Drank: Wandelpad (Block 15 Brewery)

By Martin Cizmar

Block 15 makes beer for the trading scene. The Corvallis brewery specializes in the unusual, cellar-ready and limited, building a fan base with open-fermented, wine barrel-aged brews made with golden raspberries, Willamette Valley strawberries and blends from multiple vintages. Wandelpad is an outlier, as Block 15 owner Nick Arzner actually intends to have these little $5 bottles on shelves year-round. Don't grab that Solo cup just yet—this Belgian brew is modeled on the Saint Sixtus blonde, made by monks in Westvleteren, Belgium. Because the monks make only enough beer to pay their bills, and sell the bottles only at their rural monastery, tracking down gray-market "Westy" is a rite of passage for aspiring beer snobs. I haven't had the Sixtus blonde, but this golden brew from Block 15 certainly has the strong flavors of Trappist yeast and candi sugar, with a funky sweetness that's ripe with honey and clove. I'm not sure what you can get in trade, but it's fine for drinking on your own.

WWeek 2015

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