back to store

800.625.8238

Craft Beer Blog from The Beer of the Month Club

A craft beer blog written by the experts of The Microbrewed Beer of the Month Club

Beyond the Bottle: Dry, Bitter, Belgian

May 15, 2019 by Ken Weaver

In chatting with Garden Path’s Ron Extract about this month’s featured The Garden Paths Led to Flowered, he mentioned XX Bitter from Belgium’s Brouwerij De Ranke as being a point of inspiration for it. If you haven’t yet crossed paths with XX Bitter, it’s more bitter and expressive in its show of herbaceous, grassy hops than one would expect from a 6% blonde. And it’s also basically the perfect sort of beer for repeated pints: layered, not numbingly bitter, crisp with depth.

It was a bit easier to get hold of fresh XX Bitter and the similarly poised Taras Boulba (from Brasserie de La Senne) back when living in DC, as the fresh import options are a bit patchier these days in California. Our tasting crew in DC sought out these beers and any adjacent kin: Orval, De La Senne’s Zinnebir, Thiriez Extra (from France), Jolly Pumpkin’s Bam Biere… In basic terms: potent hops, but more traditionally noble/herbal/floral—plus supportive yeast.

Hoppy Belgian blonde… Belgian pale ale/IPA… Buncha overlapping terms for this general space. The Rare Beer Club has previously highlighted De Ranke’s XXX Bitter, an amped-up version of XX Bitter with 50% more hops. Up here in Sonoma County, some of the closer alternatives are session options like Redemption or, with a more neutral yeast, Aud Blond from Russian River—but still not quite that hop density + yeast combo of something like XX Bitter.

Have a dry, bitter, Belgian-inclined beer you’re digging? Chime in on Twitter via @rarebeerclub.

Related Posts:

  • Maui Brewing Company Special Offer
    Maui Brewing Company Special Offer
  • Beyond the Bottle: When This is All Over
    Beyond the Bottle: When This is All Over
  • DIY Craft Beer Advent Calendar
    DIY Craft Beer Advent Calendar
  • Beyond the Bottle: One Long-Ass Year
    Beyond the Bottle: One Long-Ass Year

Posted in: Beer Education, Featured Selections, Interesting Beer Info, Notes from the Panel

About Ken Weaver

Ken Weaver (@KenWeaver) is a beer writer, consultant and cartoonist based in Petaluma, California. Check out his project Massive Potions, a weekly post-apocalyptic beer comic, at massivepotions.com.

  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Check out our Beer Clubs

  • U.S. Microbrewed Beer Club
  • U.S. and International Variety Club
  • Hop Heads Beer Club
  • International Beer Club
  • Rare Beer Club

Beer Lovers’ Pages

  • Beer Naming Contests
  • US Brewery Directory
  • Craft Beer Styles

Beer Topics

  • Beer Education
  • Beer Events
  • Beer Humor
  • Featured Selections
  • In the News
  • Interesting Beer Info
  • Member of the Month
  • Notes from the Panel
  • Recipes and Pairings
  • Uncategorized
Join our Beer Club or Give a Gift Membership

Recent Posts

  • Maui Brewing Company Special Offer
  • Beyond the Bottle: When This is All Over
  • DIY Craft Beer Advent Calendar
  • Beyond the Bottle: One Long-Ass Year
  • Beyond the Bottle: One Long-Ass Year
Sign up for our rss feed

Archives

Beer Bloggers Conference

The Microbrewed Beer of the Month Club

The Microbrewed Beer of the Month Club | 1-800-625-8238 (Outside USA call: 949-206-1904) | P.O. Box 1627, Lake Forest, CA 92609