7% ABV | Smoked | 500ml | De Dochter | Baarle-Hertog, Belgium
From Baarle-Hertog, a Flemish municipality along the north border of Belgium, come the beers of Brouwerij De Dochter Van Korenaar. This humble but positively elegant little family-run brewery debuted in 2007 and has already made a great impression in the beer world. Its ambitious title, Brouwerij De Dochter Van Korenaar, translates to Daughter of the Ear of Corn, a self-proclaimed synonym for beer and literary homage to the fact that Emperor Charles V preferred the blood of corn over the blood of grapes. That is to say – he preferred beer over wine (why Mr. Emperor wasn’t drinking beers made with better grains than corn is another matter altogether). And who can blame him?
In that spirit, Brouwerij De Dochter offers a lovely selection of Belgian-styled beers that seek to encapsulate the legacy and tradition of the region n while still employing the benefits of modern proficiency and passion for craft beer. Lovely bottles, decorative labeling and a rainbow of vibrant beer pours combine into an experience that is nothing short of regal. But that doesn’t mean this family operation can’t go a little off-kilter from time to time. And thus we arrive at La Fuieuse – The Furious.
Brewed once – count it, once – and barrel-aged for an entire year, this curious offering from the Brouwerij is classified as a smoke beer, and it earns its title. Seeking to bottle the spirit of a summer campfire, La Furieuse pours a fiery amber with a flavor to match; it makes ample use of charcoal flavors, stoking the sumptuous plumes of smoke with an ample pitching of peated malt. The whole brew combusts with a steadily growing heat thanks to – what else – chili peppers, and temperature rises as you enjoy it. A bit of candy sweetness dampens the smolder to avoid becoming too aggressive, and the wooden flavors from its year-long stint in a barrel round it all out. You’ve never tasted a Belgian beer like it.
Uncommon, modern, and delightfully odd, La Furieuse is a testament to Brouwerik De Dochter Van de Korenaar’s interest in the clashing of worlds, both old and new.