Kapittel Tasting Day #2 - Prior Ale

Padilla Achilles Corojo Salomon & Kapittel Prior Ale
{Reposted from CigarPostings2 blog: dated 2-27-10}

The Pairing
I still have half the cigar to go so I planned to enjoy the Kapittel Prior Ale on the second half of the cigar. The Prior is a 9% abv with a bitter sweet profile. This ale is a little more complex than the Pater Ale. The aroma is not very eventful and the taste is sweeter than it smells. It is dark brown with some reddish hues when held to the light. This bottle did not have any sediment at all.

The taste to me is vanilla and toffee giving it a candy sugar taste. It also has some dark fruit (fancy raisan) with a little bit of complexity to the taste. Probably from the mossy hop bitterness that helps to balance that sweetness. Good thing because, without the bitter bite I would be pouring this on the grass. The mouthfeel has low carbonation, a smooth creamy style. The port wine character is due to the 9% abv. I am going to give it a 5.5 strength rating because of the bitter notes that fight off the candy sweetness and the lack of a linger note on my palate. There is a short sweet and slight bitter bite on the palate.

I believe the cigar does help this ale for me. The other night I drank a bottle while playing cards and I have to say I was not looking forward to having it again. I said it was sweet and the wife said it was bitter but, she likes raspberry flavored beers.

The cigar does tame some of the sweetness for me and that is good. As for the cigar, I had burning issues along the way. If I left the cigar for a couple of minutes it called for a relight. I have to admit that the cigar and Pater Ale pairing was better. Maybe this Prior needs a more complex and robust cigar to be paired with it to maximize its potential.

The results of Kapittel Tasting DayIn the four pack that they package these four Belgian ales in you get: Prior Red, Pater Brown, Blond Golden and Abt Amber. The Prior and Pater are not my style for enjoyment. But, I did like the Pater with the Padilla cigar. The Abt Amber is terrific and the Blond is close behind it. I hope they start selling the Abt and Blond separate from the other two so I could buy more. If you like the sweet ales of Belgium then the other two are for you to enjoy.