poperings hommel ale: Review

Brewed & Bottled by:

NV Van Eecke

Watou, Belgium

7.5% abv

11.2oz bottle

$16.99 a four pack

I came across this beer about three years ago and thanks to Global Beer the American importer of this ale and many others.  This is a Belgian IPA and sorry American Hopheads it is not a bitter bomb.  But, it is liquid art. 

Appearance: a hazy blend of gold and amber with a two finger egg-shell white head with plenty of lacing on the glass.  Make sure to get that sediment off the bottom of the bottle. 

Aroma: light floral hops, a twist of lemon rind, hint of fresh apple and pear, hint of sweet malts and Belgium yeast.  Nice aromatic hops – sorry hopheads not bitter hops. 

Flavors: let this ale warm a little after taking it out of the fridge for the flavor pop once it hits the 50 degree mark; floral, a rosy-floral note, hint of lemon meat – just a hint, a little fruity – white fruit like, a pinch of coriander, a dash (one dash) of pink peppercorn, low sodium saltine cracker, sweet malts – sweet dough like

Mouthfeel: good Belgian carbonation, there is an oily feel from the hops, the nice fizzy and oily feel gives it a semi-creamy feel, lingering floral and that twist of lemon rind on the aftertaste

To the Point: this ale is soooo easy to drink and at 7.5% watch out for it will catch up to you.  This is one of my favorite Belgians – right up there with Piraat – I am not saying that it is like Piraat – I am saying it is one of my favorites like Piraat. 

A Cigar and Ale Review: Montecristo White and Poperings Hommel Ale

The Cigar

Wrapper: Connecticut-seed Ecuadorian Shade Grown

Filler: Dominican, Nicaraguan

Size: 6x54

My Strength Rating: 5

I use to smoke a lot of these back when they came in that high quality box and not that cardboard cigar box they come in now. Well, it is not because of the box that I do not smoke as many of these cigars; it is because there are so many other quality cigars to go around. I have to admit I still like this cigar. It is kinda plain. It is not a complex smoke. It is one dimensional and that is not always a bad thing. You don’t always have to have bold spice, coffee and earth to be a good cigar. This smoke is solid cedar. If you want to know what cedar tastes like pick this cigar up and you will know what cedar is like. The smoke is consistent all the through. No bitter notes. It does not really change strength ratings during the experience. And, paired with the right beverage this can be the perfect smoke. With that said, I plan to pick up a few more to be ready for some good summertime pairings. Here is one of them.

The Ale

Poperings Hommel Ale is brewed by Brouwerij Van Eecke. The ale has a 7.5% abv and is a Belgian IPA. For those of you who are afraid of the big bold IPA’s that have that super bitter grapefruit taste that will destroy your taste buds for the remainder of the day – don’t worry, this is a very pleasing IPA.

The aroma should turn you on - for the ale of course. The sweet grainy aroma hits my nose every time I pop that cork on that 750 ml bottle. Once in the glass I still get the sweet grain, as well as, some nice herbal notes and pure freshness. The taste is very crisp and has a wonderful hoppy, lemon citrus flavor. Don’t worry, nothing overpowering. The floral-rosy edges start to build and as the ale warms up some nice and very light sweet malty undertones come into play. To me this is a perfectly balanced IPA. Poperings Hommel is now always in my cellar.

The Pairing

This is a perfect pairing. The cigar brings that cedar woody flavor to mingle with the citrus, floral, and bready profile of the ale. The mouthfeel is pure delight. The high carbonation and dry citrus texture of the ale is very pleasing with this cigar. I have not had that experience with other American style IPA’s. It is almost impossible to pair a cigar up with those bold bitter grapefruit bombs. But, then I have not paired them up with this cigar – hum – I’ll have to give it try.

Read another posting about Poperings - with dinner plans

Hops Deficiency Day

poperings hommel ale

I think I am experiencing hops deficiency! Well, Global Beer to the rescue, let’s review poperings hommel ale this month.

For those of you who do not like the overly hoppy, super bitter tastes of American style IPAs, don’t just look at this bottle on the shelf and keep walking; pick it up for a real hoppy treat.

When you open the 750 ml bottle be ready for the aroma of sweet grain hitting your nose. The taste is very crisp and a wonderful hoppy, lemon, citrus flavor. Don’t worry, nothing overpowering. The floral-rosy edges start to build and as the ale warms up some nice malty undertones come into play.

I want to rate this ale a 5.5 on my strength scale but, with the nice flavors that develop during warming, I am going to give it a 6.

The variety of notes that dance across the tongue are delightful when the ale opens up. Poperings hommel ale has a great range for foods as well. The sweet malts well go with golden raisins and the hops will work with my Michigan dried cherries. This tells me that this ale should have a great range for a quality cigar.
Going to the milder side or fuller side should give you a great pairing.

The Plan
So, let’s plan for Hops Deficiency Day. I will plan for going to the milder side of 6 pts. for my afternoon cigar pairing, then a seafood hommel dinner and then a fuller cigar for my after dinner cigar.

Cooking with popering hommel

The day before, Hops Deficiency Day, you need to purchase sea scallops, jumbo shrimp, red bell peppers and a sweet onion. Coat your scallops and shrimp in extra virgin olive oil, sprinkle with Old Bay lemon and herb seasoning and I added my mushroom mania seasoning. Mushroom Mania is a finely chopped mixture of porchini, shitake and bolete mushrooms, chives, minced onion and sea salt. Slowly, pour in some poperings hommel ale. Then, in another container place your red bell pepper and sweet onions (in chunks) in some poperings as well. Place in the refrigerator overnight.

During Hops Deficiency Day place the scallops, shrimp, peppers and onions on shish kabob skewers. Keep the liquid and place the kabobs and liquid in the same baking pan. Use the liquid to baste during cooking.

First Matching – Punch Gran Puro

Puro - meaning that all the tobaccos; wrapper, binder and fillers, are from one country and in this case they are reported to be from the San Agustin Valley of Honduras. The Sun Grown wrapper and binder help to deliver a robust taste. I am going to smoke the Sesenta
Gran Puro, which is a big 6.2 X 60 beauty, that delivers a medium bodied, spicy and peppery treat to the palate. I rate this cigar a 5 on my point system.

The pairing goes well. The Punch Sesenta did not disrupt any of the true characteristics of the hommel. The flavors from both of these products really work with one another. This ended up to be a perfect before dinner experience.

Dinner Time

If weather permits get the grill going and add some apple wood to smoke the kabobs.
If you are using the oven just leave the kabobs in the baking dish and you are ready to go. Use the liquid to baste the kabobs at least twice during cooking. When the kabobs are done cooking grate some Romano Cheese over the kabobs.

Enjoy a glass of poperings hommel ale with your meal. And, this meal was ohhh sooo good!

After Dinner Matching – Camacho Triple Maduro

Ok, I love full-flavored cigars and I have great expectations here. I matched up the Camacho Triple Maduro 6/60 for my after dinner treat. This 6 inch and 60 ring gage giant is a wonderful cigar. People are intimidated by this cigar. They think the fullness is going to kick their butt. BUT, that is why you should smoke the 60 ring gage and not the smaller ring gages. The larger ring gage will give you a cooler smoke and the flavor is amplified. The smaller ring gages in this line I would rate higher in strength and it is all due to the diameter of the cigar because they are made with the same tobaccos.

I give this cigar, one of my favorites, an 8 on my strength scale. This cigar delivers a nice balance of rich spicy notes with a sweet peppery taste that lingers for a great full-flavored taste.

The Camacho helps to bring out some of the fuller flavors of the poperings hommel ale. The ‘mouthfeel’ coats your tongue and teeth for a terrific aftertaste. Don’t just drink this ale or any quality Belgium for that fact, experience every sip, swirl this ale within the mouth to enjoy every sip.

The hoppy notes are brought to the forefront and the sweet malty undertones are moved to the background. So, a little different experience than the Punch Gran Puro but, the Camacho made me want to have another mouth full of hops. What more do you want on Hops Deficiency Day?

With these big ring gage cigars make sure you have time. It takes me an hour and a half or close to two hours to smoke one 6 x 60 cigar. Outdoors with the wind it will burn a little faster.

With a 750 ml bottle of poperings hommel ale with each cigar and dinner, you will have an eventful day to plan so, the name Hops Deficiency Day.

Enjoy the experience,

Bruce

Also see this posting for another cigar pairing