Christmas is the most wonderful time for a beer. We return with another list of Philippine craft beers we think will make the Holidays worthwhile. Two of the three beers in this installment are from Palm Tree Abbey, a brewing trio specializing in sour beers. These guys are back with two unique brews just in time for Christmas Eve. The third and last beer is an Imperial Stout with coconut, ube, and mango brewed by the master brewer who needs no introduction– Tony Sindayen of The Marc’s & Tony Brewing Co.
Palm Tree Abbey “Comfort & Joy”
Name: Comfort & Joy
Brewer: Palm Tree Abbey (Philippines)
Style: Mixed-Style Beer (Base Style: Witbier)
ABV: 5%
The guys from Palm Tree Abbey help brighten up this Holiday season with Comfort & Joy, a Witbier brewed with sweet orange peel, cinnamon, cloves, coriander, nutmeg, and Belgian candi sugar.
STYLE GUIDELINES
This beer is being evaluated as a Mixed-Style Beer (34B), combining Fruit and Spice Beer (29B) and Alternative Sugar Beer (31B), with Witbier (24A) as the base style in the context of the 2015 Beer Style Guidelines of the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP). The most current version of the guidelines can be found on the BJCP website.
TASTING NOTES
Cloudy pale gold; thin white head. Aroma blooms with coriander and soft orange marmalade. Medium-light bodied; quite effervescent. Not as creamy as the popular beers of the base style (e.g., Hoegaarden Wit). Assertive flavors of citrus tartness and zesty lemon peel were the most noticeable. Subtle sourdough and marmalade sweetness support; muted hop bitterness. Aftertaste recalls orange citrus, coriander, and very faint nutmeg; slightly sticky.
THE VERDICT
If you are expecting something like Hoegaarden Wit, then we have bad news for you. This is not it. Comfort & Joy is a very refreshing Witbier with fruit and spices for sour beer lovers. For us, the sourness is more citrus tarty than lactic (e.g., kefir) and acetic (e.g., vinegar). The mentioned tartness really stands out, which might be too overpowering for others. Despite this, the hallmark coriander character reminded us that this was still a Witbier at its core.
Both the cinnamon and Belgian candi sugar did not surface explicitly. In fact, cinnamon has not been the most expressive ingredient based on our experience. As for the Belgian candi sugar, it is apparently not as straightforward as we first expected. The lightest of these sugars are noted to have virtually no impact on flavor and are simply ABV-builders. By contrast, the amber and dark variants are noted to impart subtle but noticeable flavors when used in sufficient quantities.
Recommended Reading: Brewing with Candi Sugar (Craft Beer & Brewing, 2019)
Palm Tree Abbey “Abbey Selects: Tropical Stout”
Name: Abbey Selects: Tropical Stout
Brewer: Palm Tree Abbey (Philippines)
Style: Tropical Stout
ABV: 4%
Released simultaneously with Comfort & Joy just in time for Christmas, Tropical Stout is the latest beer under the Abbey Selects series of Palm Tree Abbey.
STYLE GUIDELINES
This beer is being evaluated as a Tropical Stout (16C) in the context of the 2015 Beer Style Guidelines of the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP). The most current version of the guidelines can be found on the BJCP website.
TASTING NOTES
Amber brown with some cloudiness; medium head that settles down. An aromatic medley of milk chocolate and strawberry-like on the nose– reminiscent of Meiji Choco Baby. An impression of rum becomes more evident as the beer settles. Medium-full-bodied with moderate carbonation; very smooth with a slight creaminess. Chocolate is the most evident flavor and is supported by light cacao maltiness and sweetness reminiscent of rum and light ripe fruits. Subtle dark roasty bitterness at the end; continues into the aftertaste melding with the familiar chocolate flavor.
THE VERDICT
This is the first beer of this style we have reviewed so we do not have other benchmarks for this yet. Nonetheless, the latest Abbey Selects from Palm Tree Abbey is an easy-drinking dark beer that showcases delectable chocolate characters supported mainly by rum-like and indistinct fruit sweetness. All these at an ABV lower than the usual. With Tropical Stout, we now think there is potential for these types of beers here in our country. We enjoyed this beer and hope this will be a regular release from these guys.
The Marc’s & Tony Brewing Co. “Coco Ube Mango (CUM) Imperial Stout” (Grapevine Exclusive)
Name: Coco Ube Mango Imperial Stout
Brewer: The Marc’s & Tony Brewing Co. (Philippines)
Style: Fruit and Spice Beer (Base Style: Imperial Stout)
ABV: 10%
Tony Sindayen is on a roll with his recent beer releases proving once again that The Marc’s & Tony Brewing Co. is the rightful top Philippine craft brewery of 2020 as concluded in the poll by Kasabesa. As the name suggests, the CUM Imperial Stout features coconut, ube (purple yam), and mango. This is another Grapevine Exclusive just like the Chocolate Imperial Stout released earlier this month.
Read More: The Grapevine Exclusive Imperial Stouts
STYLE GUIDELINES
This beer is being evaluated as a Fruit and Spice Beer (29B) with the Imperial Stout (20C) as the base style in the context of the 2015 Beer Style Guidelines of the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP). The most current version of the guidelines can be found on the BJCP website.
TASTING NOTES
Opaque deep brown almost black; thin brown head. Soothing vanilla-like, ube, and toasted coconut aromas; hints of chocolate. Style-appropriate body, carbonation level, and mouthfeel. A tandem of coconut syrup and chocolatey sweetness surfaced initially, offset by earthy yam with assertive roasty and toasty bitterness. No raw and starchy qualities. Faint alcohol, dark fruit esters, and mango impressions. The light ripe mango character continues into the aftertaste, but a toasted coconut flavor is what lingers.
THE VERDICT
Coconut (most likely toasted) is relatively the more evident featured ingredient in this Imperial Stout followed by the ube. As for the mango, it was not that explicit as expected. Now we understand the ordering of the ingredients in the name of this beer: Coconut, Ube, Mango.
We like how this Imperial Stout has a robust and roasty malty backbone sufficient to temper any overpowering sweetness from the fruits. If you are a fan of Imperial Stouts, then the only thing that could get in the way of you enjoying this beer would be your inclination towards coconut and/or ube. Maybe the next versions could showcase more of the mango characters.
