Jennifer Springmann

9.0

Full bodied. Purchased from Dominion Wine and Beer, Falls Church ($24) — 9 years ago

Jonathan Bensick

9.3

Florida Man makes excellent craft beer: Jai Alai IPA from Cigar City Brewing in Tampa. — 9 years ago

James Laurenti

9.0

Creamy, roasty, toasty coffee. More a treat than a beer. Not as sweet as expected though. — 9 years ago

David Waldron

9.0

Enjoyed this cab at Nebbiola in Oregon City. — 9 years ago

Tonya Overstreet

10

Music City Wine Enthusiasts - Welcome to the Jungle meetup — 10 years ago

with David

Tim Burke

9.6

Boulevard Kansas City beer — 11 years ago

Adam Foster

Beverage Director Sweet Grass Dairy Cheese Shop, Blue Coop Restaurant

9.6

Gotta love me some cucumbers in my beer! — 11 years ago

Kathy Cutri

9.7

Bought this at an Italian restaurant in Pentagon City. It was fabulous. Found it for $12.99 at our local beer and wine store. It's a fantastic wine. Full, but not too full. Fruity. A little earthy. Very smooth. Nice finish. — 9 years ago

Heather Sinclair

9.0

One of the best beers in a city of good beer — 9 years ago

Cristóbal Arellano Borges

9.0

Delectable--this is Protocosmos, not City of the Sun. — 9 years ago

BottleCapsNCorks

8.9

Very easy to throw back a few. I much rather drink this than BudLight or Miller lite. 👍 — 9 years ago

Christian Bronstein

9.7

Love the retro label...love the beer — 10 years ago

Dock Hooks

9.6

Big kudos here, to the vintners, for providing just a little spice on the nose introducing flavors that present smoothly right after pulling the cork and results in big ole mouthful of jammy red fruit covering the entire palate with proper tannins and an easy finish resonating trails of what started as it drifts down one's throat. I found this, very affordable, yet right-on red wine at Promise Land Market (top-notch craft beer and wine bar that has become my fall hang while back home in Morehead City, NC; checkout the superb yet casual charcuterie). All a delight! (especially the people; come and see...) — 11 years ago

Joe Carroll

Owner/Wine Director Spuyten Duyvil, Fette Sau, St. Anselm & Gotham Artisanal Provisions

9.5

Jean Van Roy's amazing story of Zwanze 2013. When we started renovation works in the cellars of the brewery two years ago, much to our surprise we came upon the remains of some very old walls. In agreement with the medievalists of the city of Brussels, the works were stopped in order to allow archaeological excavations to take place.

Shortly thereafter we were astonished to find out that Cantillon brewery had in fact been built on the ruins of the very ancient Abbey of Cureghem! According to the medievalists, this religious community was well-known during the middle ages for its fowl fed on draff and, more specifically, for its dish of stuffed Cureghem capon, which was served with a beer brewed at the abbey and apparently drew pilgrims from all over Europe.

Yet it was truly a heavenly surprise when the excavations uncovered the cell of the abbot, Father Faro. In the small room the archaeologists found quite a few old reference books, one of which contained the original recipes for the beers brewed at the abbey several hundred years ago. We didn’t hesitate for a second and decided on the spot to recreate one of these mythical beers.

This beer, which will be our Zwanze for 2013, therefore bears the name of its illustrious place of origin, Abbaye de Cureghem (Cureghem Abbey). Cureghem was formerly a village established many centuries ago on the banks of the Senne, the river running through present-day Brussels. The area was very heavily industrialised during the 19th century and, among other things, became home to many breweries. Today, it is part of the municipality of Anderlecht.

Since beers commonly referred to as “abbey beers” are not, or not any longer, products of spontaneous fermentation, we decided to brew a top fermentation beer, from a technical point of view in any case. The yeasts were selected in collaboration with Institut Meurice, a post-secondary college in Brussels specialising in biotechnology. Brewed in March 2012, our “Cureghem” beer fermented four weeks in stainless steel tanks before being blended with 10% lambic and pumped into 400-litre barrels of various origins. After maturing for six months, the beers were blended and put into casks or bottles to undergo re-fermentation and reach 7.2% ABV (Alcohol by Volume).

Inevitably, a top fermentation beer brewed in a spontaneous fermentation environment will be affected by the wild yeasts in the air, and this is certainly what happened in our case. For our Cureghem, the cultured yeasts were clearly the main factor behind primary fermentation and I think that the wild yeasts in the beer will instead play an increasingly important role as the product ages. However, despite the addition of the lambic to give it a little “extra something” in terms of character and ageing characteristics, this Zwanze cannot in any case be considered a spontaneous fermentation beer.

The long fermentation period coupled with the presence of wild yeasts lends this beer a solid character with a dry finish that lingers on the palate, while the combined use of fresh and aged hops yields both freshness and bitterness. Moreover, the different malts used give this year’s Zwanze a coppery colour along with a touch of caramel and candied fruit that provide body. Clearly, this is not your standard “abbey” beer but, perhaps, it is representative of what these beers were one or two hundred years ago — 11 years ago

Nick Jones

10

One of my favorite beers lately. A malt forward, yet hoppy & smooth beer.
4/11 @ wob.
— 9 years ago

Ron Yates

9.0

Great beer from Marble Falls TX. All of their profit goes to charity. Can't beat that. — 9 years ago

Dock Hooks

9.3

This cab shows so purely old school Sonoma - I love it! The fruit/acid is bright but toning as it opens and the oak and tannins magic appears going silky plum with enough brightness to let it work with bresaola, manchego, cremont, dark no to low salt olives and raw almonds Morehead City, NC's premier wine, cheese, charcuterie, craft beer hang - The Prominise' Land Market! Go there! (amazing price point on this delicious Sonoma cab!) — 9 years ago

David Kline

9.3

Light rosé color, bubblegum and oyster nose. Head falls off faster than Marie Antoinette, the rush of blood orange off the bat that turns to lemon and limestone, with a nice underripe grape tartness is very satisfying. Almost a sessionable sour-beer thing going on. Leaves a tingle on your younger and hope in your heart! — 9 years ago

Christopher Zulueta

9.7

Just enough sour (almost cider esque) from wine barrel aging. Very complex with funky, straw like nuances. A contemplative beer brewed in Salt Lake City by Epic and aged accordingly with a collaboration from Crooked Stave in Fort Collins. — 10 years ago

Antoine Pin

Wine Buyer Kroger/QFC

9.0

Now we're talking!!!!! It's all your fault David. :) — 11 years ago

with David