S.T. Out

Recipes 

Hey everyone,

Just tasted the fruits of my labor. Its the Organic Belgian Dubbel Mash-Extract kit from 7 Bridges.

Recipe is:

6 lbs. Organic pale malt extract
2 lbs. Briess organic pale 2-row malt
3/4 lb. Weyermann Pale Munich malt
3/4 lb. Weyermann Carahell malt
1/2 lb. Briess organic caramel 60 oL malt
1/4 lb. Briess organic Extra Special malt
1 lb. Organic cane sugar
1/2 oz. German Hallertaur Tradition hop pellets
1 oz. German Spalt Select whole hops
1 oz. German Hallertaur Mittlefrueh hops
White Labs Trappist Yeast

It came out to:
O.G.: 1.068
F.G.: 1.014
ABV: 7.1%

I think this stuff is really tasty. And there is a suprising bubblegum/fruit taste and flavor. Is this considered normal for some Belgian beers? I love all the really different things going on in a good Belgian beer.

I'm beginning to realize that the slightly "off flavors and aromas" are part of the whole Belgian beer thing. I'm also realizing that there is a suprising number of people who dont like these beers. Just a couple weeks ago I was chatting with my local brewer friend and I brought up Belgians and he recoiled just at the mentioning of it. He didnt like "those weird tasting and funky smelling beers", he just likes "big, bold, heavily hopped American brews". I was quite suprised at this comment because this guy has made several award winning gold medal brews.

Are Belgians really thought of as being strange, even among actual brewers?

If I could drink only one beer forever I would have Chimay Bleu......gotta learn how to culture that yeast.

~S.T. Out

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Grandpa Joe: The man was a genius. Did you know he invented a new way of making chocolate stout so that it stays cold for hours without a refrigerator. You can even leave it sitting in the sun on a hot day and it wont go warm.

Charlie: But thats impossible.

Grandpa Joe: Willy Wonka did it.

Shambolic

Recipes 

I've only tasted a couple of Belgian-style beers, and I certainly wasn't very impressed.
They hardly even taste like beer...

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Primary: Empty
Secondary: King Willie Wheatie

Bottled/Drinking:
Common Swill
Stormy Night Porter
Lobrau Amber Ale (Mk. II)
Rain Dog Ale
Quantum Pale Ale

Coming Up:
Maybe a pilsner...
Quantum Pale Ale (Mk. II)

The Happy Mug

Recipes 

Get ahold of a real Belgian, like Chimay or Duval. New Belgium Brewing (of Fat Tire fame) makes "Abbey" and "Trippel", both of which are great. It's easy to catch "Belgian fever" when you get the good stuff.

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Allergy Warning: This post was made by a person who may be nuts

From the store: Nothing right now, how sad
Up Next: Thinking about an amber rye
Secondary: "Not as Pale as Death" pale ale (since april, man I hate bottling.)
In bottles: Lager than Life Beer, Rocky Raccoon Honey Lager, A nameless Imperial Stout (my first AG!)

Toilet Rocker

Recipes 

With every purchase I make now at the store, I cannot help but also peruse the Belgian section and purchase at least a Westmalle Tripple. Belgians are unique, but should not be discarded. Just the name includes way to many styles for anyone to discard them all together (just don't begin with a Cantillon--as excellent as they are, they aren't for everyone).

Not to hi-jack, but I recently found a restaurant that has the elusive Westvleteren. We're planning a 2-hour drive to this place Saturday. Can anyone find any of this trappist's brews anywhere?

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--Ramone, I am the poster formerly known as gaelone. Tell 'em, Fred.