De Leckere's 15th anniversary

This Dutch microbrewery is celebrating. They are just becoming fifteen years old, and to commemorate and leave a memory from the birthday, thay have brewed a special series of 5 beers (I have just tasted 3). Controlling every production we will find Pim Bosch, the chef, and each of them has a special guest as second chef, with their names and autographs in the bottle. Let's give a little tour, they have been released from January to May.

-January: For this month, and to start the series, the brewery chose to brew and IPA, with Peter van der Arendt as collaborator. Peter is the owner of Arendnest and The Beertemple, two famous beer pubs in Amsterdam. For this beer, the brand chose that all the grains and the hops should be from biologic procedure, taking the liquid to 7%. The chosen colour for the label is black, with Peter's signature at left and Pim's one at the right. This IPA presents a golden colour very muddy, mud which moves at the minimal shake. A lot of weak foam and light aroma, smooth hop and strong malts. In the mouth, medium body, but in my opinion too much cereal and too few hop flavour, and an shared ending between smooth hoppy bitterness and slightly toasted malts. I would say it is a hoppy Ale.

QUICK RESUME: I may repeat but with no rush, and without thinking about a real extra hop.

-February: For the second month of the year, and as the seconf of the series, De Leckere came with an IBA (Inter-natural Blond Ale) with Derek Walsh as chef-helper. Derek is the owner of another micro, Bier+, and writes regularly in several beer publications. For this Ale, malts are from BIO crops from Germany, as so does German hop Saphir. The North-American Cascade and Australian Cascade are not specified as BIO ones, and all together leave us a 6,7% beer. The label design is very similar to the previous one, changing colour for the yellow. In the glass is a very dirty blonde, with a lot of rests as the others. Strong malty aroma with a citric ending ask to drink, and in the mouth, an incredible body for an Ale, intense malts flavour sharing with the hop combination. Bitter ending with the same citric sourness that inside the nose.

QUICK RESUME: I will repeat when I can, complex and very detailed blond one.

-March: Third month, third beer for the collection. This time, the chosen recipe is a Dunkelweizen (Dark wheat Ale). For this beer, the helper was Joppe de Fres, from the beer pub De Beyerd, in the city of Breda. The chosen colour for this one was the silver grey. I haven't tried this one, and to give Ratebeer information or similar, you can search and go yourselves...

QUICK RESUME: Pending.

-April: Spring's here, and with her the fourth beer from the anniversary series. Lentekuit is the name, "een werfrissend bokbier" (A refreshing bokbeer) is the message on the label. Spring season beer with Carol-Visser as company, who write in the Pint magazine regularly, and for the beer, they decided to mix half barley, and the rest shared between wheat and oats and Saphir hop, all from BIO crops. On the label, in a light green, also water is specified as BIO, but I haven't been able to find out if it comes from a natural stream or river, or it is just a mistake. About the looking, a light blonde with the same yeast bottom. Herbal and fresh aroma that covers in part the grain, but in the mouth, besides a heavy body to be a Lentebier, you can taste perfectly the job done mixing the different malts. Toasted from barley, acid point from wheat and some sweet herbal aftertaste that marks the herbal point. Not so flowery as other spring ones, but owns a very complex malt mix.

QUICK RESUME: I will repeat as I see it again, if that happens...

May: And ending the series and this entry, we are already in May and in the last beer of the birthday. The closing one is called Saison Grande with the collaboration of Cor Hooymayers, owner of  Cafe de Beurs in Oosterhout. As I have seen, because I haven't tried it yet, the label colour is blue, and the beer get 7,2%.

QUICK RESUME: Pending.


And, until I can actualize the entry with the beers that are missing, I will say goodbye. Before that, I would like to wish  very happy birthday to the micro located in De Meern, and at least 15 years more of live and good beers. See you soon beer lovers, keep beering!