OT: Belgian Beer

menchovʹsstabilisers

rob churchill wrote:

Just tweeted by Michelle Cound, it seems it's not just the cycling fans who enjoy a bit of Duvel:

http://t.co/WZoSRX4fCB

I see he's gone all Wiggins already.

Down the pub and drinking the stuff of Wiggo's country of birth....

cesco

The U in Duvel is definitely pronounced like the u in duvet or cute (minus the j-sound).

Belgian beers are the best. I'm fortunate enough to live close to a Belgian pub in Norwich that has beers on the menu I had never even heard of (and I used to live an hour away from Belgium). They do have 2 of my 3 favourites: Kwak and Piraat; my top favourite being Karmeliet.

Other favourites, depending on the occasion, weather, mood and availability, include: Chimay Blue, LaChouffe, Troubadour, Leffe Blond, Westmalle tripel, Brugse Zot. Nothing beats enjoying a hot summer's day with a Hoegaarden White with a slice of lemon.. I'm thirsty now.

BelgianBeerGeek

cesco wrote:

The U in Duvel is definitely pronounced like the u in duvet or cute (minus the j-sound).

Belgian beers are the best. I'm fortunate enough to live close to a Belgian pub in Norwich that has beers on the menu I had never even heard of (and I used to live an hour away from Belgium). They do have 2 of my 3 favourites: Kwak and Piraat; my top favourite being Karmeliet.

Other favourites, depending on the occasion, weather, mood and availability, include: Chimay Blue, LaChouffe, Troubadour, Leffe Blond, Westmalle tripel, Brugse Zot. Nothing beats enjoying a hot summer's day with a Hoegaarden White with a slice of lemon.. I'm thirsty now.

You put fruit in beer? Ridiculous stuff. See Rule 47!

sbbefc

Belgian beer is over rated, give me a good session ale any day.

cesco

BelgianBeerGeek wrote:

cesco wrote:

The U in Duvel is definitely pronounced like the u in duvet or cute (minus the j-sound).

Belgian beers are the best. I'm fortunate enough to live close to a Belgian pub in Norwich that has beers on the menu I had never even heard of (and I used to live an hour away from Belgium). They do have 2 of my 3 favourites: Kwak and Piraat; my top favourite being Karmeliet.

Other favourites, depending on the occasion, weather, mood and availability, include: Chimay Blue, LaChouffe, Troubadour, Leffe Blond, Westmalle tripel, Brugse Zot. Nothing beats enjoying a hot summer's day with a Hoegaarden White with a slice of lemon.. I'm thirsty now.

You put fruit in beer? Ridiculous stuff. See Rule 47!

Ha! Rest assured, I keep my fruit carefully separated from everything else. There's no place for chunks of fruit in a hot meal. Coca Cola should taste like that, and not like dishwater when they add lemon flavour. I even think OJ is overrated. Beer should NOT taste of cookie crumbles, cherry, banana, coffee. Why do restaurants serve salads with a slice of orange?! So believe me, it's my one exception that makes the rule. Maybe it's a Dutch thing? Could be, like the little biscuits that come with our coffee: HEY IT'S FREE!

hommelbier

BelgianBeerGeek wrote:

You put fruit in beer? Ridiculous stuff. See Rule 47!

You're obviously not a fan of Kriek or Frambozen lambic beers then?

I still remember the shock the first time I tried a draught frambozen many years ago. A mouthful of sour raspberries - but eventually very refreshing.

BelgianBeerGeek

hommelbier wrote:

BelgianBeerGeek wrote:

You put fruit in beer? Ridiculous stuff. See Rule 47!

You're obviously not a fan of Kriek or Frambozen lambic beers then?

I still remember the shock the first time I tried a draught frambozen many years ago. A mouthful of sour raspberries - but eventually very refreshing.

Hey, don't get me wrong. Fruit flavouring in the process of making beer can be sublime. I still have fond memories of drinking Girardan Kriek van 't vat some years ago in a secluded beer garden on a warm sunny afternoon in a small village south of Brussells....the closest I think I have come to heaven on earth.

But chunks of fruit in a beer? Each to their own, I suppose.

cesco

I'll take a zesty slice of lemon in a witbierke over fruit flavoured beer any day indeed! My motto should be: when life hands you lemons, run down to the nearest Tesco Express and get a couple bottle of Hoegaarden.

(Also, fruit beers are for girls..)

Crankbrother

Fruity wheat beers can be a bit Bacardi Breezer-ish (ie. a migraine before you've even finished the first one) ... but Blue Moon (American wheat beer with orange/coriander tones) is bloody good ...

Slightly more on topic a new pub round the corner does Veddet & Vedet Blonde which are brewed by Duvel ... Both cracking beers ... The Veddet is very similar to Eichof (Uri Ch.) as in itbmvakes Peroni NA taste like Carling etc.

The bottles from Tesco are sh!te though, has to be draught ...

Paul 8v

Crankbrother wrote:

... but Blue Moon (American wheat beer with orange/coriander tones) is bloody good ...

Where would one obtain said beverage? The septics are getting their act together with beers after years of only being able to get hold of bud or other such filth. I had an orangey beer from le frog XVI in Paris, it was really good.

It's probably already been mentioned but I can't be bothered to sift through all the pages but I quite like the cherry 'Bacchus' Belgian beer from Morrison's, with a bit of dark chocolate at the same time it's like black forest gateaux.

Must get myself a tulip glass, Belgian beer is a bit wrong with a normal pint glass.

Crankbrother

Paul 8v wrote:

Crankbrother wrote:

... but Blue Moon (American wheat beer with orange/coriander tones) is bloody good ...

Where would one obtain said beverage?

Tesco's sell it and from memory Sainsbury and Waitrose also stock it ...

It's quite a common beer in the more upmarket traditional bars around Edinburgh so I guess it's possible to source it on tap elsewhere in the UK (they had it in a bar in North Yorkshire when I was there last year) ...

Paul 8v

Thanks, I'll check it out :-)

tailwindhome

The local Tesco's got in some Chimay Blue.

It would have been rude not to try it.

Crankbrother

New pub round the corner does Vedett Extra Blonde (lager) & White (wheatbeer) brewed by Duvel... Nothing too clever about either but both just very good, easy to drink versions of what they are ...

Pricey(ish) but you pay for what you get ...

ianspeare

Tom BB wrote:

After reading numerous posts about beer on the Flanders spoiler thread, I think we need a thread dedicated to the subject.

Do we have many enthusiasts on here?

I order beer online every 6 weeks or so. Current favourites apart from Duvel and Leffe are Westmalle Dubbel, Chimay in all guises, Boon Kriek, Achel Dubbel and Kwak.

Anyone got a decent Belgian bar near to them? There's one about 10 miles away from me......only been there twice though.

Have you tried hops? Not too far away in Crewe

FJS

The cobble season is almost there, De Omloop next weekend, and I saw this beer advertised on Belgian websites:


I'd never seen it, but now that would be suitable bier for the classics. Doubt it's available in the UK

The advertising campaign and website rather milk the cycling connection:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xS6grAMK ... ata_player
http://www.kwaremontbier.be/

'Gebrouwen voor kopmannen' - Brewed for team leaders

disgruntledgoat

My first weekend in Belgium and being alone in a dull bit of Brussels has caused me to raid Carrefour twice now... :oops:

St. Bernadus 12 in the supemarket though... Gentse Tripel... And all under 1.50 a bottle.

No_Ta_Doctor

Giradin kriek, a couple of Duvels and a Westmalle Trippel last night (on top of a load of non Belgian stuff).

I think Boonen just rode my head over the cobbles....

BelgianBeerGeek

Excellent thread resurrection FJS, now we know the proper racing season is almost here!

Drank all my Girardin Gueuze last week Still have some Boon and Cantillon left though. Might have some Goudenband in a bit. Had some Sint Bernardus Prior 8 last night for the first time in ages - it is way better than I remember.

Art Vandelay

Any one tried the Duvel triple hop limited edition?

disgruntledgoat

Art Vandelay wrote:

Any one tried the Duvel triple hop limited edition?

Yeah, it's pretty good. Never seen it in the UK until this year.

Boredom is really bad for me. I just bought a 4 pack of Chimay Tripel too.

No_Ta_Doctor

disgruntledgoat wrote:

Art Vandelay wrote:

Any one tried the Duvel triple hop limited edition?

Yeah, it's pretty good. Never seen it in the UK until this year.

Boredom is really bad for me. I just bought a 4 pack of Chimay Tripel too.

I gave it a go, but wasn't so keen. The again, I don't think there's much you can do to improve a Duvel.

above_the_cows

disgruntledgoat wrote:

Boredom is really bad for me. I just bought a 4 pack of Chimay Tripel too.

I do hope you're drinking all of these out of the correct glasses?

BelgianBeerGeek

Art Vandelay wrote:

Any one tried the Duvel triple hop limited edition?

Yep. The 2012 with Citra. Bought ages ago (found a box of 6 in a French hypermarket :P ) I really didn't like it at first but had another go last week and it had mellowed quite a bit.
I know these super-hoppy beers are best fresh (apparently) but the triple-hop has aged rather well.

BelgianBeerGeek

disgruntledgoat wrote:

My first weekend in Belgium and being alone in a dull bit of Brussels has caused me to raid Carrefour twice now... :oops:

St. Bernadus 12 in the supemarket though... Gentse Tripel... And all under 1.50 a bottle.

Had any beers from Senne yet? I really like the Taras Boulba. Very quaffable.

mm1

Is it really 6 weeks until the Ronde? Time to get a bit fitter, but I'll have a powerful thirst by the time I get off the train in Ghent! O/T, wonder if the gin bar will be open this year?

Paul 8v

Above The Cows wrote:

disgruntledgoat wrote:

Boredom is really bad for me. I just bought a 4 pack of Chimay Tripel too.

I do hope you're drinking all of these out of the correct glasses?

I do want some proper tulip glasses...

disgruntledgoat

Funnily enough, I did get a free half size Chimay glass today with my purchase.

As to the Gin Bar, it is open (if you're referring to the lavishly decorated Gin and Absinthe joint in Gent)... But Mrs Goat must never know of it.

EKIMIKE

Part of my ever diminishing collection... Needs topping up soon. The last trip was a 'holiday' to Bruges. The girlfriend twigged when I took her out to an industrial estate and swiftly dropped €100 in the till at the beer warehouse. Did she approve? No.

Luckily the situation was remedied with chocolate. Only in Bruges!

BelgianBeerGeek

Nice one EKIMIKE. The Tripel is one of my favourites. I hope to be going soon to fill the car and cupboard. Mrs BBGEEK is cool because she has discovered Liefmans Kriek and is addicted.