2007 Zythos Beer Fest
March 3rd, 2007: Zythos Begins…
What is Zythos? Zythos is the ultimate beer fest of beer fests. This is a magical event, were 70 breweries get together, under one roof and share over 220 different beers. Now that might sound like your standard beer fest, yet who is pouring your beer? Well at Zythos, it’s usually the Brewer who made the beer you are about to drink. With each beer, they wash and rinse your glass, pour a perfect pour and are there to discuss the beer with you: hops they are using, what their mash schedule was, the ratio of specialty grains to how much of the fermentables were sugar. This two day event starts at noon and goes till Midnight. Then the next day, it happens all over again. This year was also the first year that the event was non-smoking, really making it a joy to fully taste and smell each brew. I left this fest with so many wonderful memories, of not just the beers, but the Brewers and other Babblers who made the day great!
Jeremy and I three fisting it with De Struise Aardmonnik,
Aardon and Pannepot Reserva. Does it get any better?
One of the stand out breweries at this years Zythos were De Struise Brouwers. Urbain, Carlo and Phil had some of the most unique, inspiring, classically brewed yet out of the box beers offered. My first taste was Aardmonnik, an old school Flemish Oud Bruin. The components that make this beer unique come from blending 30% aged beer in French red wine barrels for 18 months and 70% young beer ; both of these blended beers originate from the same recipe. Together they create a perfect balance of plum, cherry, sherry, raisin and red grape with a latco sour finish, roast and malt, leaving oaky vanilla and tannins to dry the taste buds. Aardmonnik uses a 300 year old heirloom plate for its label which parallels the history of this commercially antiquated beer style.
The next beer was the Pannepot, a spiced ale that will wow any palate. Malt, coffee, toffee, molasses, honey and Belgium candy cover up the 10% alcohol of this amazing brew. Ester flavors of dried fruits such as prunes, cherries and raisons play off the spicy clove, liquorice by-products of the yeast with impressions of chocolate and red grapes giving this beer an almost port like quality.
Erik, Dave, AlanC and "Homer" all enjoying the Fest
Halloween Pumpkin beer from 't Smisje
No you can’t buy that shirt, you have to earn it. That’s right, earn a shirt through several pints of beer… Ok, maybe more. Dianecat was also at the fest. AlanC was trying to keep up with Diane, but he was beat! She has the shirt to prove it.
More pics from Zythos can be seen at: www.imagestation.com/album/pictures.html?id=2094635084
Thanks Jeremy and Glenn for the laughs and good times.
A wonderful spelt beer appropriately named Speziale was light, refreshing with a different grain character than just barley and wheat. Millevertus had many wonderful beers brewed by Daniel Lessire.
Urbain signing my bottle of Aardmonnik
Johan pouring several great beers from 't Smisje
De Struise also brought a special pre-release of Pannepot Reserva, the same base Pannepot recipe as mentioned above; yet blended like a reverse Oud Bruin. First the 70% of this brew is aged on French Oak for 12 months, then racked into used calvados (apple brandy) barrels and aged longer, were most of it still sits for a future release, outside what we tasted at ZBF. Then 30% young beer was blended back into it, adding sweetness to balance the aged beer. The addition of two different barrels gives this version more depth, some earthiness, different tannins and a twang that dances on all the surfaces of ones tongue.
Aardnon, a blend of 30% Pannepot Reserva and 70% Aarmonnik brought a new level of sophistication and artistry not seen done by many commercial brewers today. For those wine lovers whom say they don’t like beer, this is one beer you must have them try. Fruit flavors of apple, grape, plum, fig, spices like clove, nutmeg, liquoirce all play off oaky tannins, malt notes of honey, roasted coffee, toffee, caramel and chocolate, a touch of sour, encapsulating these essences and perfume characters, playing off each other like a well scripted Shakespearean play.
Last was De Struise Brouwers answer to a Xmas brew: Tsjeeses. A Belgian Tripel lagered on stone fruits akin to apricots and cherries; give a surreal balance to the light caramel, honey, vanilla and malt notes of a standard Tripel. The dryness of the apricot skin smoothes out the citrusy hops, adding a different bitterness that is heightened by essences of orange, clove and almond. My Friends and I kept going back to the De Struise booth, visiting with Urbain, Carlo and Phil, giving our tokens to have our glasses re-filled with their imaginative brews. We ended our time with sharing some fun West Coast beers that aren’t on any of there Flemish country side’s beer store shelves, hoping to inspire further creations.
