Beer talk - June 2014 - Toledo Talk - Black Cloister Brewery Update

#beer - #toledo

Latest that I've heard is the Black Cloister plans to start brewing in August, and they will open to the public in September. They will emphasize Belgian-style beers, such as Strong, Wit, Trippel, and Saison. They will also offer other styles.

My wife and I have brewed several beers at home this spring and early summer, including Belgian-styles, such as Wit, Blonde, and Trippel, so we're looking forward to the Black Cloister opening.

In recent months, we've sampled a fair number of commercial beers, and our prefs right now are for the Belgian styles. I like those funky, flavorful Belgian yeast strains, which sounds funny to say.

I like the beers produced by New York state brewery Ommegang. But lately, we've narrowed down our purchases at The Andersons to Trappist beers. Only 10 Trappist breweries exist. Their beer bottles contain the "Authentic Trappist Product" logo. The Andersons sells beer from at least six of those breweries.

The Rochefort 10 Trappist Belgian Ale is amazing. But we've enjoyed the others too, such as La Trappe Trappist Ale, Chimay Ale (blue label), Westmalle Trappist Ale, Achel Brune, and Orval Trappist Ale.

The only U.S. Trappist brewery is located at St. Joseph's Abbey in Massachusetts. Their beer is called Spencer Trappist Ale. If anyone knows how to acquire that beer besides going to Massachusetts, let me know.

A bit about the story behind Spencer Trappist Ale:

• January 2014 - Toledo Blade - American abbey joins brotherhood of beer brewers
• May/June 2014 - Brew Magazine - American Trappists - fascinating story

Of course, breweries like to design and sell their own glassware.

The Spencer glass was designed, through the collaborative efforts of the monks, Libbey Glass, and other expert consultants, to be the perfect glass for enjoying our Trappist Ale.

Now that we're clicking off some 90-degree days, I wish we had some Belgian farmhouse ale on hand, something a little lighter than a Belgian quad. But our homemade Belgian wit beer will substitute well later this evening.

Belgium defeated Algeria today in World Cup Soccer.