Bitter xx

Belgian golden ale. The hopiest beer of Belgium. De ranke brewery at 124 old rabbit club.

Stella Artois

Oh Stella, I remember when you were a new rare novelty. Once a delightful Belgian surprise, now this beer is everywhere and unfortunately availability has not been good for my opinion of it. Perhaps it's because the more I've seen it and the more I've consumed it I've realized its not that great. I put it in the same category now as bud, coors, and heineken. Although I'd much rather drink it than that other piss. But let's face it, this is piss...Belgian piss. Ok I'll stop bashing it. It's a luxury brand for people who drink coors light. At this very moment I cringed as the backwards cap-wearing frat boy orders bud over stella. (I mean come on...in this day and age must we stoop so low? That shit is made with rice and corn!) At any rate, I think Stella is indicative of the US popularization of Belgian beers. That is a great thing. Its just unfortunate that most people's Belgian experience doesn't get past this brew. Its not bad in a pinch, but my next order is back to Sam. It just has more flavor. But when I get back to NYC I'll revert back to this popularly unknowns asap.

Oerbier by DeDolle Brouwers

This brew is dark and chocolatey. It has a slightly pungent aroma and tastes strong but not astringent. Interestingly, the bottle had a ton of sediment. This Belgian is 9% and has a thick, heavy taste.

Oerbier is good if you like rich, brown beers. But don't order this if you're expecting something like Duvel.

St. Bernardus 12 Quadrupel

Wow! A very complex beer. Super malty, extremely dark, 10.5%, and rather sweet. Kind of tastes like a really ripe stone fruit of some kind. A bit of old cherry and peach. This beer is fairly intense in its flavor profile. It's very thick and a beer for sipping, not for gulping.

This beer is very interesting for those who like Belgian beers that have been given a lot of extra love in the secondary fermenters. I'd recommend trying it if you're adventurous. But it's one of those "one and done" beers that are good to try, but not one you'll seek out again unless it's your thing.

Witkap-Pater Abbey Triple Ale

The Wikap-Pater is a Belgian beer with a deep, golden color. In fact, it's almost rather when it's not in direct light. It's fairly high in alcohol at 7.5% and seemed to have fairly low carbonation as it was poured from the bottle. The beer is rather cloudy and had a thick layer of sediment that I didn't stir up and pour into the glass. Usually I always include the sediment but since it was already pretty cloudy I opted not to this time.

On tasting, this beer has a mild sweetness in the presence of a bit of alcohol bite that hits your tongue. The girlfriend suggests that it has a minerally taste, and I agree but it's not really a negative. This beer has a nice flavor and good body. It'd definitely pick it up again.

Wittekerke Belgian Wheat

I actually shared this one, but it was really good so I wanted to record it. It's a Belgian wheat that is rather floral and fruity. It had a fizzy mouth feel, and the flavors were unique compared to the other wheat beers I usually drink. It's a lighter color and 5%, so it's closer to a Blue Moon or a Franziskaner than a Weihenstephaner or Schneiderweiss.

This is really a great alternative and a good one to try after getting spoiled by the prevalence of the major German Weiss beers.

Achel Trappist Biere Blonde

This Belgian has a nice golden color, is a bit cloudy, and has quite a fizzy head. The bubbles are actually quite large, which is a bit surprising, and creates a bit of effervescence. It's closest to Duvel or a Chimay, but not quite as refined. Although it's not as sweet as some Belgians.

The only problem I have is that there seems to be a bit of a metallic taste. Perhaps, this one has been in the store for a while and picked up some bottlecap.

Overall, it's a good Belgian blonde with a nice fizz, but the metallic aftertatse is a bit off-putting. It's not overly sweet, which is good, but not overly smooth either.

$5 at New Beer Distributor.