Chicagoist's Beer Of The Week: Ale Syndicate's Van De Velde

By Jason Baldacci in Food on Mar 14, 2014 8:40PM

This week, local startup Ale Syndicate celebrated its first birthday and we're taking a look at one of their new, year-round offerings.

Van de Velde is billed by Ale Syndicate as a Belgo-Pale Ale, which essentially means that they're blending together both Belgian and American techniques and ingredients. It pours a seductive ruby-amber in the glass with aromas of caramelized sugar and tangy yeast. On the palate that caramelized sugar pops up front, but is quickly met with some earthy, herbal hops that blossom through the finish, giving off notes of pine and sage. The real star here, though, is the malt profile. In addition to that hint of sweetness and beautiful color, the malts in Van de Velde give us a dense backbone that comes across as a little rich, a little spicy and makes this beer dangerously drinkable. After the first couple of sips, all we could think about was sitting outside and tipping back a few of these on a sunny afternoon. Luckily Van de Velde only clocks in at 6.4% alcohol content, impressive for a beer this complex, so multiple servings won't be an issue. Unfortunately, we don't have as much control over patio season arriving.

One of the things we like about Van de Velde is that it's a style we don't see a whole lot of, especially here in our local scene. Sure, there are plenty of other Belgian-Style Pale Ales, but most of them are very hop-centric and come with incredibly spicy yeast profiles. Van de Velde stands out to us because it's a little more classically influenced, putting a lot of emphasis on specialty grains to create a beer that's more malt-driven and more along the lines of something you'll drink if you're sitting in a cafe in Brussels. Sure, they use some American hops to put their spin on the style and make it their own, but we couldn't help but be reminded of De Koninck (the iconic beer of Antwerp) when we tasted Van de Velde. It's Ale Syndicate's take on a classic and one we'll be happy to revisit time and time again.

Van de Velde is available on draft and in 12oz bottles. Check beermenus.com to see where you can find some this weekend.