Honingklip: More open bottles

As part of the great selection of beers my Vice President of beer procurement ⁽¹⁾ bought from Honingklip (read more here)  was a Barrel Blonde.  I know bottle blonde and, like silicon, I am fine with artificial in that case too.  But what could a Barrel Blonde be?  Delicious for one.  Also a wood aged blonde beer.  Turns out there is an apricot Lambic in the making and to make space for the fruit in the barrel some beer was bottled.  Thus Barrel (Aged) Blonde which spent about 2 months in the wood.  A softer, more rounded version of the Blonde I had previously.  It is not like the Innis & GunnOriginal.  That is a very deliberately and unmistakenly oaked beer.  This is much more subtle and like everything from Honingklip it is very drinkable.

I’ve known Analize and Mark (Owners and Brewers of Honingklip.  You really should pay attention) for some time now and they are not afraid to experiment.  Thus the Chilli and Ginger beer I just drank.  Please, on two counts, don’t confuse this with the ginger beer your grandmother made.  One: Analize is not old enough to be your grandmother.  And won’t be for many years.  Two: It is beer flavoured with ginger, not fermented cane sugar with ginger.

When I first nosed it, I got beer and a something I could not identify.  I could of course just read the label to help me.  Tasting it brought the Blonde taste with ginger immediately after it.  At first I thought the chilli was too little, but it started coming through as a subtle after taste.  In the end very well judged use of the spices.  Like all the others, except the 750ml Lambic,  it came in a 330ml bottle, which is exactly right for this type of beer. 

As the beers are only available from the brewery get yourself down there quickly.  I can’t promise that would have anything left to sell after I’ve been there.  Because sadly missing from the take-away pack was the Wit and for that I will happily drive through for a day.

(1)    The Runner.  Assuredly I am President of my own beer supply.