When it comes to Belgian Pale beers, I am a heathen.

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Zymurgrafi

Zymurgrafi

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Yup. That's me unwashed and uncultured. I love some Dubbels and Dark strong ales. Give me a Saison, a tripel, or a golden strong and I can not tell the difference. All pale Belgian beers seem the same to me. They are sweet, wicked yeasty and heavy on the phenols. That is about all I can say.

I keep trying but I just cannot appreciate them. Don't get me wrong I do not think they are undrinkable or anything. They just are not my first choice. Or second...

I think mainly it is the wicked in your face yeast presence. To me it is like downing a vial of straight yeast with a chaser of candy syrup.

Yeah, I am ignorant. Other than that i like to think of myself as a pretty well rounded beer drinker. :eek:
 
I've never had a sweet Saison. I wonder which one you have tried, but the style calls for a dry, nonsweet brew. I would say to brew your own and raise the temp really high and you won't have that sweetness. Most Tripel's are also dry. What brands have you tried?
 
Hey, me too. Not a fan of Belgian pales. I was afraid to speak up for fear of being ostracized. I feel so much better now that you spoke up, Zymurgrafi. I now know I am not alone.:eek:

Let the healing begin.
 
flyangler18 said:
Phooey. Try a Berliner Weisse and you'll be singing a different song, my lad.
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Lad? Did you just call me lad? No 40-year-old can possibly be a lad, unless the person calling me a lad is 70.

Tried Berliner Weisse a couple times. My song remains the same, with apologies to Led Zeppelin.
 
I do not like dark beers. Dark beers are too heavy. They are all as thick as oil. It's like drinking straight out of the oil pan from my car. And all dark beers are too high in alcohol. All dark beers are too bitter.....................................................................................................................................................
 
Yeah all right I deserved all that... :(


Like I said, I keep trying to appreciate. I have tried Duvel, Hennepin, Delerium Tremens, Piraat, Pranqster, We're only in it for the money (Lagunitas triple), Maudite, La fin Du monde, Don de Diue, and a few Saisons from local brewpubs at a festival.

Yes I know, not a big list but I try them as I come across them. Usually not too excited to try a new one so I tend to not snatch them up. I have had most of those several times. Okay, so I admit the Saisons were dry. I guess I should say drinking those was like a vial of highly carbonated yeast straight no chaser ;)
Sour beers is a whole other topic. I think I would really like sour beers. I just have not had one that was good yet. Rodenbach, not sour enough. Lindemans kriek, cherry soda where is the beer? Monks cafe flemish red, carbonated Worcestershire ...

Okay, let the flaming resume...
 
I wasn't a huge Belgian fan until I had them in Amsterdam. The freshness was evident in a vanilla taste I'd never picked up on before. I craved them the entire trip, and now brew and drink them constantly. Buying Belgians in the US is a crap shoot because they get shipped so far. Try some US made versions(if you want...drink what you like I say) they can be more consistant and fresher-tasting.
 
You have not had a sour beer until you have had a Cantillion Gueze. That my friend, that, is heaven...................and calls for a :ban:
 
Have you ever tried Allagash Curieux? Take a tripel, brew it a little stronger, and age it on oak.... YUM!!

I made one modeled after that beer, though mine is only 10% ABV so it's for the meek... :eek:
 
Zymurgrafi said:
Yup. That's me unwashed and uncultured. I love some Dubbels and Dark strong ales. Give me a Saison, a tripel, or a golden strong and I can not tell the difference. All pale Belgian beers seem the same to me. They are sweet, wicked yeasty and heavy on the phenols. That is about all I can say.

I keep trying but I just cannot appreciate them. Don't get me wrong I do not think they are undrinkable or anything. They just are not my first choice. Or second...

I think mainly it is the wicked in your face yeast presence. To me it is like downing a vial of straight yeast with a chaser of candy syrup.

Yeah, I am ignorant. Other than that i like to think of myself as a pretty well rounded beer drinker. :eek:
Click to expand...

uh...i guess you mean "pale" in color?? cuz belgian pales are completely different beers than triples or golden strongs. and saisons are WAY different. we just brewed a saison...not everyone could handle it. it was my favorite beer, i LOVE the funk!

if you want a true "Belgian Pale", try a de koninck

i've made some really clean belgian ales btw, with only a hint of fruitiness and none of that yeasty nonsense. belgian yeast can work for you if you know how to use it ;)
 
Yes I meant pale in color. I see now how that was not clear. Pretty much if I have a Belgian beer and it is a pale color I have not gotten too thrilled about it.

If it has been in the 12+ SRM I have really loved it. I guess I like the dark caramelly flavors, the rum notes, the dried fruit and all the other dark yummy goodness.

I guess it comes down to I can not pinpoint what it is about the lighter colored Belgians that do not care for. Easy answer is it is the yeast, but that is too broad. I guess it is the spicy phenols from the yeast. They taste like off-flavors to me.

Thanks for putting up with my ignorance. I am trying to understand what it is all about.
 
For what its worth Zym, i used to think i hated all beer belgian due to the ones I had from other home brewers. Then i started down the road of commercial brews and wow, they are all so different and unique.

Try Ommegang's Abbey. It was one of my first and favorites of the style.
 
Oh I love Ommegang Abbey. But like I said I love dubbels. I believe it was my first Belgian too come to think of it.

I also LOVE Westmalle dubbel, Trois pistoles, Brother Thelonius, Rochefort 8, Three philosophers, and La Trappe Dubbel. I have also enjoyed (though there are much better ones) Chimay red, and Maredsous 8.
 
Well the thing with Trippels is that 'In theory' it's the brewing process that defines them. 'In theory' you could have totally different tasting Trippels. Traditionally though that does not happen often.

And i'm pretty sure Belgian Gold Ales are the same as Belgian (Strong) Pale Ales.
 
DeathBrewer said:
what the hell is a "belgian (strong) pale ale"? a belgian pale ale is completely different than belgian strong ales.

Belgian and French Ales

Belgian Strong Ales
Click to expand...

A Belgian Strong Pale Ale would be beers akin to Duvel, Satan, etc. A Belgian Pale Ale while different is still resembling of their "Strong" counterparts: Grimbergen Blond for example.

I have always seen Belgian (Strong) Pale ales being used interchangeably with Belgian Gold Ales.
 
are these like beer advocate terms or something? just seems kinda silly...kinda like calling Piraat a "Belgian Tripel IPA" when really it's just a tripel (even though the brewery itself does this)

I would call those beers golden strong ales, straight up.
 
Zymurgrafi said:
Like I said, I keep trying to appreciate. I have tried Duvel, Hennepin, Delerium Tremens, Piraat, Pranqster, We're only in it for the money (Lagunitas triple), Maudite, La fin Du monde, Don de Diue, and a few Saisons from local brewpubs at a festival.
Click to expand...

Sounds like somebody needs to plan a trip to Belgium.
 
DeathBrewer said:
are these like beer advocate terms or something? just seems kinda silly...kinda like calling Piraat a "Belgian Tripel IPA" when really it's just a tripel (even though the brewery itself does this)

I would call those beers golden strong ales, straight up.
Click to expand...

I don't see whats the big deal, it's semantics really. Some people call it Belgian Strong Pale Ale some call it Belgian Strong Golden Ale. The Same with Belgian Pale Ale and Belgian Blond Ale (Even though BJCP actually differentiates between the two which i find a bit overkill, but whatever.)

And i have not seen BA call anything Belgian Tripel IPA, Piraat is labeled Belgian IPA.
 
And by the way i'm pretty sure BA doesn't actually make the definitions up, they take it from The Association of brewers Style guidelines, which is where i get my definitions aswell.
 
maybe for this guy:

LaChouffeHoublon.jpg


not for piraat ;) :p
 
all this discussion on style definitions just reinforces my confusion. That is what I mean. It seems the definitions are too vague and there really is not much difference between them.
 
Zymurgrafi said:
all this discussion on style definitions just reinforces my confusion. That is what I mean. It seems the definitions are too vague and there really is not much difference between them.
Click to expand...

To me a style is nothing more than a particular recipe that gained popularity within the industry, leading to the need of labeling it as a style for communication and marketing sake. At the end of the day just call it whatever you see fit. I use the AHA guidelines because it makes more sense to me.

It happens in every industry though, for instance in the Music industry, theres alot of bands who come up with different style designations, to which the market will end up accepting or disregarding it as silly. I just use it as a means to establish a common ground of communication and probe another persons knowlegde (i.e. if the person thinks Slayer and Megadeth are Thrash than i can safely assume he/she's a noobster) making it easier for me to carry the conversation.
 
Zymurgrafi said:
Oh I love Ommegang Abbey. But like I said I love dubbels. I believe it was my first Belgian too come to think of it.

I also LOVE Westmalle dubbel, Trois pistoles, Brother Thelonius, Rochefort 8, Three philosophers, and La Trappe Dubbel. I have also enjoyed (though there are much better ones) Chimay red, and Maredsous 8.
Click to expand...

I think I am the exact opposite. I do not care much for the dubbels, and really like the tripels. I find most dubbels to be sweeter and yeastier. I like the tripels because they are usually a little drier, and just slightly spicy, maybe a little hoppy.
 

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