OT: Belgian Beer
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my current feeling is no !No_Ta_Doctor said:
Holds 2 litre kegs. Is that enough to be worth it?
https://www.beerwulf.com/en-gb/the-sub
most of the beer is out of stock and the reviews of the hardware are mixed...
https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/www.the-sub.com0 -
Sounds awesome - anything on proper cherries (i.e., not a stupidly sweet fruit beer) gets my vote.No_Ta_Doctor said:I prefer the Rodenbach to the Duchess, but they're both excellent. The Rodenbach not quite so sweet and the oak is a little more prominent.
My FRESHLY OPENED TODAY local bar has Rodenbach Alexander on - it's steeped on bitter cherries, so basically an old red version of a kriek. Very nice.
I paid a very large sum for a bottle of the 3 Fonteinen Schaarbeekse (made using the Schaarbeekse cherries from the Brussels region) at a beer festival last year, when those things were still allowed. It was after a "meet the brewer" session with the head brewer from 3 Fonteinen. Apparently most cherry beers these days are made with more sour cherries from Turkey, just because the traditional Belgian cherries are so rare today. Which is what drives the price up.
https://www.lambic.info/3_Fonteinen_Schaerbeekse_Kriek
https://www.fondazioneslowfood.com/en/ark-of-taste-slow-food/schaerbeek-cherry/0 -
Blimey, that's commitment to tradition. Chapeau.
With the krieks you obviously have to careful not to accidentally purchase one of the not-real-lambics with cherry syrup added. Can't go far wrong with 3 Fonteinen, Giradin, Cantillon etc. Then there are a few who have some proper lambics and some "popular" "lambics"....
Anyway, here's what the brewery say about the Alexander. Definitely worth a go if you get the chance
http://rodenbachalexander.be/en/#Warning No formatter is installed for the format0 -
It's from Flanders.
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Yeah - Beermoth are great - started as a bottle shop in Manchester, they have a bar too (apparently opened Dec 2015, although that sounds way too long ago to me!). They've been doing delivery during lockdown, I think nationally paid for but free within Greater Manchester postcodes. Their delivery guy knows me now
. https://beermoth.co.uk/
Must have bought that glass in 2013.0 -
Some of their pricing looks a little Planet X like
There are a few bottles that are priced more highly that the supermarkets (like Westmalle) and others are really competitive.
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It's all priced on the same basis, markup compared to what their suppliers give them (I had a chat about it when I was trying to buy massively expensive 3 Fonteinen).
Can only assume that the supermarkets have better bulk buying arrangements? Like Tesco saying they will buy tens of thousands of bottles will get a better deal than Beermoth saying they want a few hundred.
I mainly use them for stuff which isn't that easy to get elsewhere. There's another good bottle shop just down the road from me, but Beermoth seems to be able to get more rare stuff.0 -
They certainly have a lot I've not seen in the UK before.
Will be placing an order 0 -
That looks extremely interesting. A tripel that's been barrel aged in a lambic brewery and then fermented a third time in the bottle... That's ....different.bobmcstuff said:
It's from Flanders.Warning No formatter is installed for the format0 -
Since the second fermentation is with brett (and pediococcus) it basically comes off as a mixed fermentation beer, it's not exactly discernable from a spontaneously fermented beer to my taste. It's not massively sour like a full lambic (despite the pediococcus), but it does have a big brett character and you get the oak too. I always like brett beers that have been on oak as I think the light fresh fizz you get from brett really brings the oak forwards and the funk complements the oak. Not that this beer is particularly oaky either; I guess the lambic barrels they use don't have masses of oak character left in them.No_Ta_Doctor said:
That looks extremely interesting. A tripel that's been barrel aged in a lambic brewery and then fermented a third time in the bottle... That's ....different.bobmcstuff said:
It's from Flanders.
I haven't tried the regular Kadet to compare, perhaps I should get both and taste side by side. Although the reviews for the regular one aren't great.
Worth drinking anyway.
If you want something really odd I had a 2015 beer from Haandbryggeriet:
It was incredibly lively when I opened it, I bet they've had some explode in storage. Aged on cranberries and currants and spontaneously fermented, although pretty sure the main yeast is a Kveik (which is all the rage at the moment, so a timely release). Very funky, quite a bit of tannin from the fruit skins.0 -
Has anyone tried the Hobgoblin ruby on here?
Does it compare to a decent Belgian one?0 -
Thanks to No_Ta_Doctor for the first list of favourite beers...
https://fendrieneu.home.blog/beers-of-belgium-cc/
Got a Delerium in the fridge for later on this hot sunny day... can't wait.0 -
Ah, that includes some of the ones I might have suggested!
I'll drop you a reply, sorry about not replying earlier!0 -
Yeah, I wrote way more than I planned to in the end...... It was really hard to get 5/6, Notadoctor had covered the key bases so I was splitting hairs really. Went more esoteric for the end.1
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lovely stuff... If anyone else has any recommendations please drop me a line 0
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Excellent review! The bar has definitely been raised, now I just need to find a bar that's open that stocks some of those! We have a Copenhagen Belgian sour bar that for some reason (pocket depth?) I still haven't visited...bobmcstuff said:Yeah, I wrote way more than I planned to in the end...... It was really hard to get 5/6, Notadoctor had covered the key bases so I was splitting hairs really. Went more esoteric for the end.
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In local news (so not of interest if you are outside of Lincolnshire), Welland brewery is going to attempt a tripel in the next few weeks.
I will try and get some to test.0 -
I bet they'll have some good stuff!No_Ta_Doctor said:
Excellent review! The bar has definitely been raised, now I just need to find a bar that's open that stocks some of those! We have a Copenhagen Belgian sour bar that for some reason (pocket depth?) I still haven't visited...bobmcstuff said:Yeah, I wrote way more than I planned to in the end...... It was really hard to get 5/6, Notadoctor had covered the key bases so I was splitting hairs really. Went more esoteric for the end.
Bokke publish a list of where their beers are available, its on their Facebook. Beermoth in Manchester have the rare 3 Fonteinen releases, and I don't think many places do, but 3 Fonteinen regular stuff is pretty widely available.0 -
The only time I've ever had Bokke was at Copenhagen Beer Celebration actually.0
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If limited to just one...
Trappiste Rochefort 8 - class above, the 10 is too strong for my taste1 -
Fingers, legs, everybits crossed that we don't have a regression this or that side of La Manche, the weekend after next, d-11 and counting, we have our rescheduled from April trip to WestVlaanderen. Bring it on. The first, and the next and... draught Hommelbier...mmmm....
I have run out of all Belgian beer stocks, bar my little case of 6 Westvleteren 12s, keeping those for the end of days. Lots of cases of empties primed and ready to go. Salivate at the prospect of restocking, at Belgian prices.
As an aside, I found a facebook group called Straffe Streekbieren which has loads of posts of interesting beers, lots from microbreweries, worth a browse.
Hoping that de Struise Brewers in Oostvleteren are open on the Sat afternoon; that makes for an interesting if rather wobbly return bike ride.
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I am considering a trip... the kids want a weekend at Butlins watching Little Mix tribute band though
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Rodenbach Alexander, on draught at my local :-}Warning No formatter is installed for the format1 -
I have taken a trip to the dark side (Walloonia!!) when in the West Country recently.
Whilst my family were loafing around the Home Bargains in Bude I found some Belgian beer for 75p a pop.
I wasn't convinced it would be up to much but as a barbeque accompaniment it was ok.
Anyone else tried Belgica before? Some of the review apps love it and some hate it, but I quite liked it.
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As a general rule, anything which is that cheap and advertises itself as "Craft" is not usually fantastic!
It has reasonable reviews on untappd, I've not tried it though.0 -
75p for a 5% 330ml is remarkably cheap. About 30p of that will be excise duty.0
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I stand by my review! its ok for the money.
Of course its not a £4 bottle and doesn't taste as such but its cheap and cheerful.
A lot like myself ;0)0 -
The thing about craft beers is that it's almost totally insignificant where they come from. By definition they don't adhere to tradition, so a Belgian craft beer is only as Belgian as a British version. It's a bit of a shame really, when local styles and cultures become global some of the fun and local flavour disappears. That's not a comment on craft beer quality, which can be superb, just that if you travel the world and get the local West Coast IPA everywhere you go, what have you really discovered?Warning No formatter is installed for the format1
