I like to drink things. I especially like drinking things from countries called Belgium, Germany, and the Czech Republic. And In this series which I’ve creatively named Drinking In Europe, I drink something from one of these places or their neighbors and then write about it.
There’s these things called Trappist beers, ok? These are beers brewed by monks inside Trappist monasteries. There are only a dozen or so of them in the world, of which half are in Belgium. These beers are regarded as some of the best on the planet and are really famous and you’ve probably heard of the most famous ones called Orval and Chimay.
Well, since there is a short supply of these Trappist beers, other breweries in Belgium make similar beers but of course they can’t be called Trappist because that would a sin against the lord our savoir and Belgian law. Instead, these beers emulate the Trappist style and often put a monk-looking dude on their bottle or in their name. Turns out though, that many of these beers are just as or more highly regarded than some of the Trappist beers. One of these such beers is Witkap Pater Stimulo.
Witkap Pater Stimulo is one of three beers in the Witkap Pater stable, and it is a single ale at only 6%. According to their website, it is a “a refreshing gold-colored beer of high fermentation and with fermentation on the bottle – thus a living beer with evolving taste.” I picked it up in bottles at a local shop, and then proceeded to pour it in the wrong type of glass the wrong way, so it really foamed up on me and I ended up with too much sediment in the glass.
Is Witkap Pater Stimulo a good beer? Yes, it is. It’s got a beautiful rich golden color and just tastes like what beer should taste like according to me. Pick one up, you won’t regret it, just do a better job of pouring it than me (here’s the brewery’s pouring instructions).