U.S. Duvel/Chimay Equivalent?

Recommendations for a superior beer of the exact same style?( that doesn't taste like a banana popsicle due to extreme temperature fluctuations). I hear all this snobbery talk about how Duvel is inferior and gas station beer in Europe, however every beer I have paired it against lost the contest. Apparently this is an uncool beer to like or appreciate, and I could personally care less about that. And there IS a difference between a tripel and a strong, they use different hops and the strong is slightly more bitter and has a lower gravity. Did you know that Duvel has one of the highest attenuation rates for a beer its kind?

 

Compared to Duvel during a side by side this may as well be Bannana bread beer.

 

I'm sure it's been mentioned, but to get your Belgian fix in the US, Ommegang and Unibroue are usually the easiest to find. Chimay themselves seem to get pretty good distribution at least where I am as well.

 

Why hasn't anyone mentioned New Belgium? For the price their beers are solid.

 

Why? Because several people have. Both Abbey Ale and Tripel have come up.

 

yea I save all my serious Belgium beer drinking for my every 12-24 visit cycle to Belgium (depends if we can save enough) myself. When you can buy 6 packs of Orval in the grocery store lol. Rochefort for 2 euros or less.

Duvel is ok but its never been my favorite, for the hoppy Belgian types I like achouffe. Which Duvel owns now.

 

Well, I would take any of De Dolles strong blonde ales over duvel, any day.
Im not saying that I dislike Duvel, but I dont think that its as epic as many due and yeah, when you live in europe and have access to other/better beers of the same style then you tend to discredit the larger breweries/more commonly available beers.

The same goes for us here in europe; certain beers that are grocery beers in the US like SNPA are a hot commodity here. Would you say that SNPA is the best pale ale available to you? Or would you say its a grocery store beer and yeah, you occasionally buy it, but its not the best/your favorite...

I didnt say tripels and the blondes werent different, I just said they are more similar than not. The differences you listed show what I was saying; Some hop differentiations and gravity...if thats it, I would say you proved my point.

 

Someone may have already mentioned this but some brews from Ommegang....considering Ommegang is part of the Duvel family, they brew very similar to each other...for example Ommegang did a beer called Duvel Rustica.

 

Midnight Sub Brewing in Anchorage makes some excellent Belgian-style brews.
For Duvel, try their Fallen Angel.
For a tripel, try their Pany Peeler.
For a quad, try their Monk's Mistress.

 

I remember liking it, but given the choice I'll take a Duvel.

 

Finally splurged for Duvel last night and paid 5 bucks for an 11oz bottle. I know everyone has different tastes but for me isnt wasnt worth the hype. I guess I'm just not a huge fan of that Belgian Yeast strain or taste or whatever its called. Not to mention I didnt care for the humongous foamy head. I wont trash the beer but I realized this style isnt for me. If this really is the"'Budweiser" of this style of beer then I would understand that.

 

Duvel Rustica was actually brewed starting from the Duvel recipe but then using Ommegang's house yeast. It was tasty, but also a tad pricey, given that it was a special release. It wasn't good enough (or more accurately, close enough to and/or better than regular Duvel) to justify the spending for more than a bottle to try it. At least in my opinion.

 

I tried Fallen Angel this past weekend and really didn't care for it. There was an off-putting bitterness and vegetal characteristic that didn't taste right. It was also pretty hot--I know that BSPAs are supposed to be strong, but this one tasted unbalanced to me. Maybe I had a bad bottle?

 

Most Ommegang special releases are not worth the extra premium they command. But I'd be perfectly happy to pay Ommegang regular prices for them. Is Gnommegang really worth the $17 retail that's charged around here?

This post sums up very neatly the reason I strongly recommend not to offer Belgian ales to n00bs (not implying anyone is a newbie here; just latching on to the idea to make a specific point). It takes a particular kind of palate and experience to like the floral and bready yeast qualities of most Belgian beers. Most people, especially those raised on the BMC palate, don't like the flavor profile at first. Even those with an IPA-burned palate may consider them overmalty and winy (I suppose, that's the pejorative form of "vinous"). I've said it before and I'll keep saying it: don't recommend the beers you like most as a gateway for n00b friends--it's a sure way to turn them off good beer. There are exceptions, of course, and some people get turned on to crafts by discovering Belgian ales. But, as a rule, this is not the case.

 

It's Canadian, but Unibroue Don de Dieu is the closest thing to Duvel I have ever had. Nothing else really comes close. If you want a straight-up triple brewed in North America, Allagash Tripel (labeled Tripel Reserve when sold in corked bottles) is one of my top five in the style regardless of where it's made, but there is occasionally significant batch variation. La Fin du Monde has never struck me as being particularly great to be honest. Apart from Allagash Tripel, I honestly don't bother with North American triples.

With regards to Chimay, the Blue is basically a quad. Most American quads are average at best. Boulevard Sixth Glass is pretty decent. The White is a tripel, so look above for recs. The Red is a dubbel. I think Ommegang Abbey ale is a pretty good representation of the style and good for the price. It's not very faithful to the style, but I also like New Belgium Abbey Ale (it's light and has more banana flavor than typical for the style). When fresh, I think Goose Island Pere Jacques is overly sweet and oddly toasty. However, with 2-3 years on it the beer begins thinning out and getting a more juicy texture, while at the same time beginning to taste more Belgian (yeast-wise anyway). Four-packs are pretty affordable.

I have literally no idea what your are talking about, because I have literally never seen these beers for a higher price than Duvel or Chimay-anything. Ever, in multiple states, in widely varying regions of the U.S. I'll allow that Allagash's pricing varies widely (I've seen four-packs of the White go for 2x the price on the East coast compared to Midwest), but under no circumstance should you be paying more for it than Duvel or Chimay. If you are, you're either getting a killer deal on the imports or getting ripped off on the Americans.

This is what they should cost, plus or minus $1 or so:

Duvel: $9 for 750ml singles, $16 for four-packs
Chimay Blue: $12 for 750ml singles, $19 for four-packs
Chimay White/red: $11 for 750ml singles, $17 for four-packs
Allagash Tripel: $9 for 750ml singles, $11 for four-packs
North Coast Brother Thelonius: $9 for 750ml singles, $13 for four-packs


That's a pretty big price difference between the imports and the Americans, especially on four-packs. We're talking a 30% difference in some cases.

 

How's life on Mars??
Here, in MassLand, the prices you quoted for Allagash pass for White and Black, not Tripel. Add $3-5 more for Tripel.
Duvel is $10-13 for 750, $13-14 for 4-pack. BT--haven't seen 750, but the 4-pack is $15-17. Not.Even.Close. Even when Costco had them, the Allagash Tripel was $9.50, same as Chimay White. Duvel was $21 for 3-pack of 750s.

 

Homebrew. Extract Tripel and add Wyeast 1214 (Chimay yeast strain) or 1388 (Duvel yeast strain). This would come out to about a buck a bottle (50 bottles for $50).

But, it might take a couple batches to nail down the process, and the initial investment of equipment ($100).

 

Yeah my only previous Belgian experience prior to Duvel was with GI Sofie and Maltilda. Its obviously going take a while for my IPA palate to be able to appreciate them should I choose to continue. It took me a while to appreciate IPAs and I should have remembered that.

 

If that's what domestic beer costs you then I'm very glad I don't live in Massachusetts....and I thought D.C. was expensive.