Brugge Blog

Doesn’t this sound like a fancy pants beer?

‘T Smisje Calva Reserva

Delicious notes of candy sugar and wood pleasurably coat the mouth on the first sips of Calva Reserva. The accompanying raisiny malt sweetness is a perfect foil for the temporarily restrained low simmer of alcohol (12%/vol.). As the cloudy, caramel-colored body warms, a tart, ruity, yeasty character blossoms, and the bold alcohol takes center stage. Conditioned in wooden Calvados casks for six months, this is a top-notch dark ale.

It’s the beer-of-the-day for Saturday, February 18, 2006, on my Beer-A-Day calendar, and it makes me want to go out and get a case and serve it at a gourmet meal. The only thing stopping me is that every other beer in the calendar is described in equally flowery terms, and having tasted a few of them before, I’ve had to admit that my tastebuds are not that discerning.

But then again, this one just might be different. It’s brewed in Brugges, Belgium.