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Belgian Beer Primer

Phlicker

Phlicker

also know as @PhillyBeerGuy
Joined
Jan 9, 2007
Messages
884
OK, all you Belgian beer fans out there...I need your help. I'm looking to expand my suds horizon to the beers of Belgium, but I don't know much about them or really what to look for. I've had a few Chimay in my day, some V-Twelve, and whatever Jonas told me to order at Monk's, but for the most part I'm a complete neophyte when it comes to appreciating these fine brews. What I'm looking for here is really a primer on the different styles, what a good "baseline" or standard example of each style would be, and good sampling of "starter" beers. Thanks in advance for your feedback!
 
Phlicker said:
OK, all you Belgian beer fans out there...I need your help. I'm looking to expand my suds horizon to the beers of Belgium, but I don't know much about them or really what to look for. I've had a few Chimay in my day, some V-Twelve, and whatever Jonas told me to order at Monk's, but for the most part I'm a complete neophyte when it comes to appreciating these fine brews. What I'm looking for here is really a primer on the different styles, what a good "baseline" or standard example of each style would be, and good sampling of "starter" beers. Thanks in advance for your feedback!
Click to expand...

Justin will have better input as he is more of a Belgian whore then I am, but I will give it a shot.. Not all of these are from Belgium, but they are all Belgian styles and should be available in your area.

Quadrupel:
Trappistes Rochefort 10 - Favorite in this style.
St. Bernardus Abt 12
Pannepøt - Old Fisherman's Ale

Tripel:
La Fin Du Monde
St. Bernardus Tripel - Favorite in this style.
Tripel Karmeliet
Allagash Tripel Reserve - This is what you had @ Monks.

Belgian Strong Dark Ale:
Trappistes Rochefort 8
Gouden Carolus Carolus D'Or - Cuvée Van De Keizer - Favorite in this style.
Trois Pistoles

Belgian Strong Pale Ale:
Southampton Grand Cru - Amazing beer, my favorite in this style.
Duvel
La Chouffe
 
Here's a pretty good **link** from THE MAN.

I think as far as a "standard baseline" for what each style should be, any of the trappist beers provide a good example of that for the "abbey ales", you can't argue with hundreds of years of tradition right?

As far as the lambics, I don't have a whole lot of experience with them, but I believe Cantillon is widely considered to make classic representations of the different styles. There are three branches of lambics I believe: fruit, unblended, and gueuze (a blend of old and new lambics that is then aged).

I don't know a whole lot about the biere de garde and biere de champagne either.

My favorites in the styles I enjoy are:

Quad (my favorite style)
Val Dieu Grand Cru
Rochefort 10
Pannepot Old Fishermans Ale
Kasteel Brune
Westvleteren 12 (all but one bottle I've had anyway :laugh: )

Tripel
St. Bernardus Tripel
Golden Monkey

Dubbel
St Bernardus Prior 8

Belgian Strong Dark Ale
Gouden Carolus Carolus D'Or - Cuvée Van De Keizer
Nostradamus
Nor'easter (definitely not a typical BSDA though)

Belgian Strong Pale Ale
Allagash Grand Cru
7/7/07 Vertical Epic

There's some other styles too that I really don't know much about, and don't really consider traditional Belgian styles.

Let me know if you have any more questions and I'll try to help Mike.

Edit: Forgot Saison, probably because I've never had one that I liked.
 
Jonas and Justin definitely have you on the right track. You can't go wrong starting with any of the Trappist beers.
Here's a few more that I would add:

Liefman's Goudenband - Flanders Oud Bruin

Duchesse De Bourgogne - Flanders Red Style can be a bit of an acquired taste as it has a fair amount of sourness, but also lots of fruit flavors.

Any Saison from Fantome

Duvel - a Belgian Strong Pale (Oops, Jonas already listed this one!)

It's a lot lighter than most of the beers mentioned, but I'm a big fan of Hoegaarden, it's a great summer time beer.

A lot of Belgian beers are unclassifiable, you just have to enjoy them on a purely hedonistic level, you either like it or not!

I would recommend trying anything from De Dolle (the Mad Brewers) or
Achouffe for really unique beers.

Although they're from Canada, Unibroue makes some nice Belgian style beers.

Belgian beers can have some different flavors then you may be used to, so you may not like some of them. But that's okay, drink what you like!
 
If you like the barleywine style, don't mind 'no fizz'.. cellar some high proof beer for a year or two. In spite of the rave reviews of ancient vintage beers, the best *average* of strong beer reviews seems to be thickest around 1-3 years old, and it all boils down to how much carbonation you need to be satisfied.

If it's good, a year likely makes it excellent.. buy for next year. :)

AND, BIG HINT: BUY AT LEAST TWO.. you may like it enough to wait ANOTHER year.. ;)
 
Thanks, guys! When the beer budget opens back up I'll have to look into these.
 
i've done some research trying for 'top shelf' beers without breaking the bank..

came up with Avery's Reverend, (Very nice, a bit too thick to be perfect but NICE beer)

V 12, Trois Pistoles, Brother Thelonious, and Rogues XS Imperial Stout. Backordered Chimay Bleu..

not all belgians but all 'Sturdy' beer. :)

Hint: Get a ceramic flip top bottle to store leftovers from the 750ml bottles in. finishing one really kills the work ethic.. :)
 
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