Beer is, and always will be, a very important product in our society. Throughout history, beer has been not only a social lubricant, but a vastly varied beverage that at times has been safer to drink than water.

Week by week, I will choose one non-conventional beer to drink and review in this column. The beers will all be bought locally, but will not necessarily be locally brewed beers. With that in mind, let me begin the first Beer of the Week column by reviewing a Belgian strong ale by the name of St. Sebastiaan Grande Reserve.

This beer caught my eye at Calandro’s Supermarket on Perkins for a few reasons. Namely the fact that the bottle is not only enormous, but oddly shaped, and is ceramic. This brew was flanked by two other beers brewed by Brouwerij Sterkens N.V. in Meer, Belgium, a dark beer and a golden beer. The reason I chose this one came down to the inscription on the front label, which informed me that the Grande Reserve is brewed but once a year, making it assumedly more rare than the others.

After keeping it in my refrigerator overnight, I took the bottle out to let the beer warm up a bit, as Belgian ales are typically consumed at a slightly warmer temperature than other ales. Although most beer aficionados will insist that Belgian ales should be poured into tulip-style glasses, I unfortunately do not have one. If there is any affect on the flavor of the beer that is created by pouring it into a lager-style glass, it is negligible.

The beer pours a slightly hazy, deeply golden orange, with a very fluffy white head that stands around two inches from the top of the liquid. The head quickly receded after pouring, but left a small ring of bubbles atop the beer throughout the session.

Taking a deep whiff of the beers aroma to prepare my palate for the flavors, I get a very strong fruity presence that can be described as pear or apple. The aroma also contains elements of yeast, which is very characteristic for a Belgian ale of this strength.

Taking the first large sip from under the frothy head, I immediately taste the tropical fruit notes that the aroma foreshadowed, followed immediately by a moderate malty flavor. With other Belgians, like a Belgian pale ale, the malt can be almost unbearable, but the Grande Reserve eases in and out of it quite nicely. As the beer washes down my throat, it finishes slightly dry, and does not leave behind any unwanted sweetness, which often accompanies beers of this type. Instead, the remnants of the beer’s flavor are of spice and malt.

Just as a soda feels different in your mouth than fruit juice or coffee would, every beer has its own mouth-feel. Many factors contribute to mouth-feel, like carbonation and heaviness of the beer. This beer is medium in heaviness and has a sparkling character to its carbonation, which provides a satisfying mouth-feel. The carbonation does not die down quickly, but is not overbearing either, which is imperative, as it allows the malt to take center stage.

As I finish this beer, one thing that is becoming increasingly obvious is its high alcohol content. At 10%, it’s not a brew that anyone would normally drink six or seven of in one sitting. The pleasant thing about its booziness is that it is nearly undetectable. The flavors are so well balanced that the alcohol only adds a slight warmth to each swallow.

The St. Sebastiaan Grande Reserve leaves little to be desired, and is a strong candidate for representing Belgian ales as a category of beer. On the strong side of medium, this beer is full of flavor and character.

On the other hand, the beer did not produce a very strong head, which is something I enjoy, as the head often encapsulates the aroma, allowing it to remain ever-present throughout the drinking experience.

Overall, this beer represents Belgian ales well, but does not lead the pack. Every flavor was balanced inside a very medium-heavy ale, which made for an experience that left something to be desired. For this beer to be one of my favorites, I would have wanted one of the flavors to dominate the others by a small amount, so the whole experience would make a stronger statement.

Aroma: 3/5

Look: 2/5

Taste: 3/5

Feel: 2/5

Overall experience: 3.5/5