>Willard Brooks

If you can only enjoy the very dry and more complex kriek lambic style then this Oud Bruin style made by Ommegang in partnership with Liefmans brewery in Belgium may not be to your liking. I like both approaches. Rosella pours a deep Mahogany color with a bubbly tan head that leaves nice lacing on the glass. It’s aroma is of sour cherry pipe tobacco with a faint lugubrious side that adds just enough depth to be alluring but not so much that it requires a PhD in beer nerdology to enjoy. It’s a blend of three year and fresh Oud Bruin - so it has a lactic tartness balanced by sweeter fruity flavors. This beer is named in honor of Madame Rosa Merckx—Liefmans’ former Brewmaster and the first Belgian woman with that title. Rosetta is available 11.2 oz four-packs at the suggested retail price of $10.99 each. Arriving in stores now, just in time for the holiday foods that are a perfect match for this beer. Beautiful!

>Chris Groves, Certified Cicerone®

Acouple weeks ago I decided to head east rather than west. Do we tag five more hours onto an eight hour drive back to Denver or get a hotel in Durango and find a decent pub? Durango, CO it was, El Moro Spirits & Tavern was the place, Orval was my [birthday] beer. It’s great to happen upon a place that has a cellar program on top of the fact that being there was just left of planned. Orval bottles were on the menu so I did, as always, fall in love again. I’m not going to dive into the deep intricacies of this spectacular beer but I will tell you that each time I have it, I’m lifted on a new wave of subtle funk to my happy place. Over time, Orval goes from a superb balance of sweet malts, yeast and pillowy carbonation to a drying, must-laden masterpiece of intoxicating (in more than one way) liquid. Brettanomyces yeast conducts the improv show in the bottle...the longer it goes, the weirder it gets. Hell, I love it enough to have a tattoo of it on my arm. Have I sold you yet? For a readily available beer, go grab a few and hide them with your Halloween costumes. Each week I give myself exactly one hour to write a small paragraph about beer, breweries and the like. What comes out in the end is this section of the paper you are currently reading. I hope you enjoy.