What beer ya drinkin'?

[L'arriviste]

Had a chance to visit Struise Brouwers in Flanders. Among other things they brew this:

Not sure if Pannepot can be found in the States. If you can find it, buy it.

Ah, the nectar! I still have a couple of bottles downstairs. Weirdly enough, the shelf was completely empty of Pannepots when I was at the handel a couple of weeks ago. But I did come home with a rare Cuvée Delphine and some Black Alberts instead!

 

[LugHugger]

Leffe Blond is a really average beer, in my taste.
Yes, it 'drinks quite good', but the taste isn't anything special.

I prefer a tripel Karmeliet or a Augustijn Blond if I drink something blond...

Hmmm, I get the feeling that there's as much snobbery over Belgian beer as there is amongst cyclists and their bikes In the UK, Leffe Blond and Duvel are the only two widely available Belgian beers (Specialized/Trek?). Duvel is too strong and to my palate tastes of metal so I plump for Leffe Blond. Whilst I love the dark beers for their taste, if I'm having more than one dark then I end up feeling too dehydrated.
I am continuing my research though - I have a selection of Westmalle en route being delivered next week. By this time next week, I may have a new fave

 

[L'arriviste]

Hmmm, I get the feeling that there's as much snobbery over Belgian beer as there is amongst cyclists and their bikes In the UK, Leffe Blond and Duvel are the only two widely available Belgian beers (Specialized/Trek?). Duvel is too strong and to my palate tastes of metal so I plump for Leffe Blond. Whilst I love the dark beers for their taste, if I'm having more than one dark then I end up feeling too dehydrated.
I am continuing my research though - I have a selection of Westmalle en route being delivered next week. By this time next week, I may have a new fave

Snobbery is one way of looking at it. But when you've tasted the best, that's all you want from then on. The goalposts have moved.

I've been back to the old country and retried the beers I used to think were among the best. They just taste like dishwater now.

Westmalle is a fine tripel (assuming that's the one you've ordered). Enjoy!

 

[LugHugger]

Snobbery is one way of looking at it. But when you've tasted the best, that's all you want from then on. The goalposts have moved.

I've been back to the old country and retried the beers I used to think were among the best. They just taste like dishwater now.

Westmalle is a fine tripel (assuming that's the one you've ordered). Enjoy!

Ha! You could be right about the goalposts.

The only British beer that I will drink now is Adnams Explorer (during spring/summer) or Broadside (autumn/winter). I may throw in a couple of Aspall's as a thirst quencher on a hot day but that's a cider not a beer so may be for another thread

There's a selection of the dubbel and tripel Westmalle coming. My mouth is watering in anticipation....

 

[L'arriviste]

Ha! You could be right about the goalposts.

The only British beer that I will drink now is Adnams Explorer (during spring/summer) or Broadside (autumn/winter). I may throw in a couple of Aspall's as a thirst quencher on a hot day but that's a cider not a beer so may be for another thread

There's a selection of the dubbel and tripel Westmalle coming. My mouth is watering in anticipation....

Ah great, that's fantastic! The dubbel's a teensy bit thin but it's still one of the better donkers out there. The tripel is terrific. Serve the dubbel at about 10-12 deg (45min-1h in the fridge) and the tripel at 6 deg (1h10m - 1h15m in the fridge). Too cold and they're not at their best!

 

[craig1985]

TsingTao (although to say it in Chinese is actually Chingdao ) at right now in China. Although last night I actually had a Bud with a my dinner, and before the masses line-up (starting with Scott) to lynch me, I have to stress that I did not pay for it, the person I was having dinner with paid for dinner and the beer (this probably makes me sound like a cheap date).

And stop laughing Hugh!

 

[Anonymous]

TsingTao (although to say it in Chinese is actually Chingdao ) at right now in China. Although last night I actually had a Bud with a my dinner, and before the masses line-up (starting with Scott) to lynch me, I have to stress that I did not pay for it, the person I was having dinner with paid for dinner and the beer (this probably makes me sound like a cheap date).

And stop laughing Hugh!

Nahhh. The best beer in the world is the one you like the most. It's all good.

 

[Cobblestoned]

 

[Cobblestoned]

 

[usedtobefast]

 

[Hugh Januss]

Nahhh. The best beer in the world is the one you like the most. It's all good.

Scott, for the first time I am going to have to disagree with you in the beer thread, actually anywhere outside of the politics thread. Not all beers are good, and IMO Bud is one of the best examples of this fact.

 

[krebs303]

It's almost 90degrees 15% humidity and I would give up my first born for a ice cold 7oz. Coors. I love those little cans on a hot day.

 

[Hugh Januss]

It's almost 90degrees 15% humidity and I would give up my first born for a ice cold 7oz. Coors. I love those little cans on a hot day.

I tried those once and got a cramp in my poptop popping finger.

 

[krebs303]

I settled for Mexican Coors.

 

[Buffalo Soldier]

Scott, for the first time I am going to have to disagree with you in the beer thread, actually anywhere outside of the politics thread. Not all beers are good, and IMO Bud is one of the best examples of this fact.

The best beer in the world is the one you like the most.
I don't see how you can disagree with that.

The romans already knew "De gustibus (et coloribus) non est disputandum"

 

[Buffalo Soldier]

Recently, I often drink a Palm instead of my regular pils (mostly Jupiler).

Nothing very special, but I enjoy a good cold palm everey once and a while.
Plus it's almost always cheaper than the pilsbeer in pubs.

 

[L'arriviste]

Recently, I often drink a Palm instead of my regular pils (mostly Jupiler).

Nothing very special, but I enjoy a good cold palm everey once and a while.
Plus it's almost always cheaper than the pilsbeer in pubs.

Palm is the ideal beer for Brits coming here for the first time who want to acclimatise.

First off, Palm tastes a lot like British ales because there's a British hop strain in the mash. Second, the brew is a lot lighter (albeit 5.4% abv) than most of the Belgian heavyweights. Fourth, overall it's a bit more refined in taste than the ubiquitous Jupiler and Stella.

Steenhuffel ought to sell it in the UK. It would probably do well as a premium ale.

 

[craig1985]

Nahhh. The best beer in the world is the one you like the most. It's all good.

My hostel in Beijing had a bar/cafe next to it, and they served up Duval, Leffe (both Blond and Dark). Chimay, and Erdinger, and in my experience, I preferred the blond Leffe to the dark one, I wasn't so impressed with Duval, Chimay I liked, but the red label one, and Erdinger left a positive impression on my, this pic shows which one that I had:

And yes, they had the proper glassware to each beer.

 

[pedaling squares]

Anyone out west tried this?

Granville Island winter ale. Would be good at any time of year. A strong vanilla taste at the finish, which sounds weird but is actually really good. I'll be buying more. And I just found out that the BC Liquor Branch imports Tripel Karmeliet so life is pretty good right now.

 

[Anonymous]

My hostel in Beijing had a bar/cafe next to it, and they served up Duval, Leffe (both Blond and Dark). Chimay, and Erdinger, and in my experience, I preferred the blond Leffe to the dark one, I wasn't so impressed with Duval, Chimay I liked, but the red label one, and Erdinger left a positive impression on my, this pic shows which one that I had:

And yes, they had the proper glassware to each beer.

Duvel is an interesting beer. It's one of the most sensitive beers I ever experienced. If you pour it anything other than perfect it really has an effect on how it tastes. Sounds strange but it's true. Plus, it's a live beer so you may not want to pour the entire bottle in your glass as the yeast is a bit on the bitter side.

If you ever get to Flanders you will have to go to the Moortgat Brewery (Duvel) for a tour. At the end of the tour your guide will offer you lessons on how to pour the beer... and of course you get to drink other stuff they brew... Maredsous for example

 

[Oldman]

Nice Summertime beer from Mexico: Victoria. It's actually made in Mexico as opposed to Anheuser Busch or Miller in Texas.

 

[L'arriviste]

...I wasn't so impressed with Duval, Chimay I liked, but the red label one...

Duvel is an interesting beer. It's one of the most sensitive beers I ever experienced. If you pour it anything other than perfect it really has an effect on how it tastes. Sounds strange but it's true. Plus, it's a live beer so you may not want to pour the entire bottle in your glass as the yeast is a bit on the bitter side...

+1 re Scott on Duvel - it is indeed very temperamental. Worst thing is when bars that don't "get it" keep the bottles chilled in their fridges for long enough that the living element is killed off. Which equals cold but not tasty beer.

I went through five Chimay tripels on tap the other night. This is the "yellow" label one. Got chatting to an interesting Brusseleir guy in a bar I hadn't visited before, lost count and forgot to eat and ... it was absolute hell the morning after. Can't believe I lost a day to that.

 

[craig1985]

Is it true you can buy Leffe in the Netherlands for a euro or two? This is a claim by an American dude at my Beijing hostel who was doing his post grad there recently.

 

[L'arriviste]

Is it true you can buy Leffe in the Netherlands for a euro or two? This is a claim by an American dude at my Beijing hostel who was doing his post grad there recently.

I doubt it would ever be so cheap in a bar, but in a supermarket I can't see any reason why not. It's a very commonplace InBev beer and I'm pretty sure it's less than €1 for a 33cl at my local here in Brussels, so it won't be much different over the border.

EDIT: it's only €2.13 at Nasser's place down in Ixelles-Elsene and he's obscenely expensive.

 

[craig1985]

What I would give to pay €2.13 for a good beer in Australia.