OK, so it now officially “On like a bomb!” As of right now, we have 30 beers for Belgium Comes to West Chester. This is shaping up to be a full on blow out for sure and I can’t wait. I’m pretty confident that at least ten people will be staying at my house next weekend too (better tell my wife pretty soon!!!). Pretty much everyone we know dug deep into their cellars and brought out sweet love. The flags are hung, the Chef has been thinking Belgian all week, and ‘Bus’ is full…not that I would know anything about that. In any case I thought that all of you fine readers / mug clubbers would enjoy a little pre-game strategy session.

First off, here are some important things to remember.

• The single best piece of advice I can give is to arrive early if you have any desire to drink the entire list.  We will start pouring promptly at 2:00pm. I can guarantee that you won’t get some of the beers if you aren’t here in the first hour or so. There will beer dispensed throught the pub at the front and back bars as well as an Iron Hill West Chester only location at the back of the back bar. This should cut down on the waiting. nice.
• There will be samplers available and they’ll work like this: the list has been split into three groups of 10. Each sampler will be $20 for 10 five ounce beers. Yeah that’s righ, it’s 50 ounces! The samplers will shrink in size and price as we run out of beers. We will have a station set up where you can just pick up a ready to go sampler and scoot along. This is the best idea since sliced bread and should really get you beers more quickly. Best Idea Ever award goes to our long time bar tender Jesse Gilbert for this one. High five him next time you see him for sure.
• You will notice that unlike last year all of the beer will be on tap at ounce. This is to cut down on some of the confusion and to allow people who can’t come late to enjoy the very rare goodies. Nice.
• Leave yourself plenty of time to savor responsibly, and PLEASE eat a little something while you’re here. That’s a ton of beer! Besides, it would be very un-adult to try and down all of that sweet, sweet love quickly.
• Super Secret Stuff going on too. Click on over to the Brew Lounge and read all about it. Extra Nice. 

MMMMm I can’t wait. Ok, here’s the list (with commentary) enjoy!

B. Cambridge Brewing Company, Weekapaug Gruit Spiced ale without hops. Flavoed with the herbs: sweet gale, yarrow, wild rosemary,  wild licorice root and nettles. Gruit Ale may be highly intoxicating and aphrodisiacal when consumed in significant quantity.  aroma and flavor of green tea with notes of Echinacea/mint/chamomile/licorice. Of course, this is balanced by pale and dark caramel malted barley, wheat malt and oats. It is medium in body, and deep amber in color. Full, rich, and malty on the palate and smooooth in the finish. OG: 1.046   FG: 1.010   ABV: 5.0%

B. Cambridge Brewing Company, Tripel Threat Fermented with a proprietary Belgian yeast strain and brewed using imported Continental malt and Hallertauer and Perle hops, Curacao and sweet orange peel, and fresh ground coriander. It is a light, hazy sienna in color, full-bodied, fruity, and very strong. Aromas of barley malt, orange blossoms and a hint of coriander first greet the nose, then carry through to the palate. A warming sensation then takes over, and blends into a complex finish of bread dough, spices, citrus, estery alcohol, and hops. OG: 1.085   FG: 1.013   ABV: 9.5%

Devil’s Backbone, 5 ApostlesBelgian Blonde Ale. Gold in color, light to medium in body with a spicy fruity finish that is derived from two strains of Belgian yeast, two secret spices and noble European hops. Note: Jason “The Gooch” Oliver lit up the GABF stage this year with 4 medals for DB’s first ever GABF. A rare treat imported from the sticks.  ABV 6.1% IBUs 25

Dogfishead , Red and White A big, belgian-style Wit brewed with coriander and orange peel and fermented with Pinot Noir juice. After fermentation a fraction of the batch is aged in Oregon Pinot Noir barrels, and another fraction is aged on oak staves. The beer is blended together before packaging. It successfully marries the refreshing citrusy qualities of a Belgian-style white beer with the robust complexity of a bold red wine. 10% abv 35 IBU 10oz.

Earth Bread and Brewery, St. Eve Trappist-style Pale Ale Dry, funky and dangerously drinkable 6.2% ABV

Flying Fish,  Exit 4 American Trippel dry, hopped twice with plenty of American hops. This inspired Belgian-style Trippel has a hazy golden hue and the aromaof citrus with hints of banana and clove. Predominant Belgian malt flavors give way to a subdued bitterness in the finish. Bottle conditioned, this beer will develop as it ages. Winner of the gold medal at the 2009 Great American Beer Festival and voted The Best Belgian Beer in America in Mens Journal Magazine.9.5% ABV 15 IBU

 Harpoon, Jed’s Donkey 5.3% ABV Caraway Saison. A super secrect ‘one off’ from the crew at Harpoon.

Iron Hill Lancaster, Oak Quad 12.5% 50 IBU A huge Belgian dark Abbey ale, aged in oak wine barrels. This already complex fruity beer gets additional notes of oak and red wine

Iron Hill Mapleshade, Heywood Golden Belgian Strong Ale fermented in wood with 100% Brett L. Tart funky and very phenolic with an underlying oak character.  6.3% ABV  10oz 

Iron Hill Media, Cassis   If you get some of this, you are the luckiest person you know. Traditional lambic made with wild yeast and aged in oak barrels for two years with black currants. Dark violet in color and unfiltered, aroma of hay and berries with an intense sourness and an exceedingly dry finish. 2008 GABF Bronze Medal Winner – Belgian-Style Lambic or Sour Ale category 4.9% ABV 10oz

Iron Hill North Wales, Peppercorn Tripel  High gravity Belgian-style golden ale brewed with peppercorns. Complex aroma and flavor of plums, spice, bananas, and orange with a refreshing balanced bitterness 9.0% ABV

Iron Hill Phoenixville, Tripelsec High gravity Belgian-style golden ale made with fresh orange zest. Complex aroma and flavor of plums, spice, bananas, and orange with a refreshing balanced bitterness 9.0% ABV  

Iron Hill West Chester, Cherry Dubble  Three Fermentations: Primary with abbey yeast. Refermentation after the addition of Dark Sweet Cherry. A third fermentation by Brett Bruxx in a pinot noir barrel. 17% of the fermentables from Dark Sweet Cherries. 2008 GABF silver medal 8.1% ABV 10oz

Iron Hill West Chester, Farmer Chuck Hoppy saison re-fermented with Brett Clausini 7.5% ABV 35 IBUs  

Iron Hill West Chester, Framboise  Belgian-style lambic made oregon raspberries with wild yeast, bacteria and aged in oak barrels for over two years. Golden in color and unfiltered, this sour beer has a complex aroma of bananas, oak and hay and a nutty flavor 5.2% ABV 10oz

Iron Hill West Chester, Lambic Belgian-style lambic made with wild yeast, bacteria and aged in oak barrels for over two years. Golden in color and unfiltered, this sour beer has a complex aroma of bananas, oak and hay and a nutty flavor ABV4.8%  10oz

Iron Hill Wilmington, Cannibal Nocturnum Belgian-style dark ale with a complex dry sweetness, balancing bitterness and a spicy finish 8.0% ABV

Ithaca Brewing Company, LeBleu  Sour Blueberry ale made with New York State blueberries. 100% Drie FonteinenBrettanomyces fermentation. Part of the Excelsior! Series of beers. Extremely limited. 5.5% abv 10oz

Manayunk Brewing Company, ‘Yunker’s Nocternum Dark Belgian Strong Ale.  A delicate fruit character from our Belgian yeast strain combines with numerous dark specialty malts to create flavors of plum, raisin, and fig. Both strong and malty, this mahogany colored ale could be the perfect elixir for a cold winter night. 8.9% ABV, 28 IBU’s

McKenzies, Vatour du Bois Belgian style farmhouse ale brewed with rye and fermented in oak barrels 7.0%  

Nodding Head, Rudys Kung Fu Grip. Rudy the nose tweaking parrot says, “This Belgian Strong Ale has a malty sweetness with a pinch of plum and a hint of spice from Belgian yeast”  Very strong Belgian-Style ale. Deep amber-red in color and full bodied. Malty sweetness with a plum-like fruity character and just a hint of spicyness. 11.0%ABV.

Rock Bottom, Grand Cru Perfumy Belgian amber ale featuring a sweet fruity candy character balanced on the palate by a bracing hop contribution 7.7% ABV

Sly Fox Brewing, Dale’s 10K  A special one-off beer brewed in collaboration with beer writer and historian Dale Van Wieren to celebrate the tasting of his 10,000th brew. Am Amber Pils/Dubbel/Bier de Garde hybrid. 7.5% abv

Stewart’s, Obscurum  This luscious and dark Belgian-inspired ale has rich roasted malt flavors that interplay with a spicy fruitiness from the unique yeast strain used in this winter treat.  8.8% ABV

Stoudt’s Brewing Company, TripelA strong, full-bodied Belgian Abbey-style beer. The traditional yeast strain that is used imparts a rich array of spicy and fruit-like flavors. The prominent clove and melon notes are complemented by the sweetness and alcoholic warmth of the beer. The appealing color of glowing orange makes this brew irresistible. 9.0% ABV 37 BUs

Triumph Brewing Company, Love Potion Abbey TrippelBelgian ales are famous for their complex flavor, incorporating fruity esters, phenols, and higher alcohols. This Trippel is a strong pale beer brewed with Belgian candi sugar and fermented with a special strain of yeast. 9.5% ABV

Tröegs Brewing Compay, Mad Elfa cheerful creation to warm your heart and enlighten your tongue. The combination of Cherries, Honey, and Chocolate Malts delivers gentle fruits and subtle spices. Fermented and aged with a unique yeast, this ruby red beer has significant warming strength that underlies the pleasant character of this intriguing yet delicious Ale. The Mad Elf, a jolly and delicious beer for the Holidays. 11.0%abv 15 IBUs

 Victory Brewing Company, Abbey 5Mildly fruity, well-tempered Belgian single exhibiting characteristics of the Westmalle Abbey yeast strain. 25 IBUs 5.2% abv  

Weyerbacher, FourteenTo honor 14 years of making craft beer Weyerbacher decided to brew a wheat wine. This unfiltered brew is made with over 50% wheat to give it a distinctly spicy character.11.8%ABV

Yards, Old Bartholomew Well, it isan ale. This beer may not be all that Belgian, but it is all Bart! Back After a 10 Year Hiatus. Our good friend Lew Bryson calls this beer a “a hops antidote” perfect for removing “hopsamatic residue, bitter oils and resins puckering your ale-hole”. The Yards crew are family to us. We couldn’t possibly have an event without inviting them. The Belgians should make barley wine, so Old Bart is totally in. Besides, you’ll need the malty goodness to cut through all of the other spicy, sour, and crazy beer we’ve got here today! 10.3%ABV 65ish IBUs. Giddiup.