OK, I'll start the bidding for beers we bet you might like: 1. Fresh De Koninck. (seriously, I'm jealous. Love Belgium and most all the beers there...well except Juplier and Stella).
I feel like asking if you could post on the Belgium Forum asking about where to find great German beers just to even things up a little.
Just now realizing I dropped the ball on the direction of this thread. May I recommend: 3. Orval. Per Orval's very own website: I knew there was a reason I liked Orval so much!
I will be headed to Munich on Thursday so no need to swing by Heidelberg! If I see a black Alfa headed the other direction I will wave.
No care packages this time, we're driving through the night and I don't want to try to ring someone awake at 4 am
Ha ha You're welcome to leave at the door… just kidding. Have a fun time in Belgium and don't drink too much rot gut.
D I was thinking that would be a good option, too. If you like American amber ales, this beer was an influence on many of them. Also, witbiers share at least a passing resemblance to weissbier. Those could be "less carcinogenic" for a German palate
It's a great beer all the way around. I remember Stahlsturm posting that he drank amber ales in the US, too. I know for a fact that Fat Tire (which is much better than BA folks give it credit for) was directly based on it. That in turn influences most other malty american amber ales, too. I'm not sure about many other Belgians that would directly appeal to a German palate. Dubbels and strong abbey beers might appeal to doppelbock and weizenbock fans. Tripels might be the same for maibock fans.
Peter Bouckaert stated at the Chicago NHC in 2003 that it was based on Palm. Those are fairly close. Maybe you have other sources, like one of the founders of NB?
I'll have to dig around, but Jeff had said it was De Koninck in a book I have. I think it might even be an MJ book. I don't even know if he's still with NB as Kim seems to be the only face of the place now.
Tripels and maibocks? I'm not really seeing that one, could explain what you mean? When I drink a tripel I would never think maibock, maybe it's because I can't get past the Belgian yeast in my head. I can see dubbels/strong abbey beers to doppelbocks and weizenbocks though.
It's definitely a stretch - I was just thinking about massive/strong pale malts being the primary flavor. Sometimes the yeast plays a big role, sometimes it's a little more subdued. I honestly haven't had a Tripel from Belgium lately, but the American ones are leaning on milder yeasts these days.
When I drink a Maibock I instantly think, "Wow, malty. A nice compromise between the drinkability and freshness of a Helles, and the depth and complexity of a doppelbock." And by "malty" I obviously mean German malts. With a tripel, I get hit with spice notes upfront, followed by a complexity that is unique to Belgian yeasts. Funk, fruit...etc. At no point would I think "maibock", but that's for MY personal tastes. Certainly the pale malts make it lighter and more drinkable then you'd expect for a beer of that strength. Moreover, you're absolutely right, tripels are going in crazy directions in America these days, being added to white wine barrels for example. These aren't Golden Monkey (which I think is a horrible example of a Belgian tripel, but it's the first beer I thought of). I see what direction you were going in, but if one was a fan of Maibocks, I'm not sure I'd point them in the direction of a Belgian tripel.
