OT: Belgian Beer

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  • bobmcstuff
    bobmcstuff Posts: 11,196
    No_Ta_Doctor said:

    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?

    Well, it's definitely true to a large extent, but I'd suggest a good Belgian craft brewer will take influences from their local historical styles and incorporate that into their beers. Particularly the yeast influences for Belgium for example.

    What really smart ones do is take a historical style and make it craft... 3 Fonteinen is very present in the craft scene for example. Helped by the fact that sours are having a bit of a moment I'm sure, but there's value in being an established brewer and engaging with the craft beer scene as you have a lot of preexisting credibility and authenticity to trade on.

    The other good thing about sours is you can use local fruits and so on. Went to a really interesting tasting last year with the head brewer from Cascade in Oregon where they have incredible soft fruits etc.. And a lot of them are spontaneously fermented which is pretty local as it's whatever yeast happens to float by on the day...

    You also get local hop varieties, of course they travel so anyone can use them though.

    Another thing that's done quite a lot is collaborations outside of beer - Northern Monks Patrons Project is mainly pretty global IPAs for example but they are all in collaboration with local cultural institutions etc..

    So yes, there are lots of quite lazy pale ales and IPAs about but that doesn't mean it's impossible to give your beer a bit of a sense of location.

    Of course the other thing you can do is just be really bloody good so it doesn't matter where you're from.
  • bobmcstuff
    bobmcstuff Posts: 11,196
    Not really Belgian beer related specifically, but if you were running a "wheel of styles" beer tasting with the following beers, what order would you do them in?

    NEIPA
    West Coast IPA
    Belgian IPA
    Hoppy Saison
    Stout
    Barrel aged imperial pastry stout

    I think the last 2 have to be the 2 stouts. Then I am not sure whether to go in the order as above, or to go:

    Saison
    Belgian
    NEIPA
    West Coast

    The NEIPA is the softest of the lot of course in terms of bitterness, so I think maybe that should go first.

    Comments, suggestions?
  • No_Ta_Doctor
    No_Ta_Doctor Posts: 13,309



    Heading for a cheese board and a Westmalle Tripel
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  • jimmythecuckoo
    jimmythecuckoo Posts: 4,712
    I can't get on with Chinmay.

    St Bernabus I totally get. Any bottle they do seems to have texture and layers of flavour.

    Westmalle Tripel is in my top 5! I love it.
    http://fendrieneu.home.blog
    My blog and pod...
    Beers of Belgium Cycling Club UK
  • No_Ta_Doctor
    No_Ta_Doctor Posts: 13,309
    jimmythecuckoo said:

    I can't get on with Chinmay.

    St Bernabus I totally get. Any bottle they do seems to have texture and layers of flavour.

    Westmalle Tripel is in my top 5! I love it.

    The St Bernadus has too much cardamom for my tastes. Chimay Blue I hadn't had for ages, I'm starting to appreciate the dubbels again after many years off them.

    Westmalle Tripel is also in my top five. Finished off with a Rochefort 10.....
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  • ddraver
    ddraver Posts: 26,388
    Le Chouffe from the real brewery on a hot day is very nice. Some good riding of all types around there too.
    We're in danger of confusing passion with incompetence
    - @ddraver
  • bobmcstuff
    bobmcstuff Posts: 11,196
    Westmalle Tripel is good stuff.

    Orval is my favourite of those pictured - love a bit of Brett...
  • jimmythecuckoo
    jimmythecuckoo Posts: 4,712
    No_Ta_Doctor said:


    Westmalle Tripel is also in my top five. Finished off with a Rochefort 10.....

    I would always go Bornhem after Westmalle :)
    http://fendrieneu.home.blog
    My blog and pod...
    Beers of Belgium Cycling Club UK
  • RichN95.
    RichN95. Posts: 27,150
    In a Covid free world I would have been at the Brugge Beer Festival this weekend, for the fourth time. Google Photos had to rub it in that I'm not


    Twitter: @RichN95
  • ajkerr73
    ajkerr73 Posts: 318
    Any tips for online Belgian Beer Buying in UK?

    Used Beerwulf for last 3 years or so, but they have limited stock and have also started selling in larger packs when you could make up a case however you wanted before.
  • RichN95.
    RichN95. Posts: 27,150
    edited February 2021
    ajkerr73 said:

    Any tips for online Belgian Beer Buying in UK?

    Used Beerwulf for last 3 years or so, but they have limited stock and have also started selling in larger packs when you could make up a case however you wanted before.

    Aside from The Magic Beer Shop in Cardiff I got some good, but mainstream cases from BeerHawk. 30 bottles for £60 - free delivery over £50. They probably have a decent A La Carte menu. The cases have done the business for my online Brugge beer festival this weekend

    Edit: Having looked at BeerWulf, BeerHawk include Tripel Karmeliet, Kwak and Chimay which are deal breakers for me.

    A reminder that Big Tesco do a 75cl bottle of Karmeliet, for me the GOAT, for a fiver. The more we buy the more they'll stock.
    Twitter: @RichN95
  • bobmcstuff
    bobmcstuff Posts: 11,196
    If you are interested in stuff beyond what you would get in your local big supermarket you could check out a specialist bottle shop. Beermoth in Manchester usually has a fantastic Belgian selection (and they are one of the very few UK stockists for limited 3 Fonteinen beers. If you like lambics :# ).

    If you have a decent local bottle shop, why not support them? Appreciate its not as cheap as a supermarket but they'll usually have a more varied and interesting range (if they carry a lot of Belgian beers that is - my local shop, the Epicurean, has a reasonable range of Belgian beer but it's not as good as Beermoth). The guy at my local knows me and knows what I like; if something comes in that he knows I'll like he holds it back (normally this is limited release barrel aged imperial stouts 😉)
  • RichN95.
    RichN95. Posts: 27,150
    I don't actually drink much beer at home. I just got a load in as we are having Zoom Belgian Beer festival to replace missing out Bruges this year.
    Twitter: @RichN95
  • bobmcstuff
    bobmcstuff Posts: 11,196
    Yeah, so if I was in that position I would just go to my local bottle shop and sweep their Belgian shelf...

    I've been arranging Zoom beer tastings for friends and family through the lockdowns and for me the best bit is spending an hour in the bottle shop chatting with the guy in there and discussing the relative merits of each beer and how they'll fit into the tasting.
  • jimmythecuckoo
    jimmythecuckoo Posts: 4,712
    Beerhawk has been a life saver for me during this lockdown.

    Nice mixed cases with good variety.
    http://fendrieneu.home.blog
    My blog and pod...
    Beers of Belgium Cycling Club UK
  • RichN95.
    RichN95. Posts: 27,150
    edited February 2021
    bobmcstuff said:

    Yeah, so if I was in that position I would just go to my local bottle shop and sweep their Belgian shelf...

    .

    Not if you have to take two buses and 45 minutes to get there, you wouldn’t

    Twitter: @RichN95
  • bobmcstuff
    bobmcstuff Posts: 11,196
    Well many of them do offer a delivery service. Beermoth delivers locally Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and you can get it next day. Must be some Cardiff based shops doing similar. They also deliver nationally, pretty quickly too.
  • RichN95.
    RichN95. Posts: 27,150
    edited February 2021
    bobmcstuff said:

    Well many of them do offer a delivery service. Beermoth delivers locally Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and you can get it next day. Must be some Cardiff based shops doing similar. They also deliver nationally, pretty quickly too.


    I think I'll keep ordering it online for Beer Hawk just to p1ss you off. Beermoth may have a good selection, but I'm put off by their know-it-all clientele.
    Twitter: @RichN95
  • bobmcstuff
    bobmcstuff Posts: 11,196
    RichN95. said:

    bobmcstuff said:

    Well many of them do offer a delivery service. Beermoth delivers locally Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and you can get it next day. Must be some Cardiff based shops doing similar. They also deliver nationally, pretty quickly too.


    I think I'll keep ordering it online for Beer Hawk just to p1ss you off. Beermoth may have a good selection, but I'm put off by their know-it-all clientele.
    Hehe, that's fair
  • jimmythecuckoo
    jimmythecuckoo Posts: 4,712
    Beerhawk is serving me well at the moment... 3 cases :)
    http://fendrieneu.home.blog
    My blog and pod...
    Beers of Belgium Cycling Club UK
  • blazing_saddles
    blazing_saddles Posts: 21,812
    Another thread to bump.
    Who is drinking what with De Ronde?

    I am having big ones for the big one:






    "Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
  • No_Ta_Doctor
    No_Ta_Doctor Posts: 13,309
    edited March 2021
    I've got Driefontein gueuze, Duvel, Coronet (a relatively new beer, think it's from Palm, oak aged blond), Rodenbach Alexander (the Flanders old red sour with cherry) and will be picking up some more tomorrow (definitely Westmalle Tripel, hoping for an Orval, maybe some Chimay).

    I'll also be picking up some Belgian meats and cheeses, including the Orval (original Port Salut style) and Westmalle. Rang the charcuteri to hear when they were open over Easter and was thanked for reminding him him the Ronde was on Sunday. Conversation re van Aert ensued :smiley:

    Got my two lads coming over for it, the youngest (17) hasn't had the full Belgian cobbled beers experience yet :smiley:

    This was last year's selection (for 3 of us)
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  • blazing_saddles
    blazing_saddles Posts: 21,812
    Westmalle Tripel, I would love to find that on a local shelf.
    Has to be the best value for money beer on the market.
    Cheap as chips compared to some.
    "Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
  • bobmcstuff
    bobmcstuff Posts: 11,196
    Ooh I'll have to go to the beer shop. Sound like a good excuse.

    Like the sound of the Rodenbach Alexander
  • RichN95.
    RichN95. Posts: 27,150
    blazing_saddles said:

    Westmalle Tripel, I would love to find that on a local shelf.
    Has to be the best value for money beer on the market.
    Cheap as chips compared to some.


    £5 large 75cl bottles of Tripel Karmeliet at big Tesco take some beating
    Twitter: @RichN95
  • No_Ta_Doctor
    No_Ta_Doctor Posts: 13,309
    bobmcstuff said:

    Ooh I'll have to go to the beer shop. Sound like a good excuse.

    Like the sound of the Rodenbach Alexander

    It's bloody good if you like Rodenbach and cherries.

    Think ill pick up a Duchess de Bourgogne as well.
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  • No_Ta_Doctor
    No_Ta_Doctor Posts: 13,309
    RichN95. said:

    blazing_saddles said:

    Westmalle Tripel, I would love to find that on a local shelf.
    Has to be the best value for money beer on the market.
    Cheap as chips compared to some.


    £5 large 75cl bottles of Tripel Karmeliet at big Tesco take some beating
    I've honestly never got on with the Tripel Karmeliet. Too much spice of some sort i think (cardamom?)
    Warning No formatter is installed for the format
  • orraloon
    orraloon Posts: 12,674
    Still have 2/3 of a case of Chimay rood lurking 👍 plus a few only Houblon Chouffe and Duvel Tripel Hop. Rationing over the winter of the stocks from last trip over, seems so long ago. I Want To Get Back There 😢
  • blazing_saddles
    blazing_saddles Posts: 21,812
    edited March 2021
    RichN95. said:

    blazing_saddles said:

    Westmalle Tripel, I would love to find that on a local shelf.
    Has to be the best value for money beer on the market.
    Cheap as chips compared to some.


    £5 large 75cl bottles of Tripel Karmeliet at big Tesco take some beating
    Too right. My absolute fav tripel.
    Love the 75cl bottle too. £3-20 in Waitrose for a 33cl is a bit steep.
    The only problem is my local Tescos aren't big enough and am wondering how big the Tesco has to be!
    Don't fancy driving into Cerdiff for just beer. ;)
    "Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
  • RichN95.
    RichN95. Posts: 27,150
    edited March 2021
    blazing_saddles said:


    The only problem is my local Tescos aren't big enough and am wondering how big the Tesco has to be!
    Don't fancy driving into Cerdiff for just beer. ;)

    Tesco Extra I think. There's one in Merthyr
    Twitter: @RichN95

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