New Belgium Super Cru

New Belgium Super Cru
New Belgium Super Cru

During the dog days of summer, I’m always looking for strong beers that go down well when it’s hot out.  I recently tried the new offering from New Belgium, Super Cru.

Super Cru is a strong Belgian ale that was formulated with the same malts as their flagship beer, Fat Tire, but double the quantity.  It also included Asian pear juice to strengthen it even more and to lighten the body.

Initially, it had a very fruity aroma.  With each sip, it slightly tasted like Fat Tire, but the Asian pear juice did lighten it up.  The pear juice was very forward in the flavor, and it changed the complexity of the beer.  It was a good Belgian strong ale that was light enough to enjoy during the sweltering summer months.

Have you had Super Cru?  What was your take?

Schlafly Biere de Garde

Schlafly Biere de Garde
Schlafly Biere de Garde

The last few weeks, I have been traveling around, going out to New Jersey then down to Saint Louis.  Because we drove to each place, it gave me the opportunity to bring back some beer not available in Iowa, such as some from Oskar Blues, Avery, and Schlafly.

One of the beers I brought back from Saint Louis was Schlafly’s Biere de Garde.  I’ve had many different saison farmhouse ales, but this is one of the only biere de gardes I’ve had.  Without trying to sound too simple, saisons tend to be a bit lower in alcohol with a bit more hop flavor.

This beer was a very nice farmhouse ale.  It smelled very fruity with a bit of Belgian funkiness.  The flavor had a nice malty backbone with just a little but of hop flavor.  This was a great find, and I’m glad I had the chance to try one.

Have you had the Schlafly Biere de Garde?  What did you think?