Belgian Beers

[jmo88]

That's like saying "I don't like American beers".

 

[Erythro73]

Somehow, people should stop making thread "I don't like this style of beers, the beer gods will hate me" or "I don't like this other style of beers, don't hate me" (there have been another thread similar to this one, but on IPA, recently).

There's millions of beer amateurs in the world, and there's millions of different tastes in the world. Some we likes, some we don't. And that's great, because there is many different styles. I don't like rauchbier, some do, but I'm pretty sure I can get along pretty well with one of them behind a beer. We can appreciate beer for what it is.

 

[BrettV]

Indeed. This holds true for just about everything in life. I loathe Justin Bieber, but some 13 year old girls scream themselves hoarse when his face even graces a magazine. I cringe at the thought of a steak being cooked beyond medium rare, but if you handed that bloody slab of beef to my mother she'd likely vomit. There is no right or wrong; every palate is different. This is what keeps the world diverse and interesting. It gives us things we love and things we love to hate. Celebrate diversity! Everyone now, grab the beverage you least despise and raise your glass! Now get effed up, and forget what you were arguing about in the first place!

 

[bradneal]

+1 on the loathing JB.

 

[haplo]

I love trappist and trappist style beers. Not always though. The first one I ever had was a Chimay. It overwhelmed my senses that were used to PBR & Miller Lite from college. It took a while of drinking other non lite beers that had flavor and complexity until I could appreciate the flavor and complexity of the trappists. Now they're my favorite.

That's not to say that I don't still drink less complex or well made lagers. Hell, I still get PBR once in a while cause sometimes I want to drink twenty some beers. Or sometimes a few strong(malt or hop wise) beers is enough to attack my palate and I just want something that is clean and refreshing.

 

[BrettV]

That's not to say that I don't still drink less complex or well made lagers. Hell, I still get PBR once in a while cause sometimes I want to drink twenty some beers. Or sometimes a few strong(malt or hop wise) beers is enough to attack my palate and I just want something that is clean and refreshing.

Hells yeah! An ice cold Rolling Rock on a really hot day is great! And having grown up and gone to college in Western New York, Labatt Blue and Molson Canadian taste like nostalgia to me.

 

[haplo]

Labatt Blue and Molson Canadian taste like nostalgia to me.

Haha, same for me growing up in Northwestern PA.

 

[WildGingerBrewing]

Somehow, people should stop making thread "I don't like this style of beers, the beer gods will hate me" or "I don't like this other style of beers, don't hate me" (there have been another thread similar to this one, but on IPA, recently).

There's millions of beer amateurs in the world, and there's millions of different tastes in the world. Some we likes, some we don't. And that's great, because there is many different styles. I don't like rauchbier, some do, but I'm pretty sure I can get along pretty well with one of them behind a beer. We can appreciate beer for what it is.

My point was not to argue about whether or not someone likes or dislikes a style of beer. My point was that a lot of people like the Belgian style and I, so far, haven't found one I liked. I was at work, bored, and thinking about beer, so I thought I'd start a CONVERSATION not an arguement. I personally love the fact that everyone has differing opinions about different styles. That's why I llike beer and brewing. If we all had the same taste the world would be a pretty boring place! All that being said, I've never had some of the beers that are in the Belgian style, so my original statement was probably to broad. So everyone drink another beer, whatever style you prefer and have a good time. I personally am on my way to the Rangers/ Red Sux game and plan on drinking 12 or so Bud Lights!

 

[Pivzavod]

I just tried my newest Belgian, BPA with WL550. 3 weeks in primary, nearly 2 months in room temp keg, 2 weeks in the kegerator. This yeast is definitely the strongest Belgian I've had in my brewing career. In the past I've used WY3944 & WY3711 with great success and they are much milder in the overall taste of the beer.

Belgians are not for everyone and might take time to get used to.

 

[BrettV]

Haha, same for me growing up in Northwestern PA.

Aw, sheeyit, were you from Erie? I grew up in Buffalo, and went to school in Fredonia (which is halfway in between both cities.)

 

[jgln]

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.

 

[BrettV]

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]

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.

That one is pretty damn sour.

 

[BrettV]

That one is pretty damn sour.

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.

 

[jgln]

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.

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.

 

[IrregularPulse]

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.

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

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..

 

[jessup]

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?

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

 

[BrettV]

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.

 

[jgln]

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

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!

 

[jgln]

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.

Haven't seen that one but if I do I will give it a try.

 

[jgln]

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

Yep I am sorry I only bought one bottle, my cost was $2.59.

 

[ndsgr]

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...

 

[steinsato]

I enjoy Ommegang's Ommegedon Funkhouse Ale and I also like Lindeman's Cuvee Rene Gueze I think it's called.

 

[WildGingerBrewing]

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 Bitch!!!!!

 

[FlemingsFinest]

Try anything by Ommegang. Anything.

 

[jgln]

Try anything by Ommegang. Anything.

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.

 

[jgln]

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.

....oooops! I misread you, at first thought you said "anything but"

 

[Burgs]

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.

 

[haplo]

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.

 

[ashort33]

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!