular good German or German-style dunkel or bock beer and get some of the beechwood smoked taste but not an overwhelming one. If you have the rermains of a pack, don't discard the rest of the beers, blend them.

Gary

Thanks, Gary. However, I only purchased one and that was plenty for me. The place I purchased the ale from allowed you to mix and match a six pack and receive a discount. I did just that. The Einbecker was nice as were some others.

[Sijan]

Mike, if the Schlenkerla was too much for you, you may want to try Fuller's 1845, an English beer. It is a very good beer with much more mild smokey notes. But I don't think you'll feel like you're drinking a barbecue.

[Gillman]

Thanks, by the way I meant to say, "this can be a good thing but it is not for everyone". I find the Schlenkerla Maerzen an imposing glass of beer but can only have it once in a while.

Gary

[Gillman]

I'm with Dan and there is a small Fuller 1845 appreciation society in SB which include Dan, me and Jeff Yeast.

Gary

[wintermute]

I like bacon. I like beer. ergo, I like Rauschbier. Unfortunately, my otherwise amazing local distributor doesn't carry any. the good thing is that one of the local microbreweries makes Rauschbier after Oktoberfest through Christmas.

[Sijan]

I picked up a bottle of the pale ale and will try it out as soon as I get over being sick.

I'm drinking it right now and enjoying it quite a bit. Very nice light, yeasty and fruity beer. Fairly complex. Didn't realize this was actually a Tripel.