Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Delicious Saber Rattling

Last month, Jack Van Antwerpen, Big Kahuna at Belgium's Bosteels Brewery was making a market visit to Colorado and dropped into the Cheeky Monk to remind the Elite staff and friends of how delicious his craft brews are (although he didn't need to).

After a few Kwaks and Tripel Karmeleits, Jack proceeded to open a few bottles of his incomparable Champagne-styled Deus Brut de Flandres--an amazingly complex and distinctive beer.
As a grand finale, he opened the bottles in the historic and dramatic Saber style (for those unfamiliar, read all about it here).
To date, The Cheeky Monk doesn't keep swords or sabers on hand, but a chef's knife from the kitchen proved to be up to the task (mostly due to Jack's skill). He shattered the lip of the bottle on the first try, sending a fountain of Deus with the intact wire and cork flying across the room).


There's nothing like a bit of fun and showmanship to make a world class brew taste even better. Personally though, I'll stick to opening my Deus in the standard way. It's much safer for my clumsy fingers, and not one drop of the stuff escapes my glass.

If you haven't already, grab a case or two of the Deus Brut for the holidays--it's perfect for holiday meals and celebrations, especially the New Years Eve toast (*saber not included).