Belgian Beers

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While on the topic I want to mention I tried Monk's Cafe Flemish Sour Ale this weekend and for me it was the first sour ale I had besides my own. I kind of liked it but it is still not as sour and funky as mine are. Anyone have this before?

Can anyone suggest any other sour and funky beers for me to taste? I am still not sure if mine are good or bad since I don't know what to compare to. I like mine though, but took some time for me to enjoy the funk of them. Reminds me of funky blue cheeses in the sense at first you think WTF but in time you begin to really enjoy them.
 
I don't know how funky it is, but I really liked the Ommegang Zuur, which I've had twice now. I've never made my own sour ale, but this made me pucker up.
 
BrookdaleBrew said:
That one is pretty damn sour.
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Ha, yeah. My friends all made terrible faces when they tried it, but I thought it was delicious. I love sour anything, though. jgln is in New Jersey, so he should be able to get his hands on some Ommegang beers.
 
BrettV said:
Ha, yeah. My friends all made terrible faces when they tried it, but I thought it was delicious. I love sour anything, though. jgln is in New Jersey, so he should be able to get his hands on some Ommegang beers.
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Yes, I have seen them just not sure about the Zuur though but I will take a look.

BTW, I stopped at Monster Beverage in Pitman, NJ this weekend and they have the biggest selection of beer I have ever seen, 3 times the selection I have seen in other stores. It is not close to me or my travels which is why I never stopped before. Someone here turned me on to it. If you have never been there and are near by you should stop. I spent $190 this weekend on beer and wine, mostly Trappist ales.
 
arturo7 said:
For me DT, is disgusting. As are the other cloying Belgians. I really don't see how anyone can enjoy drinking a Gulden Drak.

Now the funky stuff, the horse blankets and sours, this I enjoy.
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haha I saw this and had to reply. I had my first Gulden Draak this past weekend and think I've found a new favorite beer of all time. I love Trappists and Dubbels. My two favortie styles. I'm not gebneraly fond of tripples because of the light flavor and extreme carbonation, but the Draak is a Dark Trippel and I thought delicious. That being said, it is a special mood to drink one. I would not want to drink more than 2-3 servings in a sitting. Drinking a whole 750ml bottle is pushing it. But for the nights when I just want 1-2 beers, a Belgian is my first choice. I'm currently working on obtaining and drinking all the Trappist brews from the 7 true Trappist breweries. I'm getting down to the difficult ones only available at the Abbey's themselves though :eek:

This is the great thing about beer. Don't try and like something because you think the beer world thinks you should. We drink beer because we like it, why force yourself to drink the ones you don't like? As long as you're not dissing others for their preferences (even if it's BMC) enjoy what you enjoy..
 
jgln said:
While on the topic I want to mention I tried Monk's Cafe Flemish Sour Ale this weekend and for me it was the first sour ale I had besides my own. I kind of liked it but it is still not as sour and funky as mine are. Anyone have this before? Can anyone suggest any other sour and funky beers for me to taste?
Click to expand...

the monks is great for the $. I get a bottle for $2.79 and IMO it's a steal. there are tons of sours in this area you can try if you wanna wet your whistle with some funk. personally i thought the Zuur was malty with minimal sournees, very well balanced but it sure wasn't a Cantillon puckering effect. Remember Flemish Reds (like Monks) are different than Lambics which are different than Oud Bruins which are different than all Brett beers and so on. Here's a brief list of sours to look for:
-Ommegang Biere de Mars, Ommeggedon
-Cantillon - just about any of the many will be great
-Lindemans - cuvee rene ONLY - others are not sour at all
-Russian River - if you live in south jersey visit Philly and seek out RR!!!
-Jolly Pumpkin - all of their beers are aged in oak and result in funky beers
-Duchesse de Burgnogne (sp?) - similar to Monks since it's a Flemish Red
-De Proef
-Rodenbach - the "standard" in Flemish Reds - grand cru is excellent!!
-Avery and the Bruery have a few specialty beers w/ brettanomyces
 
This is not quite what you're looking for, but have you tried DFH Festina Peche? It's quite sour, with only a hint of fruit, and a nice bready aftertaste. It's a Berliner-Weisse, not a sour, but it's definitely worth a try.
 
jessup said:
the monks is great for the $. I get a bottle for $2.79 and IMO it's a steal. there are tons of sours in this area you can try if you wanna wet your whistle with some funk. personally i thought the Zuur was malty with minimal sournees, very well balanced but it sure wasn't a Cantillon puckering effect. Remember Flemish Reds (like Monks) are different than Lambics which are different than Oud Bruins which are different than all Brett beers and so on. Here's a brief list of sours to look for:
-Ommegang Biere de Mars, Ommeggedon
-Cantillon - just about any of the many will be great
-Lindemans - cuvee rene ONLY - others are not sour at all
-Russian River - if you live in south jersey visit Philly and seek out RR!!!
-Jolly Pumpkin - all of their beers are aged in oak and result in funky beers
-Duchesse de Burgnogne (sp?) - similar to Monks since it's a Flemish Red
-De Proef
-Rodenbach - the "standard" in Flemish Reds - grand cru is excellent!!
-Avery and the Bruery have a few specialty beers w/ brettanomyces
Click to expand...

Cool, I picked up 2 bottles of the Lindemans cuvee rene this weekend but have yet to try one. Thanks for the great list too!
 
BrettV said:
This is not quite what you're looking for, but have you tried DFH Festina Peche? It's quite sour, with only a hint of fruit, and a nice bready aftertaste. It's a Berliner-Weisse, not a sour, but it's definitely worth a try.
Click to expand...

Haven't seen that one but if I do I will give it a try.
 
jessup said:
the monks is great for the $. I get a bottle for $2.79 and IMO it's a steal. there are tons of sours in this area you can try if you wanna wet your whistle with some funk. personally i thought the Zuur was malty with minimal sournees, very well balanced but it sure wasn't a Cantillon puckering effect. Remember Flemish Reds (like Monks) are different than Lambics which are different than Oud Bruins which are different than all Brett beers and so on. Here's a brief list of sours to look for:
-Ommegang Biere de Mars, Ommeggedon
-Cantillon - just about any of the many will be great
-Lindemans - cuvee rene ONLY - others are not sour at all
-Russian River - if you live in south jersey visit Philly and seek out RR!!!
-Jolly Pumpkin - all of their beers are aged in oak and result in funky beers
-Duchesse de Burgnogne (sp?) - similar to Monks since it's a Flemish Red
-De Proef
-Rodenbach - the "standard" in Flemish Reds - grand cru is excellent!!
-Avery and the Bruery have a few specialty beers w/ brettanomyces
Click to expand...

Yep I am sorry I only bought one bottle, my cost was $2.59.
 
I didn't like them the first 2 times I had them. One day, I all of a sudden REALLY wanted a Belgian beer. Now I can't get enough.

Same thing happened for wheat beers. I really didn't like them, all of a sudden, I think next summer I'll have a summer hefe on tap...
 
Just so everyone knows I'm keeping an open mind...I just tried Ommegang Hennepin and Duvel. Not impressed with either. I planned on trying a Delerium Tremens but the bar is out. Back to Raging *****!!!!!
 
jgln said:
Are you saying this to see who bites?

Ok I will.

Why do you say that? I think their quality is just about if not as good as any of the beers made by the monasteries.
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....oooops! I misread you, at first thought you said "anything but" :eek:
 
I keep coming back to Belgian beers and every time I do so, I find 2-3 I don't like and one that I really do like. Definitely try Orval, despite the earlier poster that didn't like it. It is indeed highly carbonated, and it has a little sourness, but I didn't think it was overwhelming.

I had New Belgium's "La Folie" sour brown and I gotta be honest, I thought it tasted like if I drank a brown ale and then vomited in my mouth a little. It might make me a girl, but I think I prefer some fruit with my sourness. The Transatlantique Kriek I thought was much better, but I had it a long time ago.
 
Right on Burgs. They're not all winners just because they're a certain style. Plus you have to find out what you like. I even find that my favorites rotate periodically(maybe batch variation or age?). I only had Orval once and didn't love it, but that was quite some time ago. Probably time to give it another go.
 
I have just "discovered" Belgian beers. Some are so-so, and some are quite tasty. Most importantly, the SWMBO discovered several she likes - hence another reason to brew some beer.... I will have to brew an Abbey of Leffe Blonde Ale clone soon!
 
I really don't understand what you guys mean about Belgian beers?
The belgians have like 55 different styles of beers so I really think you can't make generalization like that. The most common belgian beer is Stella Artois, which is just a simple light lager.

The most recognizeable style is the abbey beers, that have plenty different substyles:
-Blonde (Leffe Blond, etc)
-Bruin (Augustjin Brune etc)
-Enkel (Really a trappist style, just Chimay Doree)
-Dubbel (Westmalle Dubbel was the first, Chimay Red )
-Trippel (Westmalle Tripel, Chimay White, St.Feuillien Tripel)
-Quadruple (Westvleteren 12, Rochefort Trapistes 10, St Bernadus abt)

Of course there is also things like Lambics (Cantillion, Lindemans, Timmermans), Oud Bruins (Rodenbach Grand Cru), Flemish Reds, Golden Strongs (Duvel, Delirium Tremens), Wittes (Hoergaarden, Blanche de Namur), Saisons (St. Feuillien Saison, Saison Dupont), Stouts ( Troubador Obscura), Lagers (Jupiler, Stella Artois), Pilseners (Cristal-Alken), Amber Ales (Palm Special), Barley Wines (Gulden Draak) and many other season and speciality styles.
 
Jason_Merritt said:
Well I didn't like any of them! haha
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I've never had a beer I didn't like, if not for the flavor/aroma etc, then for the experience alone. My palate changes daily, so a less "desireable" beer one day might be great the next. . . . . .Are you sure you like BEER?:mug:
 
raestlyn said:
I really don't understand what you guys mean about Belgian beers?
The belgians have like 55 different styles of beers so I really think you can't make generalization like that. The most common belgian beer is Stella Artois, which is just a simple light lager.

The most recognizeable style is the abbey beers, that have plenty different substyles:
-Blonde (Leffe Blond, etc)
-Bruin (Augustjin Brune etc)
-Enkel (Really a trappist style, just Chimay Doree)
-Dubbel (Westmalle Dubbel was the first, Chimay Red )
-Trippel (Westmalle Tripel, Chimay White, St.Feuillien Tripel)
-Quadruple (Westvleteren 12, Rochefort Trapistes 10, St Bernadus abt)

Of course there is also things like Lambics (Cantillion, Lindemans, Timmermans), Oud Bruins (Rodenbach Grand Cru), Flemish Reds, Golden Strongs (Duvel, Delirium Tremens), Wittes (Hoergaarden, Blanche de Namur), Saisons (St. Feuillien Saison, Saison Dupont), Stouts ( Troubador Obscura), Lagers (Jupiler, Stella Artois), Pilseners (Cristal-Alken), Amber Ales (Palm Special), Barley Wines (Gulden Draak) and many other season and speciality styles.
Click to expand...

I think they are just stating which of the many beers/styles they like the best?
 
raestlyn said:
I really don't understand what you guys mean about Belgian beers?
The belgians have like 55 different styles of beers so I really think you can't make generalization like that. The most common belgian beer is Stella Artois, which is just a simple light lager.

The most recognizeable style is the abbey beers, that have plenty different substyles:
-Blonde (Leffe Blond, etc)
-Bruin (Augustjin Brune etc)
-Enkel (Really a trappist style, just Chimay Doree)
-Dubbel (Westmalle Dubbel was the first, Chimay Red )
-Trippel (Westmalle Tripel, Chimay White, St.Feuillien Tripel)
-Quadruple (Westvleteren 12, Rochefort Trapistes 10, St Bernadus abt)

Of course there is also things like Lambics (Cantillion, Lindemans, Timmermans), Oud Bruins (Rodenbach Grand Cru), Flemish Reds, Golden Strongs (Duvel, Delirium Tremens), Wittes (Hoergaarden, Blanche de Namur), Saisons (St. Feuillien Saison, Saison Dupont), Stouts ( Troubador Obscura), Lagers (Jupiler, Stella Artois), Pilseners (Cristal-Alken), Amber Ales (Palm Special), Barley Wines (Gulden Draak) and many other season and speciality styles.
Click to expand...

When I started this thread, what I had in mind was Abbey's, Tripels, Dubbles, etc...It's the corriander, zest and other spices that I don't like. I realize that there are many more styles of Belgian Beers. But since you made note of some of the different ones, I'll expand.

I don't like the the following beers:
Anything by Chimay, any of the Abbey's, Orvel, Duvel, most Omegangs, Delirium Tremens, Delirium Nocturnum and pretty much anything that sounds French ie, Unibroue Maudite, Trois Pistoles, etc...

Beers I do like:
Pale Ales, IPA's, Double IPA's Porters, I do like all of the Lindemanns that I have tried

Bascially, don't put spices in it and I'll probably drink it. I hope this clears up any condusion. :D
 

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