Silly la Divine (9.5%)

The Brasserie de Silly is a regional Belgian brewery located just southwest of Brussels in the town of – you guessed it! – Silly. It is also one of those brewing industry rarities of these days, a regional that is in the midst of an expansion!

I was able to visit Silly early this month and was impressed by the ambition shown by brewery Managing Director Lionel Van der Haegen, who with his cousin Bertrand is part of the sixth generation of family ownership. Once the reno and expansion are complete, the already prominent town brewery will be an unmissable area attraction, complete with a large glass frontage and brand new hospitality room and tasting bar.

Silly has a fairly large portfolio of brands, eight of which have just been released across western Canada. For this review, however, I decided to limit my focus to the one also presently available at the LCBO, simply titled La Dvine.

The brewery classifies this one as a tripel, the style pretty much defined by Westmalle Tripel, and I’m not so sure I agree. Sure, the hoppiness seems in line with the style, but the malt component almost edges towards that of a dubbel, although the strength would be considered very high for that style.

But one of the wonderful things about Belgian beer is that it is notoriously, and gloriously, disdainful of stylistic definitions. I am reminded of the perhaps apocryphal story of the Belgian brewer who, when asked what style one of his beers was, simply shrugged and responded, “It’s my style.” While it is true that some Belgian beers do lend themselves to style guidelines – try brewing a witbier without coriander and see how far you get – most are best enjoyed for what they are rather than what a style book says they should be.

La Divine is most definitely such a beer. Were I to be blind judging it as a tripel, I don’t think it would score that highly. But treated as an amber-hued strong ale, it scores…well, let’s wait and see.

It is, as noted, amber in colour, or perhaps better dark copper. The aroma is a delightful mix of hops, malt, and fermentation-derived fruitiness, manifesting as brandied cherries, flamed orange peel, very lightly toasted oak, hints of dark chocolate, and a whisper of nutmeg.

The start of the flavour is pretty sweet, even a bit candied, with now glacé cherry, milk chocolate, and a touch of freshly squeezed orange juice. The hops and alcohol rise quickly on the mid-palate to take care of said sweetness, though, with mild to moderate woody bitterness first balancing, then moderating the sweetness, creating a character that is unapologetically brandy-ish, still mildly fruity and chocolaty, although back to dark rather than milk chocolate, with alcohol warmth spreading out towards the drying and mildly bitter finish.

Although I’m making my main set of notes in the late afternoon, this is unquestionably an end-of-the-evening beer, the sort of tipple that draws a line under the day and readies one for bed. And in that context, it offers a thoroughly enjoyable experience. 

89 ($4 - $5/330 ml)