Goose Island Belgian Fest Takes Liberties With Belgian-Style Ales

By Chuck Sudo in Food on Sep 10, 2012 10:20PM

Goose Island Clybourn throws two of the most popular beer events in Chicago with Stout Fest in spring and Belgian Fest ushering in fall. The brewpubs and breweries who take part in Stout Fest go all in, bringing a wide array of stouts to the brewpub and making attendees ask, “What? Guinness?”

By contrast Belgian Fest, while still honoring the tradition of Belgian-style ales, tends to deviate from the script a bit. Beer’s such as 5 Rabbit’s “5 Lizard” Latin style witbier and Goose Island Clybourn’s “Aqua Fresca” wouldn’t be Belgian beers by any stretch of the imagination. There were other beers that were Belgian in name only.

The conventional wisdom holds that, if the beer is brewed using Belgian yeast, then it’s a Belgian-style beer. Belgian ale yeasts impart spicy and phenolic characteristics to the beer, allowing the brewer to ease up on the hops and add spice with ingredients like cloves or, in the case of Half Acre, Thai basil and lemongrass.

Half Acre’s “Sunday in Saigon” was a runaway hit Sunday with the sweeter flavors imparted from the Thai basil and lemongrass complementing what would have otherwise been a traditional saison. For the saison purists, the standout at Belgian Fest was Solemn Oath’s “Whisper Kisses,” which went down purer than Heisenberg’s blue meth.

As the host, Goose Island tends to come with the most experimental brews. Aqua Fresca, another of pub brewer Jared Rouben’s farm-to-tank creations made with fresh watermelons from Green Acres farm in Judson, Ind., was easily the best overall beer. Running a close second behind Whisper Kisses among the Belgian-style beers was a Tripel from Goose Island’s John Laffler that was infused with rosehips, which seemed to intensify the spice from the ale yeast while giving the beer a mouthfeel akin to lavender.

Another reason for beer geeks to attend these events is to sample the selections from Destihl Brewing. With brewpubs in Normal and Champaign, Destihl is one of the better breweries in Illinois and brings some of its best beers to Stout and Belgian Fests, as much for tourism purposes than to impress. Their Saison de Ruisseau had an underlying tartness that they couldn’t pinpoint reminiscent of a Saison Du Pont.