Hoogstraten Poorter by Sterkens Meer

The Hoogstraten Poorter is brewed according to the German purity law of 1516 that was originally in acted to ensure that the beer-drinking public was getting pure beer. The law called only for the use of water, barley and hops, which is great. However, in a world in which variety is the spice of life, the purity law is a little passe. For those who know me on a personal level, I am all for holding onto traditions. I am the person who goes on vacation and wants to do what the locals are doing, drink what the locals are drinking and eat what the locals eat, all in an attempt to get to the heart of the culture, the original culture. That is why on one hand I applaud the purity law. However, on the other hand when you adhere to the old in the case of the purity law you leave no room for improvement. When you drink a beer brewed by the purity law you know what you are getting. Barley, hops and water. Nothing more nothing less. If you have not had a beer brewed to the standards of the purity I would suggest that you try one, however after that it is my opinion that you have beer there done that. The first thing I can tell you is lookout when you open the bottle you should have a glass ready to receive the contents. You will see an effervescent smoke emanating from the bottles mouth followed by an eruption of foam. You will then try to cap it off with the stopper on the bottle. After you decide to "try it again" you will open it only to find you have adorned the ceiling with foam. As for the beer, it is slightly hopper than it is malty which comes from the barley. The majority of the carbonation is lost when you open it, which leaves the beer a little flat. The beer starts out over the tong; the beer feels smooth however as you finish off the swig a hint of bitterness from the hops comes right through. All in all this is a solid example of a beer that has been brewed according to the law of 1516 and a great beer to share with friends. Even though it says one pint on the bottle I am suspecting that is what the brewers were expecting you would have left after pissing off most of it when you opened it. This is a slow drinking whopper of a beer just perfect for enjoying during the wintertime that is because this dang thing is so heavy it might crush the hygrometer. You can checkout the Sterkens Meer web page by going to http://www.sterkensbrew.be/sterkens/index.htm
P.s. thanks for the brew bro, I love you