2beerguys beer blog

Tuesday at the CBC

While the women-folk went out and kicked up their heels, I decided to stop in after work and pick up a pint at the CBC.

First I tried this:

“GOLDEN RING”ABBEY PALE ALE
Anyone who’s patronized the Cambridge Brewing Company for any length of time is probably aware of our brewers’ passion for the great beers of Belgium. CBC is credited with being the first production brewery in America to recreate an authentic Belgian beer style, Tripel, and our beers have garnered international recognition.Five Belgian abbeys (Chimay, Orval, Rochfort, Westmalle, and Saint Sixtus) and one in the Netherlands (Schaapskooi) make beer. All are of the Trappist monastic order. They are the only Trappist breweries in the world, and no other brewer is allowed to use the word trappist on its labels, as the term is a legal appellation. Commercial breweries in Belgium and around the world which are not related to a monastic brewery- but which produce ales styled after the Trappists- use the term “abbey -style.”
While most of the Trappists brew beers known as Dubbels and Trippels, Golden Ring Abbey Pale Ale is reverently inspired by the only one to produce a hoppy, medium-bodied pale ale. It’s grist is made up of Belgian Vienna and Aromatic malt, and it is hopped with English Goldings and Fuggles, Styrian Goldings, and German Tettnanger and Hallertauer. Hop aroma and flavor is emphasized, but remains in balance, by dry-hopping with these varieties. The yeast used in fermentation is our proprietary Belgian strain, which gives the beer its signature spicy/fruity/funky notes. Golden Ring is a deep gold in color, and it undergoes an extended warm conditioning period before further cold-conditioning. It has the aforementioned spicy, fruity, earthy character, and carries additional aromas and flavors of toasted malt, complex herbs and peppery hops, and alcohol. The finish is fairly long and dry, with yeast notes and hops vying for space on your palate. This is an interesting, extremely complex, and very drinkable beer, which lends itself quite well to a wide range of foods.
Ching ching!Will, Megan, Kevin, and Phil

It was an interesting take on an abbey ale. Not as strong as most that I’ve had in the past, and definitely more hop notes. Had a bit of a banana taste as the glass warmed, which I would expect in some abbey ales, but was new to me in a hoppy beer.

After this I tried the cask-conditioned Tall Tale Pale Ale which had been dry-hopped with Symcoe hops. Holy cow, it had more aroma and stronger fruit flavor than I’ve ever had. Almost overwhelming, but not quite. There seems to be a pretty good contingent who make sure they go to the CBC every tuesday to try the cask ale of the week. I heard lots of comments like “I don’t know if I’m going to drink this or just smell it all night”. Good crew of beer geeks, I talked to a couple of guys about beers from all over. Definitely worth a trip on a Tuesday!