2010 Big Eat SF List: #50 The Monk's Kettle

#50 An obscure Belgian Beer at The Monk's Kettle

The Monk's Kettle sure knows its beer, and I think that's why it is on the list. The beer menu is extensive, it's the largest I have seen so far, and about 1/3 of it is Belgium. From lager to ale, dark to light, strong to light...porter, stout, altbier and scottish. If you want a budwiser or corona, don't bother coming here, this place sell those that you can't find at Safeway or Lucky.

Anyhow, choosing one Belgium beer from the extensive list was hard. Luckily, The Monk's Kettle list the beer out by name, style, brewery, alcohol per volume along with the price.

In the end, I chose a Belgian ales, Blanche de Bruxelles, from the Witbier catagory. Witbier is a cloudy, pale-yellow wheat beer with spicy characteris, and an occasional citrus quality from the addition of orange peel and coriander seed to brew-kettle. My Blanche de Bruxelles came from Brasserie Lefebvre SA, Rebecq Quenast, Belgium. It contains 4.5 ABV and only $7.75.

I usually don't drink beer because they are hard to drink and swallow. But this one was very light and sweet, and indeed I tasted the citrus flavor. The color is also very beautiful.
 

My friend ordered a Trappist Achel 8 Blonde, which both the waiter and  waitress spoke highly of. In fact, my friend ordered the very last one there was for the night. The Trappist is a pale ale that features aged hops, a mlathy sweetness and often spiciness.
It was serve in a fancy glass. The aroma was sweet and it was also very light. I could taste the hop but it wasn't hard to drink at all. Also, it was very smooth.
 
Also, I highly recommend an order of fries to go with the beer. The fries serve with chipotle ketchup, herbed aioli and curry aioli. I love the curry aioli so much! It was delicious. Carbs from the beer and carbs from the fries go perfect together!