Best Belgian-inspired beer - The Auroch's Horn - 2015 Best of MN

What does it mean to call a beer "Belgian?" Is it a particular style? To Olvalde brewer Joe Pond it's something else. "To me a beer style is a little bit restrictive," he says. "If I'm going to brew something I call a 'Belgian beer' then I'm going to emulate the Belgian water. I'm going to get Belgian malts." The Auroch's Horn is a 10-percent alcohol golden ale brewed with barley, wheat and local honey. Herbal and spicy notes blend delicately with nectar-like malt. It's a sweet but rough-hewed beer that manages to be "Belgian-esque" without being Belgian; it's a style all its own. olvalde.com