Cet Homme Charmant Posted March 30 Share Posted March 30 Yeah, the very strong Belgian beers are most definitely for sipping, at most I'll have two bottles in an evening. Surprised you find them sweet though. There are some sweet beers of course, Leffe is probably the most famous, but I find most of them to be quite balanced or tending towards slightly bitter. Everyone's palate is different of course. The real art in brewing strong beer is preventing the alcohol from overpowering the flavours. The strongest beer that I've still found drinkable is Kerel Kaishaku at 15% abv. The claim they achieve the strength while retaining the taste by using a mixture of traditional Belgian beer yeast and Japanese saki yeast (hence the Japanese sounding name that's just made up). Definitely not a beer for the traditionalists (the tag line of the brewery is 'untouched by monks', ha!) but I really like it. No idea if it's exported to the US, but if you do come across it I suggest you give it a try, it's pretty unique. I'd be curious to hear what you think of it. https://vbdck.be/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Cet Homme Charmant Posted March 30 Popular Post Share Posted March 30 (edited) 9 hours ago, TRVMP said: The liquor store round the corner from me has a decent selection of Belgian beers but for obvious reasons specializes in local stuff in the few shelves it gives over to beer*. *This is another issue: spirits have to be sold in liquor stores, which close at 9pm and all day Sunday. Beer and wine can be sold anywhere, all day (not quite 24 hours, I think it's 1am it stops now but I'm never up that late to check.) So for really obscure beers you need to order it specially or go to a specialist store, of which there aren't many because even Walmart now has an excellent selection. My local supermarket has a decent selection of imports and every style you can think of - including tripel - brewed locally here in Texas. I don't mind a Belgian-style ale a few times a year but on the whole I find them very sweet and heavy, definitely something for sipping, preferably with food. The rough American equivalent in terms of strength and craftsmanship is IPA; American tastes tend heavily towards hops and resin. I've grown to really enjoy these. Here's the beer selection from my local liquor store, or 'offy' as I still call it https://www.prikentik.be/bier As well as enjoying Belgian beer, I'm also an avid collector of the gasses. Drinking a beer in the wrong glass is a hanging offence here. Edit to add: The Heverlee glass in the centre was actually purloined from Greenock Cricket Club, the beer is only sold in Scotland and Ireland. It used to be brewed here in Leuven, but I believe it's now brewed under license by Tennants. Edited March 30 by Cet Homme Charmant 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cet Homme Charmant Posted March 30 Share Posted March 30 Brew of choice for the 1st half Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capitanus Posted March 30 Author Share Posted March 30 Last time I was in Belgium was in 2008 and the two most popular beers in the local pubs seemed to be Jupiler and Maes. I wasn't all that keen on Jupiler but Maes was nice. *insert signature here* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cet Homme Charmant Posted March 30 Share Posted March 30 (edited) 54 minutes ago, capitanus said: Last time I was in Belgium was in 2008 and the two most popular beers in the local pubs seemed to be Jupiler and Maes. I wasn't all that keen on Jupiler but Maes was nice. Yeah, Stella Artois, Jupiler and Maes are the three most popular cheap-and-cheerful 'everyday' beers. The relative popularity of them is very regional, here it's very much Stella Artois followed by Jupiler. You'll actually find it quite hard to get Maes on draught here. Jupiler I can take or leave, it's not unpleasant, but I just find it quite bland. Since you were in Belgium they changed the Maes recipe and made it slightly stronger, like Stella Artois and Jupiler it's now 5.2% abv. It also has a slightly more malty taste. Like you I prefer Maes to Jupiler, but of the three of them, my favourite is Stella Artois. Edited March 30 by Cet Homme Charmant Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Toby Posted March 30 Popular Post Share Posted March 30 Good to see Wales getting knocked out. I fucking hate Wales. 2 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capitanus Posted March 31 Author Share Posted March 31 After the England Shirt going woke debacle, it's nice to see Ze Jormans going the totally opposite direction and being nostalgic for their past: https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1883259/germany-football-kit-blunder-nazi *insert signature here* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capitanus Posted April 1 Author Share Posted April 1 On 3/31/2024 at 8:05 PM, capitanus said: After the England Shirt going woke debacle, it's nice to see Ze Jormans going the totally opposite direction and being nostalgic for their past: https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1883259/germany-football-kit-blunder-nazi and theres more: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-68708981 *insert signature here* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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