Last night Nic and Vanessa, my wonderful neighbours, thought they’d take care 
of hapless and wifeless your’s truly, and invited me over for dinner. The invitation came before I helped Nic gut and prepare an eski full of trout he’d caught that morning, so I’m pretty sure it wasn’t a guilt feed. Either way, I’ll take what I can get.
Nic made up his special spice rub to coat some pork chops which he barbequed out back with some golden butter potatoes, while Vanessa prepared salad, corn, and some salami and (I think) smoked gouda. I figured a bottle of North Coast’s Le Merle Saison would be the safest bet to pair with the pork, so we popped it open with the meal.
I’m not anti-social enough to record beer notes while a dinner guest in another’s home, so here are some brief jottings made postprandially.
Some apple notes lent themselves very well to the pork. Not quite applesauce, but still one of those timeless marriages.
Clove and peppery spiciness merged seamlessly with the seasoning rub, and the sharp acidity helped to alleviate the bite of the pepper. (I almost brought an abbey ale over thinking the sweet malt would go well with caramelised pork, but there is no way it would have handled the spice as the saison did so well). I was a little worried the citric elements of the beer would clash, but they worked decently with the spice.
The Le Merle does not offer as much intricacies as many of its counterparts, but it remains a good interpretation and is quite drinkable. And as you can see from the photo, it’s also a really attractive beer. Score: 6.5/10.
While I have Belgian beers on my mind, here’s a commercial for the Achel trappist Ales that I found pretty amusing. Thanks to The Barley Blog for the link.
