HIP - Craft Beer, and no it is not wine!

Dear Readers,

When I started my internship in 2012 in Antwerp, Belgium I was totally into wine, but when I started to discover Antwerp, Belgian craft beer came to my attention and ever since I am a real lover of Belgian beers.

What is craft beer exactly, simply it is beer which is not brewed by the big mega-breweries like Heineken, SabMiller/Grolsch, Anheuse Busch etcetera. It is beer what is brewed by microbreweries or called small breweries, these breweries are small, independent and traditional.

Often when the micro-brewery is small and you are willing to order a special type of beer you need to do this in advance and hope that you will get the 12 beer bottles, for example.

Craft beer is really upcoming and are not only brewed in Belgium, I have tasted last week craft beer from The USA. It is still very small in The Netherlands but you can already buy these bottles at the Albert Heijn. Next to introduce what craft beer is I would like to share my experience with the following beer....and don't let the cover scare you.....it is a dog, but not the lovely labrador...please taste it because it is delicate.

The next beer is made by brewery Flying Dog and is called Raging Bitch....again, don't let the name & label scare you, it makes me laugh, how in the end can you come up with such a label, but it get's your attention!!  The reaction of the cashier lady was priceless also haha! Please read the personal story of this brewery available on: www.flyingdogbrewery.com

Hereby my tasting notes:

Colour: It has not the typical yellow/gold colour of the normal beers it is more chrome with its small bubbles and white foam. 

Nose: wow-factor, check! It is a bit sweet on the nose, flowers and indeed it is written on the website that you can find nectar. Furthermore, I found some honey but also exotic citrus fruit like grapefruit and a mix of mango, fabulous....now the taste!

Taste: Wow-factor, double-check! Brilliant, delicate elegance, I am sold!  The nose is telling more than thousands words and it is a sweet IPA beer, you will taste the citrus and a bit of a cigar box. Drink it slow, the alcohol is a bit overwhelming and can hit you I think, the beer has 8,3% of volume. Which gives it definitely a bold body. 

I combined this with some old cheese with confiture of peer, apple and date. It was not the best combination and I think you can better combine this with roasted nuts. 

When reading the back label the beer is described as follows:

"Two inflammatory words...one wild drink. Nectar imprisoned in a bottles. Let it out. It is cruel to keep a wild animal locked up. Uncap it. Release it...stand back! Wallow in its golden glow in glass beneath a white foaming head. Remember enjoying a RAGING BITC, unleashed, untamed, unbridled - and in heat - i pure GONZO!!" word by Ralph Steadman (British Cartoonist, maker of the label)

So, run to the Albert Heijn and buy this one for the weekend!

Cheers & enjoy your weekend!

Beer kiss,

Annalia