MIKE RICCETTI
  • The best of Houston dining
    • Bakeries for bread
    • Banh mi
    • Best Values
    • Breakfast tacos
    • Cajun and Creole
    • Chicken Fried Steak
    • Cocktails
    • Crawfish
    • Downtown Dining
    • EaDo and East End Dining
    • Fajitas
    • French
    • French Fries
    • Fried Chicken
    • Galleria Area Dining
    • Greek
    • Guinness pours
    • Houston-centric
    • Italian
    • Italian-American
    • Japanese
    • Kolaches
    • Mexican
    • Middle Eastern
    • Midtown Dining
    • Montrose Dining
    • Pizzerias
    • Pizza at Non-Pizzerias
    • Raw Bars
    • Rice Village Dining
    • Sandwiches
    • Seafood
    • Splurge-Worthy
    • Steakhouses
    • Sushi
    • To Take Visitors
    • Tex-Mex
    • Thai
    • Tough Tables
    • Wine Bars
    • Wine Lists
  • The margherita pizza project
  • The martini project
  • Musings on Houston Dining
    • The top 10 new restaurants of 2022
    • The top 10 new restaurants of 2021
    • The top 10 new restaurants of 2019
    • The top 10 new restaurants of 2018
    • The dozen best Inner Loop values
    • Dining recommendations for visitors to Houston
  • Italian restaurant history
  • Italian & Italian-American
  • Entertaining tips
    • Booze basics
    • Styles of Cheeses
    • Handling Those Disruptive Guests
  • Wine
  • Beer
  • Cocktails and Spirits
  • Miscellaneous
  • Blog
  • The best of Houston dining
    • Bakeries for bread
    • Banh mi
    • Best Values
    • Breakfast tacos
    • Cajun and Creole
    • Chicken Fried Steak
    • Cocktails
    • Crawfish
    • Downtown Dining
    • EaDo and East End Dining
    • Fajitas
    • French
    • French Fries
    • Fried Chicken
    • Galleria Area Dining
    • Greek
    • Guinness pours
    • Houston-centric
    • Italian
    • Italian-American
    • Japanese
    • Kolaches
    • Mexican
    • Middle Eastern
    • Midtown Dining
    • Montrose Dining
    • Pizzerias
    • Pizza at Non-Pizzerias
    • Raw Bars
    • Rice Village Dining
    • Sandwiches
    • Seafood
    • Splurge-Worthy
    • Steakhouses
    • Sushi
    • To Take Visitors
    • Tex-Mex
    • Thai
    • Tough Tables
    • Wine Bars
    • Wine Lists
  • The margherita pizza project
  • The martini project
  • Musings on Houston Dining
    • The top 10 new restaurants of 2022
    • The top 10 new restaurants of 2021
    • The top 10 new restaurants of 2019
    • The top 10 new restaurants of 2018
    • The dozen best Inner Loop values
    • Dining recommendations for visitors to Houston
  • Italian restaurant history
  • Italian & Italian-American
  • Entertaining tips
    • Booze basics
    • Styles of Cheeses
    • Handling Those Disruptive Guests
  • Wine
  • Beer
  • Cocktails and Spirits
  • Miscellaneous
  • Blog
MIKE RICCETTI

Mostly food and drink...

...and mostly set in Houston

Karmeliet, a gourmet starter (and finisher)

12/26/2016

0 Comments

 
In the evening on Christmas Eve, I received a text from a friend in the Boston area who was enjoying a terrific version  of "Belgian Champagne" with another mutual friend, a beer that I had touted them on the past.  I was glad to have done the groundwork for them.

Excellent beer is the cheapest of the gourmet indulgences. That goes especially so for the strong beers of Belgium.  One of the countless excellent Belgian beers is a somewhat unusual one, and it is easy to find in Houston, Karmeliet Tripel.  At least it is seemingly always at the main Spec’s in Midtown and the bigger of the area H-E-Bs, and likely the terrific D&Q Mini Mart.
 
I drank a bottle of the golden-colored beer not too long ago, and I was very impressed yet again by quality of this beer.  I don’t drink it enough, seemingly once a year for some reason, enough time to forget how outstandingly enoyable it is.  Featuring subtle aromas and a fairly crisp and complex taste with a touch of sweetness – like a muted bit of honey – it concludes with an extremely long, dry finish. It is both easy-to-drink and immensely satisfying with layers of flavor.  Late beer guru Michael Jackson wrote, “Karmeliet has great finesse and complexity.” Wonderfully balanced, it is delicious beer, with a smoothness and delicacy masking its 8.4% alcohol by volume.  
 
Karmeliet is also a different beer, even in the amazingly wide-ranging Belgian beer universe.  It is made with three grains.  Not just the familiar barley malt – from 3-row barley in Karmeliet’s case – but also wheat and oats.  This is typical for the lighter Belgian white beers like the once-great Hoegaarden White and its offspring Celis White, but not for the stronger beers.  But, Karmeliet does even more; the three grains are used in both malted and unmalted forms.  This grain mixture, a restrained use of the central European Styrian hops and a well-suited house yeast helps make for an interesting and multifaceted beer.
 
The use of three grains – actually six types of grains if you count both malted and unmalted versions – is not what makes Karmeliet unusual, though.  It is unusual because it is so very good and so very approachable.  It is a beer that might appeal to a wide range of drinkers, even those who might usually drink mass-produced light beers.  This is because of its relatively light and subtle flavor that can be easily appreciated.  Karmeliet is not just for beer aficionados, but it is perfectly situated to be a gateway for those to become one. Karmeliet should be a maintstay, too.
 
Karmeliet Tripel is around $14 for a 750-ml bottle and $8 for a 11.2-ounce one, both well worth the tarrrif.
Picture
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    Mike Riccetti is a longtime Houston-based food writer and former editor for Zagat, and not incidentally the author of three editions of Houston Dining on the Cheap.

    Picture

    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016

    Categories

    All
    Beer
    Cocktails
    Italian
    Margherita Pizzas
    Recipes
    Restaurants
    Wine

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.