GOTTA BE ZATTE BIE! (Zatte Bie Beer)

Member Name: tange

Product:	Zatte Bie Beer
Date:	27/08/04 (303 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Tasty and rich

Disadvantages: STRONG!

Our trip to Belgium was a massive success. I loved the buildings, the food, the chocolates and the beer. Our only stumbling block was the encyclopedia sized beer menus and a lack of knowledge about what beers to try. Armed with a copy of CAMRA?s Good Beer Guide to Belgium and Holland, and a few good friends with ?the knowledge?, we traversed the strange and wonderful world that is Belgian Beer!

We like dark beers, so while in Ghent, our mate suggested we try a beer called Zatte Bie.

~~~THE BREWERY.

Zatte Bie is brewed at the Bie Brewery in West Flanders. They are based in Watou, not far from the border with France, near the town of Poperinge. Production began in 1992 and it is still a small brewery in an area known for hop growing and beer making. All their beers are bottled conditioned, unpasteurised and unfiltered.

They brew a good range of bottled beers with wonderful names ~ for example, Helleketelbier (a pleasant amber ale at 7% ABV), Hellekapelle (a pale beer at 5% ABV) and Plokkersbier (an orange/amber ale at 7% ABV).

~~~THE BEER.

***A Bit of Background***

It is probably obvious to tell you that ?bie? means ?bee?, but Zatte Bie is a little less obvious. The name actually means ?Drunken Bee? ~ a reference to the state you will get into if you drink too many bottles of this strong beer!


***Vital Statistics***

Zatte Bie weighs in at a mighty 9% and is brewed using a blend of spices, a small amount of honey and six different types of malt (these range from pale malts to very dark ones to give a depth of colour and flavour). I?m not an expert on Belgium beers, but my frie
nd told me that it is brewed in the style of a Trappist beer (so called because they were brewed by Trappist monks). It is also known as a ?massive ale?, meaning that it is dark, strong and thick.

***Look, aroma & texture***

Zatte Bie is a very dark beer, verging on the jet black, with a lingering cream coloured head. It has a pleasant malty aroma, with hints of spiciness and fruit ~ I detected rich cherry, apple and soft fruits lurking in there! The texture is smooth and rich ~ somewhat akin to a lighter stout consistency, or a heavier porter. It is very warming and has a lovely silky mouthfeel.

***Taste***

My initial thoughts when I tasted this beer were that it was very well balanced with a good range of flavours. First I found it was smoky and roasty, with a sizable amount of malt. Before too long your mouth gets a tingle of spice, closely followed by rich fruit and a sweetness coming from the added honey. Throughout, you can also taste a good base flavour from the hops.

The sweetness isn?t too strong and although all the flavours are present, none of them over power the other. This all combines to produce a finish that is quite dry, yet refreshing and rich. The aftertaste is roasty too, with a faint chocolate flavour.

~~~WHAT I THOUGHT.

I was really pleased with my bottle of Zatte Bie. We drank it outside in the sun at a bar in Ghent ~ a deceptively large bar called the Hopduvel (Hop Devil) on the Rokerelssraat. The atmosphere, surroundings and company were good and we enjoyed the beer immensely. We paid around 3 Euros for a 330ml bottle ~ this is a very good price for a beer of this strength and tastiness.


Zatte Bie isn?t a beer for those who prefer lighter, wheatier beers and lager style brews, but it i
s a must for the darker ale fan like myself! I was impressed with the depth, balance and texture of the beer and also with the pleasant smokiness that comes through. My friend who recommended it is now kicking herself because we drank all the stock of it in the little bar the next evening in Ostend before she got a chance to try it herself!

The only problem is that it really is a strong beer! As long as you don?t drink it too quickly or in too vast quantities you should survive the day intact! It has a real kick to it, but it is deceptively drinkable?.so, be warned, or you may end up weaving around like the drunken bee on the bottle!


~~~BREWERY DETAILS.

Brouwerij De Bie,
Stoppelweg 26,
8978 Watou,
Belgium
Tel: +32 57 38 86 66

http://www.brijdebie.be/
(The website is currently being altered, so just has a lovely picture of a beer and some bottles at the moment!).

Capital letters courtesy of: http://www.chuckleweb.co.uk/fixit.php

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