OT: Belgian Beer
Comments
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Enthusiast? Yep (Forum name a bit of a giveaway)
Generally buy my ales from Belgium itself. Makes for a good day out (with a bit of motorway driving) but as mentioned they are much cheaper over there. I usually go every few months and load up the car. And on the way back go to French hypermarket for some wine for the lady
Currently really enjoying:
Sint Bernardus. The Prior 8 is an all-time fave. I once had this on draught in the Posterie in Ieper and thought I had died and gone to heaven. Pub now gone
Beers from Van Eecke, de Bie and de Dolle Brouwers. For those who haven't tried, I recommend Oerbier.
Just so it's not too West Flanders based, Blaugies are ace, as is anything from Boon, Cantillon or Drie Fonteinen.
Making me thirsty just talking about it. Must be time for a beer....Ecrasez l’infame0 -
I normally go all out on the day of the Ronde with a selection of Belgian beers, big pot of Vlaamse Stoverij, Frieten etc and end up annoying my Mrs by commenting on the race and randomly shouting Tommeke whenever he goes to the front, but i'm on a massive fitness bender at the moment and sat there watching it drinking water. Niet dezelfde, volgend jaar misschien."I have a lovely photo of a Camargue horse but will not post it now" (Frenchfighter - July 2013)0
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This thread is killing me...... Rather stupidly gave up drinking for lent and now really regretting it reading this. Big fan of Westmalle and having had Karmaliet on draft in Brugge actually not bad. But and like a saddo have kept the top, a mate managed to get hold of one bottle of Westvlateren, amazing stuff......but agree that St Bernadus is not too dissimilar. Jan de Klerks beer shop, right next to his chocolate shop, is a real find, off the tourist beaten track. Likewise den Dyver, a great restaurant in Brugge does a tasting menu with beer. I'm stopping before I crack 0
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If you can't get over to Belgium or into town to an overpriced bar:
http://www.beersofeurope.co.uk/acatalog ... eer_9.html0 -
Went to the Ghent 6 dayer a couple of years ago and came a big fan of a bottled beer called Judas. It was very strong but tasted lovely.0
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My faves are
Poperings Hommelbier
Orval
Rodembach - A sour beer, aquired taste
However, I've fortunately tasted many brews on my trips to Belgie and my list of 'don't likes' would be a lot shorter than my 'do likes' !!
I normally stock up in a beer warehouse, right on the French/Belgian border, behind a petrol station next door to this hotel . Some of the hotel building looks like it was actually part of the border control in the old days. Plenty of choice, I must get back there in the Summer !!
http://www.hotel-callecanes.be/index.as ... cID=1079760 -
Rick Chasey wrote:Devonshire Cat in Sheffield is good if you like a pub which gives you 8 page menu for beer at the bar.
+1
Also, for anyone letting the train take the strain - if you get off at Sheffield station, pop into the Sheffield Taps. Great beer selection (try the Thornbridge Jaipur)0 -
Any londoners who likle Belgian beer - get yourself to lowlander on drury lane in the west end! Massive selection of belgian beer.
I like Kwak, and Judas is good. but Kasteel is my belgian drink of choice with a nice pint of mussels.
But at the moment(well not right this minute) i am into London Meantime IPA."If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always got."
PX Kaffenback 2 = Work Horse
B-Twin Alur 700 = Sundays and Hills0 -
Too many to list! Chimay Blue, Hoegaarden Grand Cru, Verboden Frucht, Duvel (bien sur). Leffe of course, because more often than not that's all there is (though I've never seen Leffe Ruby over here). Vedett is quite nice though I'm not normally a white beer fan. Can't get my tastebuds round Lambic beers either.
Kwak I find a bit too sweet, but nice now and then: would love to try it in Belgium with the crazy wooden-framed glass they serve it in.
WoodWinters in Newington, Edinburgh is good: better than Peckhams, who used to be great and are now rubbish (for Belgian beers anyway).kop van de wedstrijd0 -
Quite like De Konink, but I'm a real Dutch pilsner fan.
Juplier ( i know it's Belgian), and proper Heineken, Grolsch, etc.
Not the grotty stuff you get here.0 -
Rick Chasey wrote:.. Heineken..
The others I agree totally with, but this one? Oh boy, you've been away too long.
Too many other good Dutch and Belgian beers to like.
Aside from De Konink, Grolsch and Leffe, my favourite is Hoegaarden.
Lovely sweet taste. Only problem is stopping after I start.0 -
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peterst6906 wrote:Rick Chasey wrote:.. Heineken..
The others I agree totally with, but this one? Oh boy, you've been away too long.
Quite possibly.
It's all relative.
Try getting a lager over here in the UK.
I only drink cider in bottles now (assuming they have more than magners/bulmers/strongbow which are all awful) as a result.0 -
I lived in Leuven (10mins from the Stella brewery and 20mins from the Hoegaarden brewery) for five years and the beers was one of the main reasons I stayed over there so long
Some sad facts I picked up and I cannot vouch for their authenticity cos of drunkeness
Kwak is so called because of the noise it makes when you drink it with the wrong technique and it empties itself over your face (The correct glass is a bit like a mini yard of ale)
A good bar waiter will always turn the label of the glass to face you (Older Flemish patrons can get quite OCD about that)
A beer must ALWAYS be served in its specific glass (again see the note about Flemish patrons with OCD)
Bierbeek (Beer Brook/Stream) just outside Leuven, does not have real beer in it
It is possible to have a píss up in a brewery (Stella used to charge 2.50 for the tour) but was only open on weekdays
Dont speak French to waiters/bar tenders in Flem land.. They get a bit uppity (Flanders pride and all that...)
Legend says that Stella Artois is the píss from a horse that had been drinking Jupiler
There was a pipe directly from the brewery to a bar called Commerce in the centre of Leuven (not true)
Do not drink too much Duvel in the presence of Flemish girls, you might end up marrying them... (well it happened to me!!)0 -
Trickyh wrote:
Legend says that Stella Artois is the píss from a horse that had been drinking Jupiler
I once drank a champagne bucket full of Stella in Leuven - happy days!0 -
BigMat wrote:Trickyh wrote:
Legend says that Stella Artois is the píss from a horse that had been drinking Jupiler
I once drank a champagne bucket full of Stella in Leuven - happy days!
I tried drinking the OudeMarkt on two occasions and failed both times
Rules were a Pintje in each bar before moving on to the next (I think it was 35-40bars in one square!)0 -
Trickyh wrote:BigMat wrote:Trickyh wrote:
Legend says that Stella Artois is the píss from a horse that had been drinking Jupiler
I once drank a champagne bucket full of Stella in Leuven - happy days!
I tried drinking the OudeMarkt on two occasions and failed both times
Rules were a Pintje in each bar before moving on to the next (I think it was 35-40bars in one square!)
As long as its not out of the guy next to you's shoe (that's another story - I could bore you all to tears with tales of Belgian drinking antics...)0 -
Rick Chasey wrote:Quite like De Konink, but I'm a real Dutch pilsner fan.
Juplier ( i know it's Belgian), and proper Heineken, Grolsch, etc.
Not the grotty stuff you get here.
Tom Boonen just called. He'd like to completely disassociate himself from you.Warning No formatter is installed for the format0 -
No tA Doctor wrote:Rick Chasey wrote:Quite like De Konink, but I'm a real Dutch pilsner fan.
Juplier ( i know it's Belgian), and proper Heineken, Grolsch, etc.
Not the grotty stuff you get here.
Tom Boonen just called. He'd like to completely disassociate himself from you.
You sure he didn't just say he "draws the line"...?
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There is plenty choice in this place if you're ever visiting Scotland ...
http://theanderson.co.uk/index.htm
http://www.theanderson.co.uk/beerlist.pdf
The food is pretty special as well ... Even if they're not on the menu Moules are always available (just make sure to ask for mussells though, you're not really in Belgium) ...0 -
Has anyone else ever hallucinated on Duvel?0
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The Bijble:
http://belgianbeerboard.com/index.php?o ... d=88888992
I have a copy... it's 3 inches thick and has entries for over 750 Belgian beers, including a photo of each beer's bottle and branded glass.0 -
Another place with a very decent range of Belgian beers, that a couple of years ago I went for a meal (was staying nearby for a championship 25TT so didn't sample anything) is the Marine Hotel in Stonehaven :
http://www.marinehotelstonehaven.co.uk/beer/index.php0 -
Wowsers! £86.98 from Amazon!
http://www.amazon.co.uk/All-Belgian-Beers-Hilde-Deweer/dp/9058562425/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1333613298&sr=8-2
If ever there was a need for a Kindle edition... But it would prob push it over a ton!0 -
Older hardcover version
Newer p/b version is cheaper
http://www.amazon.co.uk/All-Belgian-Bee ... -1-catcorr0 -
Greggyr wrote:My faves are
Poperings Hommelbier
Orval
Rodembach - A sour beer, aquired taste
However, I've fortunately tasted many brews on my trips to Belgie and my list of 'don't likes' would be a lot shorter than my 'do likes' !!
I normally stock up in a beer warehouse, right on the French/Belgian border, behind a petrol station next door to this hotel . Some of the hotel building looks like it was actually part of the border control in the old days. Plenty of choice, I must get back there in the Summer !!
http://www.hotel-callecanes.be/index.as ... cID=107976
Greggyr, if you head up the road a bit towards Poperinge, on the left set back from the road a bit you'll find Noel Cuveliers cracking little shop where I have been buying for a couple of years now. He also does a range of his own brand beers which are very good value. I'm fairly certain that he commissions these from Strubbe.Ecrasez l’infame0 -
OCDuPalais wrote:Has anyone else ever hallucinated on Duvel?
Yes. Had a surfeit in Ghent some years ago in the Velootje. The landlord just kept passing me bottles of it. He may have been wearing a skirt. It was a hot day, though, so it may have been a comfort thing.Ecrasez l’infame0 -
+1 for the Bitter Virtue. Really knowlegable about their beers so they are able to recommend some good stuff to suit your palate. Probably currently the best place along the south coast for Belgian ales. If anyone has any tips for other places I'd be keen to hear themMrTapir wrote:I like Brugse Zot (both blonde and bruin) and also had some LaChouffe in a Smaak kafe in Brugge that was very tasty. There were others but i cant remember the name, i did write most of them down on a beermat that had a fat jolly monk on it.
There is another belgian beer pub in Chinatown (london) i think that my mate says is really good, i'll find out the name from him. Also if you are ever in Philadelphia, there is a fantastic place called Eulogy which has a massive menu of about 8 pages just of beer, and about 10 different belgian beers on tap.
For shops, Bitter Virtue in southampton has a good range of belgian beers (and correct glasses, and also does excellent british beers on draught), as does the Hogs Back Brewery shop which is in Tongham, west of Guildford.Ecrasez l’infame0 -
There are some good places in Glasgow, I think I named Brewdog before for the obscurer micro-brewed stuff, but Beer Cafe in Merchant Square has an excellent selection (including La Chouffe and Rochefort), Blackfriars over the road has s fridgeful too and the Pelican Cafe have a decent selelction too. There's an offie on Great Western Road has a fantastic selection too, it's called The Cave and is just down the road from Kelvinbridge metro station.
One to avoid is Brel. It has a great selection, but they're clearly just selling it as a "lifestyle" thing. The staff don't know anything and don't care and they put the prices up by £2 a bottle a few months back. I love Belgian beer, but I won't pay £7 for a Rochefort 10. By contrast there is a student dive next door that has Delerium Tremens on draft!"In many ways, my story was that of a raging, Christ-like figure who hauled himself off the cross, looked up at the Romans with blood in his eyes and said 'My turn, sock cookers'"
@gietvangent0 -
Delirium Tremens on tap :shock: *starts a Forest Gump like run in the general direction of Glasgow* 0
