Affligem Serving Tray Review

Am I selling out when I write about Affligem and DRAFT Magazine’s Belgian vacation giveaway in return for them sending me a complimentary serving tray complete with a bottle of Affligem Blond?  I prefer to think of it as “buying in.”  Besides, my Midwestern upbringing has instilled in me a moral code that requires reciprocation for any kind act.  The gift of a serving tray and beer is, in my book, a kind enough act to constitute this promotional post.

Here’s the deal with the serving tray: there’s a space for the bottle, a space for a goblet, and a place for a tiny tulip glass that holds the yeast.  The idea is to pour 90% of the beer into the goblet and the remaining, yeast-infused 10% in the tulip glass.  Then, the drinker can ignore the yeast, drink it separately, or pour it into the goblet.

My plan was to try all three experiences; I’d drink half of the goblet, half of the tulip glass, and then pour the remaining tulip glass yeast into the remaining goblet.  At least, that was the plan.  Either pouring a Belgian beer is, indeed, an art-form or I have stupid fingers because I had a hell of a time keeping the yeast from getting into the goblet.  It wasn’t caked to the bottom so nicely like it is in the marketing video, it was still floating loose towards the bottom.  I let it sit in the refrigerator for weeks; it should have been more compacted than that!  The only explanation I can think of is that I stored the bottle in the door of the fridge thus every time I went in for a snack it jostled the yeast loose.  Nonetheless, it’s not like my opening a door is equivalent to an earthquake; the yeast should have stuck together better than it did, I think.

Despite my inadequacies in beer pouring, the goblet remained largely clear save for a few floaties.  Drank separate, the goblet is a golden yellow color and smells like a Belgian-spiced banana.  The flavor is lightly-spiced with a touch of fruitiness and a hint of bitter aftertaste that warms the throat.

The tulip glass of yeast is a pale yellow—like a witbier—and cloudy as a stormy day.  The smell of nuts wafts from the flared top and a lighter, less spiced, and fruitier flavor further differentiates it from the goblet.

Put together, the beer looks essentially the same as the goblet but with a more fruit-forward aroma and a nuttier, more lightly spiced flavor.  While the goblet tastes “fruity,” one wouldn’t necessarily say it tastes like banana.  When the yeast is added, banana can most certainly be detected.  The yeast must do something to cut the bitterness, too, as no such flavor can be tasted once the tulip glass contents has been poured in.

I prefer my Affligem with the yeast poured in—it creates a more complex flavor and it lessens the bitter impact.  But, hey, don’t take my word for it; enter the sweepstakes for the chance to win your own serving tray.  If you’re really lucky, you’ll win a trip to Belgium to drink Affligem in its home country!  Give ‘er a go, you’ve got nothing to lose.  Just do it before July 16th.

Prost!

Chris