By Peter Rowe
April 21, 1999

On rare occasions, we are blessed -- or cursed -- with an unsparing glimpse into our own souls.

After I had written a particularly caustic "Brewery Rowe," a reader smeared me with an especially vicious epithet. To my horror, I suspected my critic was right.

"Tell the truth," I urged Mike Mellow, a salesman for Ballast Point Brewery. "I' m not turning into a beer geek?"

"Yes, you are definitely becoming a beer geek," Mellow said. "That' s a good thing."

Is it? The beer geek climbs a twisting trail between the Cliffs of Snobbery and the Slough of Blandness. Worse, this path often ascends into the Heights of Obscurity.

But geeks learn that beer is as complex and varied as wine, jazz, left-handed relief pitchers or anything else that adds zest to life.

Geeks, that is, eventually taste Belgian-style beer.

Actually, there are many Belgian styles. Lambics are unique to that nation, and the true abbey ales flow from a mere six Trappist monasteries, five in Belgium and one, Schaapskooi, in the Netherlands. Witbier is another Low Country specialty, as are the spicy and sparkling farmhouse ales known as saisons.

"Belgium is such a small country," said Tomme Arthur, head brewer at Pizza Port/Solana Beach Brewery, "and yet they have more than 400 beer styles."

Here, then, is a sip of the Belgian style, as interpreted on both sides of the Atlantic.

Tasting notes

(Beers are rated from zero to five bottles, with five being best.)

OMMEGANG BELGIAN-STYLE  ABBEY ALE
(three bottles)

Cooperstown, N.Y.

OK, it is a little perverse to award the lead-off review to an American beer. But Ommegang is as American as Spanish rice, Vietnamese coffee and prune Danish.

In 1997, the makers of three Belgian beers -- Affligem, Duvel and Scaldis -- joined their U.S. distributor, Vanberg & DeWulf, in upstate New York. The resulting Ommegang Brewery has two products, Ommegang Belgian-style Abbey Ale and Hennepin Grisette Farmhouse Ale.

Like many abbey ales, Ommegang is described as "Burgundian," and it is indeed winelike in its complexity, full body and alcohol content (8.5 percent). A deep ruby in color, topped by a whipped head of soft peaks and crevasses, Ommegang gives off a big, tart aroma.

Sweet and fruity on the tongue, Ommegang has a pleasantly dry finish. This is a big beer for big meals, or an after-dinner drink.

HENNEPIN
(four bottles)

Cooperstown, N.Y.

One of USA Today' s "Top 10 Sips of 1998," this ale is named after the Belgian missionary who discovered Niagara Falls. Brewed in a rustic style known as grisette, or saison, it is light in color yet packs a punch with an alcohol content of 7.5 percent.

There' s the trademark Belgian blend of spices and sweetness -- I picked up traces of honey and grapefruit and ginger -- but the beer is nimble and bright. Some of this is due to the abundance of small bubbles perking up the brew and tickling your throat; some of it comes from the brisk, snappy deployment of hops.

Stow this beer next to the ham sandwiches in your picnic basket. Enjoy, without worrying that this makes you a beer snob. At the brewery' s Web site, http://www.ommegang.com, there' s a marvelous testimonial from an admitted redneck, writing from a hunting camp in Maine.

"Please forward this message to the management," he writes. "I hate beer snobs and want him or her to know that some of us grunts are enjoying the beer even if we do burp it all over our L.L. Bean shirts!"

SAISON DUPONT
(four bottles)

Province of Hainaut, Belgium

When Hennepin grows up, it might become this classic farmhouse ale. Since 1920, the Dupont family has brewed this lovely, yellowish-orange beer, the taste of Belgian summer in a bottle.

Corked in Champagne bottles, Saison Dupont strikes a light note from the moment you fill your glass with the pale brew and its frothy white head. You can sniff hints of apples and bananas, and your taste buds are treated to alternating hits of a mouth-filling fruitiness and a crackling pepperiness.

But, always, in a gentle, spritzy, light-hearted way.

FLORET
(two bottles)

Province of Hainaut, Belgium

Belgium' s first organic beer, this is Brasserie Dupont' s less robust version of Saison Dupont. It' s oranger, sweeter, less balanced and not nearly as well-defined.

SAISON FARMHOUSE ALE
(three and a half bottles)

Solana Beach

At Pizza Port, Tomme Arthur' s following is liberally salted with surfers, students and young marrieds. They are also, thanks to Arthur' s tutelage, rather sophisticated beer-drinkers. This saison is another nifty course in their seminar, one that might be better enjoyed with Szechuan food than with pizza.

This ale initially smacks of ginger, black pepper and coriander. While your tongue is still curling around these strong flavors, gentler ingredients -- grains of paradise and sweet orange peel, rather than the sour curacao -- soothe.

Serve chilled and take it slow (the 6.5 percent alcohol content deserves respect). Bubbly, balanced and spicy. Pour the saison and pass the kung pao chicken.

GRAND CRU (no rating)

San Diego

AleSmith is headquartered in a Miramar warehouse, not a Brussels monastery, but brewmaster Skip Virgilio seems fluent in Flemish and Walloon. His Belgian Strong Ale won a gold medal at the Great American Beer Festival in 1994, and a silver in 1998.

AleSmith' s Grand Cru shares that beer' s whopping alcohol content -- 10 percent -- and sweetness, due to ample scoops of Belgian candy sugar. Unlike the Strong Ale, though, it has no coriander. Instead, Virgilio deepens the brew with an array of Belgian malts while using the hops to provide a light touch at the end.

This beer will ferment in the bottle, and it' s meant to age. I won' t grade it here but will put a bottle down for at least six months. This may be a Grand Cru for the next millennium.

FRAMBOISE LAMBIC
(four beers)

Vlezenbeek, Belgium

This is beer? Yes -- in the sweet, massively fruity lambic style. Don' t panic.

This one may test your nerves. For starters, Lindeman' s Framboise is alarmingly red, the color of a cherry Slurpee. Then, the brew detonates on the palate with a breathtaking raspberry flavor.

But take a breath and assess the situation. Not bad -- actually, quite delightful. The beer never becomes syrupy or cloying, due to its sparkling carbonation and deliciously dry finish. This is closer to Moet than to Miller country.

Serve with a dessert. Chocolate decadence, say, with -- what else? -- raspberry sauce.

Beer biz

Pizza Port' s Gina
Marsaglia will address the National Craft Brewers Conference and Trade Show in Phoenix on May 1. Her topic: "Keeping Good Employees By Providing Good Benefits."

BREWERY ROWE appears monthly in the Food section. Peter Rowe, the proprietor, welcomes calls, (619) 293-1227; letters, c/o The San Diego Union-Tribune, P.O. Box 120191, San Diego, CA 92112-0191; and e-mail, peter.rowe@uniontrib.com



Copyright 1999 Union-Tribune Publishing Co.