Anglo-Belgo a-go-go

Two beers gifted from English friends today, both from their native country though in Belgian styles.

Myles gave me this bottle of Durham's Bede's Chalice tripel, presenting it with a warning to open carefully. I did, but it behaved impeccably, pouring clear and having a calm and respectful amount of froth. With an ABV of 9% and coriander and orange peel listed in the ingredients this should have been a riot of luxury Belgian flavours but it turned out quite restrained in this too. There's a slight marmalade tang and a brush of meadowy flowers but the taste is dominated by an off, but not severe, phenolic note. The booze gives it a heavy, syrupy texture which should be a base for fruity Belgian fun but that never materialises. It's not terrible but it definitely lacks character and is certainly a long way from any classic Belgian tripel.

Meanwhile down in Norfolk, the Poppyland brewery is run by Martyn Cornell's brother Dave, and Martyn kindly brought bottles to give away on his recent Poland trip, where I met him. Alexanders is a foraged herb saison of 5.4% ABV. It's amber coloured: darker than your typical saison. The aroma is classically saisonish, however, being all white pepper and a waft of soft stonefruit. It's quite savoury to taste, a herbal mix of sage, rosemary and similar Sunday-lunch accoutrements. A look at the ingredients tells me the effect is achieved with coriander and the titular alexanders, aka horse parsley. The herb side does gel well with saison's earthy spices, so we never lose sight of the well-made classic saison at the base. Circumstances meant I drank this much warmer than it deserved, but I can see how it would refresh nicely if properly cool. This is nothing fancy or weird, but well-made and interesting.

There's nothing here to worry the Belgians, though it's good to see English breweries producing beers outside of the national tradition or generic craft styles.