De Groote Weiver (facebook) is a place where bands come to play and people go to drink beer. It used to be in Krommenie in an old factory building but due to environmental regulations that had to be demolished, and now the bar and venue moved to an building just out of town.

They used to have a beer tasting every month, called ProBieren, but that had been rather silent since the closing of about 5 years ago. Now they started again, and this time the theme was American beers. Of course, I just had to go!

Anderson Valley Amber Ale
A nice beer to start the day with hints of tea, barley and old apples. I quite liked it but I was looking forward to the next one!

Anderson Valley Hop Ottin’ IPA
A cracker IPA with a massive bitterness that is not for the faint of heart. People loved it or didn’t like it at all, was my conclusion. Reviewed here.

Great Divide Hercules Double IPA
Slightly burned meat or a cleaned and scrubbed barbecue grill. Barley, malt, slighty too brown potato chips (or crisps). A little bitter but kept in check by the other flavours.

Anchor Old Foghorn Barleywine
A lot of flavours, but a bit too sweet for me. Everything you find in a regular dark brown ale is there, but more intense. Thick malt, almost sirupy, not too hoppy, but not lacking either.

Flying Dog Gonzo Porter
I avoided this one when I bought some Flying Dog brews because I thought I didn’t like the black beers. Apparently, my taste in beer is very season dependent, since now it’s no longer summer I veer towards them more and more. Coffee, some cocoa, roasted malt but quite crisp too. Very good indeed!

A nice afternoon with some beers I already knew, and some new ones too. Liked all of them, loved some of them, which is a very good score! I hope to make it there next month as well!