Troubadour Obscura Categorization

Help Discussion in 'BeerAdvocate Talk' started by allenson21, Jan 22, 2014.

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  1. allenson21

    allenson21 Savant (1,051) Dec 4, 2012 New York
    Trader

    Hey fellow Beer Advocates! This is my first thread, so take it easy on me!

    Does anyone know why Troubadour Obscura is categorized as a English Foreign / Export Stout as opposed to a Belgian Dark Ale? It's brewed in Belgium by recipe of Flemish brew masters; and its characteristics fit the mold of the quintessential Belgian Dark.

    I searched the forums for this topic and came up empty handed. I realize this isn't very important: "who cares about categorization, just drink the damn delicious beer!" However, I would be interested if anyone has an explanation.

    Thanks!
     
  2. uturn

    uturn Maven (1,374) Sep 19, 2003 Florida

    My guess is that the brewery calls it a stout:

    "Troubadour Obscura is a dark red-brown colored beer, with a rich, malty body combined with different touches of a stout but in a very nice balanced way: roast, chocolate, coffee, vanilla. A mild stout with a Belgian body!"

    http://www.troubadourbieren.be/en/troubadour-obscura

    Cheers
    Mike
     
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  3. Smakawhat

    Smakawhat Grand High Pooh-Bah (7,191) Mar 18, 2008 Maryland
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah

    Sounds like a Belgian stout :slight_smile:
     
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  4. BigOldOaf

    BigOldOaf Initiate (0) Feb 4, 2011 Massachusetts

    I tried this not too long ago and thought it to be an interesting take on a stout. I like the name too, not that that makes it any more of a stout.
     
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  5. allenson21

    allenson21 Savant (1,051) Dec 4, 2012 New York
    Trader

    Hey Mike,

    That was my guess as well; but there are plenty of other beers in the Belgian Dark category that have "stout" in their name. To many, "stout" is an arbitrary term; however, "Belgian" (denoting beer that is brewed in Belgium and/or in the Belgian-style) is not. Besides the Brouwerij Musketeer's webpage calling the product a "stout" beer, there seems to be no evidence against the fact that the product is wholly Belgian.

    Hope you agree. Cheers.
     
  6. afksports

    afksports Initiate (0) Aug 22, 2010 New York

    Truthfully, I'm pretty sure that this is as simple a case as the person who added the Troubadour Obscura to the BeerAdvocate database selected "Foreign Export Stout" as the style because they thought it was a stout from Belgium and that made it Foreign.

    Of course you're correct, by style definitions and taste profile, it's far closer to Belgian Strong Dark than it is to Foreign Export. But this type of thing happens so frequently that I don't really read the style assignments on BA anymore. Trust the label and the brewery's descriptions.
     
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  7. 77black_ships

    77black_ships Initiate (0) Dec 4, 2012 Belgium

    The Troubadour beers include many non-Belgian styled, IIPA’s, RIS, BIPA, smoked porter etc. However they are not meant to be imitations of how these beers are made abroad, they always have a twist to them. You can seem them as semi-Belgian hybrids.

    Obscura is intended to be a stout, market, brewed etc. as such. It is not meant to be a stout in a strict American or British way. As such the style “Foreign / Export Stout” actually seems like a perfect fit to me.

    All of the De Musketiers beers are contract brewed at De Proefbrouwerij who make quite a few non-Belgian style beers. A good example is the hundreds of Mikkeller beers which are made there including beers like Black & their hop series.

    Fun fact: stout means naughty in Dutch. Or brave…
     
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  8. allenson21

    allenson21 Savant (1,051) Dec 4, 2012 New York
    Trader

    The line between naughty and brave is quite blurry sometimes...
     
  9. Todd

    Todd Founder (13,518) Aug 23, 1996 Finland
    STAFF Mod Team Society Pooh-Bah

    As mentioned already, the brewery calls it a stout of sorts ... so it's listed as one.

    Closing this one down.
     
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