Assuming A-B sincerely wants to have a craft beer portfolio, it would be wise to allow Goose Island to keep producing beers like Matilda.

Name: St. Bernardus Abt 12
Brewery:Brouwerij St. Bernardus NV
Style: Belgian Dark Strong Ale
ABV: 10
Final Grade: A
Score: 46

Some beers remind me of just how limited my vocabulary is.

All I could come up with for St. Bernardus Abt 12 were fairly prosaic terms: “chocolate” “raisin” and “caramel.” I fear I was unfair. This beer had so much more going on.

Produced by a secular brewery in West Flanders, St. Bernardus Abt 12 nevertheless shares the complexity of flavor and aroma of some of the finest Trappist beers. Michael Jackson has described it as “like a warming coconut brandy.” I didn’t detect the coconut, but there’s a lot I didn’t detect.

This was a Christmas gift and I haven’t seen the beer sold at any of my local stores. However, I can’t wait to try this again, exploring it as a learning experience and indulging it for sheer pleasure.

The gold leafing, big alcohol (12 %), tiny bottle (8.48 fl. oz.) and relatively high price ($4.55) suggested the Scaldis was something special.

OK, so I’m still a rookie when it comes to sour beers.

Editors Note: Every week until I take the BJCP exam on Nov. 5, I will be posting reviews of the commercial examples of beer styles that my study group is required to taste.

Name: Hoegaarden
Brewery: AB-InBev (Belgium)
Style: Wit
Price: $7.99 per 6-pack
ABV: 4.9
Final Grade: B
Score: 39

My craft beer revelation came by way of an Oatmeal Stout in August 1999. The woman I was dating at the time came around to craft beer several months later. The beer that turned her? Hoegaarden.

I don’t mean to imply that guys like the thick black stuff and women need lighter, softer beers. Not at all. My wife drinks more stout than I do. But, at the time, my girlfriend was a wine drinker and I’ve found that Hoegaarden has been a gateway for many people who say they don’t like beer. It is refreshing, moderate alcohol and has a light spicy and floral aroma. Neither assertive nor boring, it’s tough not to like.

We hear a lot about homebrewers who’ve taken their passions to “the next level” by jumping into the business and starting a brewery. Josh Hoehl is in the process of doing just that.

There are all sorts of reasons why brewers choose to participate in festivals.

Saisons are the perfect blend of sophistication and drinkability.

Q. What does a blonde and beer bottles have in common?
A. They’re both empty from the neck up.

Despite the name (oerbier means “original,” or from the source), there’s something awfully familiar here. Perhaps it’s because it isn’t that far from a homebrew.