Well, I thought I better pull myself out of the holiday stupor and update the blog. I started a new tradition this year which was a Christmas breakfast consisting of crepes and latkes. I’ve always really liked eating crepes, but hadn’t tried making them before. It has also come to light in recent years that I might be about 25 percent Jewish, so I thought I’d embrace that heritage in a culinary fashion. I think we’ve got the start to a nice tradition. I made two fillings for the crepes, caramelized apples and a strawberry cream. The latkes were your basic shredded potatoes and onions, seasoned with salt, pepper and slivers of chives.
The following day at work, I wasn’t feeling much like working. I needed to figure out how to use the rest of the caramelized apples, and then it came to me. I had a bottle of Unibroue’s Ephemere that a guest brought to our last dinner party. I’d been saving it for a special occasion. What better occasion than having a bowl of apples sautéed in butter with cinnamon and brown sugar?
The beer was a very nice change to the dark wintery brews I’ve been consuming. Not that I don’t like them, but it’s always nice to change things up. This beer is a Belgian style white ale, brewed with an apple must. As soon as you pop the cork, it’s like you got a smack upside the head from Granny Smith. The apple aroma is incredible and is enough to make your mouth water in anticipation. It pours a pale straw color, with a pure white head that dissipates quickly, leaving a thin ring around the top of the glass.
The first sip starts out with the taste of sweet, freshly pressed apple juice and finishes with the pleasant zing of spices. It’s very dry, and the carbonation level is way above average, not unlike champagne. The balance of fruit and spice is nearly perfect. Just enough sweet to balance out the tartness and to set the stage for the tickle of pie spices. The taste of green apple coats the tongue and seems to linger forever. I also pick up the flavor of yeast in a way that only a Belgian style beer could showcase. I say Belgian “style” because Unibroue actually comes from Canada, but their hearts are definitely closer to Brussels.
This is certainly a beer that I would consider above average. I’m not sure it would make a great session beer though, even with it’s moderate 5.5% abv. However, paired with some creamy white cheese and a fruity desert, I’m quite confident you’ll have dreams of sugar plums dancing in your head.
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