Bottles For The Ages

When it comes to special occasions say, Valentine’s Day - not just any old beer will do. Michelob instead of Bud? Well, that’s a start. But when they’re looking for something truly out of the ordinary, many suds connoisseurs turn to Belgian beers.

Belgians are the fine wines of the beer world, with tastes and textures ranging from rich cabernets to tingly champagnes. Many come corked, instead of capped. Their alcohol content often approaches wine territory, at 8 or 9 percent by volume. So do their price tags; expect to pay around $3 to $6 for a single, regular-sized beer, which is about half the size of a standard wine bottle.

Some Belgian beers even age like wines, because they’re bottled with live yeasts that continue the maturing process. (That also means you must pour them carefully, to leave the sediment behind in the bottle.)

In my basement, I recently ran across some Belgians that I bought back in the mid-1980s, when I knew next to nothing about beer but occasionally picked up things that seemed chic. When I opened them, the Chimay Red was thinner than more recent vintages, but richer and smoother, with port-like notes. An Orval, highly carbonated when young, was similarly smoother, with a distinctive aftertaste that my wife compared to the turpentine-tasting Greek wine, retsina (which she considered a compliment).

Chimay and Orval are the two best-known of Belgium’s strong Trappist beers, made at actual monastery breweries, continuing a centuries-old tradition.

The Chimay monks make three beers, increasing in price and alcohol content. The basic beer, Chimay Red (or Premiere), is copper-colored and fruity-tasting. Chimay White (or Cinq Cents) is paler in color and drier and hoppier in flavor.

The top of the line, Chimay Blue (or Grande Reserve), returns to a reddish hue, with a softer, fuller mouthfeel and some spiciness. It was excellent as an accompaniment to Roquefort cheese, as British beer expert Michael Jackson suggests; it also paired well with guacamole and chips the following night.

Orval makes only one beer, and it’s a one-of-a-kind concoction: light orange in color, intensely aromatic (some compare the smell to sage), fizzy and acidic with a hoppy, perfumy finish and yeast flavors that have been likened to “hair tonic.” It seems to be a love-it-or-hate-it proposition, and a somewhat risky one at upwards of $6 for an 11.2-ounce bottle.

There also are “abbey” beers, made in the monastic style by secular brewers, sometimes under contract to monasteries. Grimbergen’s are among the more commonly found, including a Double that’s similar to Chimay Red but lighter and sweeter, and a rich, golden Tripel.

Perhaps the most beloved golden Belgian beer is Duvel, from the Flemish word for “devil” - an appropriate name, as its innocent appearance belies its high alcohol content (8 percent plus, by volume). Served cold, in a chilled glass, it’s a relatively dry, refreshing appetizer beer; when warmer, it’s a fruity, flowery after-dinner drink.

Belgian brewers also offer several options for lovers of lighter wheat beers. Their wheat beers, called lambics, are fermented by wild yeasts that naturally occur in the air, contributing a tart, winey character.

The plainest is gueuze, a blend of young and old lambics that’s crisp and champagne-like. Other lambics are flavored with fruits, including the traditional kriek (cherry) and framboise (raspberry), and such newer variations as peche (peach).

Liefman’s Frambozenbier, made from brown ale instead of lambic for a rounder flavor, is an especially suitable Valentine’s Day brew. It has a rich raspberry color, aroma and taste, and comes in a paper wrapping decorated with Cupid-like cherubs. (Sure, it’s on the pricey side, at around $7 - but, hey, it’s not my money, Valentine.)

Look for Belgian beers at such specialty stores as Jim’s Home Brew, the Spokane Wine Co. (at Huckleberry’s Fresh Market), Hallett Farms and the Vino! wine shop and at well-stocked taverns like The Viking.

Hale’s ‘n’ hearty

Hale’s newly released seasonal Irish Ale, bigger-bodied than in previous years, will be paired with rosemary leg of lamb in a brewer’s dinner Feb. 24 at 7 p.m. at Jimmy D’s in Coeur d’Alene.

The menu also includes Hale’s honey wheat with baked brie and fruit, Moss Bay amber with baked oysters and the traditional Hale’s stout float for dessert (yes, beer and ice cream). Cost is $25, including tax and tip; call (208) 664-9774.

Also keep an eye out for Hale’s brand-new Cream Ale. The medium-bodied blond beer is kegged and served using nitrogen as well as carbon dioxide for a creamy, smooth consistency, similar to Pyramid’s recently released DPA. Hale’s has done that off and on with some of its other beers in the past, but not on a regular basis until now.

BridgePort, anyone?

Portland’s BridgePort brewery, which last fall introduced its superb, bottle-conditioned “Firkin” India pale ale and porter, has come out with two more new brews: ESB (extra special bitter) and Black Strap Stout.

The ESB, which replaces the previous Pintail ESB, continues BridgePort’s trend toward hoppier beers, although it’s less bitter than the IPA and has plenty of malt body. Black Strap is a rich stout, with roasty flavors balanced by an earthy molasses sweetness.

Pub crawl

On the Spokane brewpub scene, the Big Horn Brewing Co. at the Ram Family Restaurant is pouring a malty, toasty Numbskull Nut Brown Ale as a seasonal offering, with a Maibock awaiting an April release.

And over at the newly opened Bayou Brewing Co., check out the Dunkel Weizen wheat beer - flavorful and roasty, thanks to some chocolate malt - and Mud Bug IPA. While not as unabashedly bitter as my favorite IPAs, Mud Bug (the Cajun nickname for crawfish) has a respectable hop character.

They join the three Bayou brews I wrote about last month: a hoppy pale ale now called Gator Ale, the malty Spokane Red and a dryish Voodoo Dark porter. There’s also a lighter Crystal Weizen wheat beer that wasn’t on tap when I visited, but should be available now.

One complaint: Like the Ram, Bayou doesn’t serve beer in half-pints (i.e., a 9- or 10-ounce glass). That’s a disservice to those of us who may want to try two or three styles in a sitting, but not necessarily two or three pints - and particularly to women, who have lower body weights and metabolize alcohol differently. The money may be in pushing pints, but let’s remember responsibility, too.

, DataTimes MEMO: On Tap is a monthly feature of IN Food. Write to: On Tap, Features Department, The Spokesman-Review, P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210. Call 459-5446, fax 459-5098 or e-mail to rickb@spokesman.com

The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Rick Bonino The Spokesman-Review