I recently tried my first Belgium beer. I had walked by those 10 dollar dusty Belgium cork bottles for years but always passed them by. When I turned 21 I never bought the same beer twice. I had over 100 displayed before I moved. Had to part with my collection :? Anyway I recently saw I Belgium in the cooler leffe blond so I picked it up… I choked through half of it but then I gave in. I do not waste beer but I couldn’t do it. The clove banana thing was awful. Just not for me.
Is looking for a Belgium without those clove banana flavors like looking for a not chocolatey chocolate cake? Or is leffe a bad example of a Belgium beer? Any recommendations for the Belgium drinkers something I might like
[quote=“beerme11”]Any recommendations for the Belgium drinkers something I might like[/quote]“Belgian” not “Belgium”. Try a Hop Chouffe - a tripel hopped like an American IPA, the epitome of the Belgian IPA.
I personally think Leffe is one of the milder flavored, easier to get into belgians. Some people just don’t like them, and you may well be one of them. But, other than the fact that the tend to be “yeast forward” in their flavor character, there really is no belgian “syle”, they’re all very different. So just cause you don’t like one doesn’t mean you won’t like another.
Personal faves of mine - Westmalle Tripel, and Rochefort 10 (a quadruple). Really, you can’t go wrong with any of the Trappists. For a sour try Rodenbach Grand Cru. For a lambic try lindemans cuvee rene. For a fruity (cherry) lambic try Boon Kriek. Do NOT get any of the lindemans fruit lamics, they taste like cough syrup.
When picking up those expensive corked bottles, make sure to go to a store that turns over pricey beer like that fairly quickly, so they haven’t been on the shelf for years. Also, try to grab a bottle from the back of the row that has had less exposure to light.
Belgian is to Belgium as American is to America. Most Belgian beer is yeast forward. The flavors you didn’t like are created by the Belgian yeast. You won’t like most Belgian beer. Try stella artois it’s a pale lager. Better yet, just cross Belgian beer off your list because Leffe is about as mild an example of Belgian ale as you’ll find and the lager isn’t really anything different from your typical euro pils.
Try it again in a few years to see if your tastes have changed.
PS: stay away from german wheat beers, they have very similar yeast flavor profiles.
Leffe blonde… Had that a lot when i lived in france last year. Leffe brun is a lot better, but if you can get your hands on some pelforth try that! I though it was very good
Duvel is widely available and may be a good one for you to try. It’s been a while since I’ve had one, but I believe the phenols and esters are pretty tame.
Duvel is a good beer, but dependent on storage. It is strong and might require a slow pour. Leffe is an ok beer, but it does taste like Leffe; I prefer other Belgian beers.
Just realize that they travel a bit to get here. Another choice would be try some of the Ommegang offerings as they are brewed in the U.S.
Belgian is to Belgium as American is to America. Most Belgian beer is yeast forward. The flavors you didn’t like are created by the Belgian yeast. You won’t like most Belgian beer. Try stella artois it’s a pale lager. Better yet, just cross Belgian beer off your list because Leffe is about as mild an example of Belgian ale as you’ll find and the lager isn’t really anything different from your typical euro pils.
Try it again in a few years to see if your tastes have changed.
PS: stay away from german wheat beers, they have very similar yeast flavor profiles.[/quote]
haha thanks, i wasnt paying attention got auto corrected to “belgium”. Yeah thanks for the head up tried a hefe years ago and had the same experience. Ive tried stella its decent for what it is but far from a “belgian style” beer at least to what i expect. I really wish i liked belgians for some reason, ill have to try again some day after all i hated ipas at first and now i love them
If you can get it where you are, Victory’s Golden Monkey is a nice Golden Strong that doesn’t have too much estery or phenolic character. It does have a moderate yeast “snap” that one would expect in a Belgian style beer, and it finishes good and dry. If you like Golden Monkey, be careful - it goes down very easy, but is fairly strong at 9.5% ABV.
Not a fan of Golden Monkey, but I may have a bit of predisposition against Victory. I don’t know why, just not a huge fan of their beers. I may think differently in a blind tasting. Houblon/Hop Chouffe is amazing. Really a great balance between what Americans know as ‘hoppiness’ and belgian yeast character. Great balance.
What about Palm or NB Fat Tire? Both are considered Belgian (style) Pale Ales, but have a rich amber color. Fat Tire with its success, has apparently lost some of the complexity it once had, but still is a great beer. Biscuits/yeasty/caramel nose, firm but not overpowering bitterness. I would say Palm is a more caramelly example. Both great easy-drinking beers.
Download a copy of the BJCP style guidelines. Based on what you said as far as your taste preferences, I would also check out various saisons and some dubbels. Just go on Beer Advocate, find those styles, and you can see a list of reviewed beers and figure out which ones you can in your area.
Also, if you want to have a collection of ‘big bottles’, that doesn’t necessarily mean you need to get into belgian beer. A lot of American Breweries are doing small batch/limited release 750ml packaging with some really special beers.
