Jeremy's Guest Post on Belgian Beer

The author: Dispenser of wisdom, consumer of ales

Hello all you followers of Kari's tales.  You are in for a treat, for today you will learn about Belgian beer. First, a small disclaimer.  The following critiques of beer are my opinions and even though it might be fun, do not try all of these beers in one sitting.  This post contains hours of laborious testing using trial and error.  Any facts or figures are likely to be made up but will sound better after sampling one or two of these delicious brews.

Happily Enjoying a Belgian Brew

The French do wine, the Spanish do ham and the Belgians do beer.  Belgium has over 150 breweries and they make hundreds of different beers.  There are probably too many types for me to sample safely, so I will give you the highlights so far.

Before visiting Belgium, I was under the impression that they mainly made White beers.  These generally are brewed with spices and have fruity flavors.  Blue Moon would be a similar type of beer in the US.  This type of beer is not for me.  What I found was heavy, delicious beers in dark, amber, or pale shades.

Kari enjoying Lambic while surrounded by Scots

They also make lambic, which is a strange type of beer.  Lambic is a fruity beer that tastes more like a hard cider, but in different flavors.  It's less fruity than Berry Wiess but not much manlier.  Kari enjoyed a lambic while I was sampling other brews.

Belgians have been brewing beer for centuries.  Beer was made not only because it was delicious, but because water used to cause nasty diseases.  Through the miracle of fermentation, alcohol kills those diseases and leaves people feeling much better about themselves.  Monks in Belgium noticed this miracle and became specialists in crafting unique brews.  Like the famous Shaolin Monks perfecting Kung Fu, these Belgian Monks have created beers that make you feel as though you have attained total consciousness.

The best beers are either made by monks or in the style of the monks.  Trappist brews are still made in monasteries with the monks significantly involved in the process.  There are currently six Trappist breweries.  Abbey beers are the second style.  These beers are made in the style of the monks but can be made by larger brewers.

This is a Tripel

A Dubbel beer is a classic Belgian style.  It, like all of these beers, is stronger than typical in the States. I tried a few that were between 7-8%.  It is a brown beer with a slight amount of bitterness that is nicely balanced with other sweeter flavors.  I recommend the Westmalle Dubbel.

Tripel is another style of beer.  At 8-9%, it is stronger than the Dubbel but is a pale ale, not brown.  This beer is not as sweet as the Dubbel and has more of a hoppy flavor, though much less hoppy than an IPA.  Westmalle originated both the Dubbel and Tripel.

Chimay Blue, which is dark brown

We now get to my favorite beers, the Belgian Strong Dark Ales, also known as the Quadrupels.  These are complex beers.  I thought I knew what a good beer was.  It turns out I was having overcooked flank steak and was missing out on filet mignon.  I imagine a person who only drank Coors would have to take a couple of days questioning their entire existence if they tried these beers.

Chimay makes a wonderful Strong Ale just called "Blue."  It starts out creamy and then has all sorts of pepper and fruity flavors.  Truly a beer to savor.

Free cheese with your beer

St. Bernardus is not a Trappist beer, but makes a great Quad called "Abt 12."  It is delicious.  Very malty and sweet.  Creamy flavors as well as many aromas.  This is as nearly as complex as cognac.

Perfection in a glass

Here it is, my pick for best beer.  As good as St. Bernardus is, the Rochefort "10" is my pick for best Belgium beer.  It is even more complex than the Abt 12 and also has more alcohol at 11%.  This was a perfectly balanced beer.  Fruit tones and caramel flavors.  I don't smoke and felt like I needed a cigarette after finishing it.  I think I was waking up taste buds that hadn't been used in years.  Do yourself a favor and try it.