Does bigger bottles make for a better Belgain experience?

It's certainly more fun those big Belgian bottles

 

Generally I agree with you, though I'll often opt for smaller bottles to rid myself of the temptation to drink an entire 750ml bottle of high gravity deliciousness at one sitting.

 

The bigger the better. If they had a 5 liter like they do for wine, I would be on it.

 

I find Belgian beers (most of them, not all) are great to split. 750's are perfect for that.

 

I've not noticed much difference between the 330 and 750 ml sizes since they seldom last longer than a year or two in my stock. Generally the 750 is saved for sharing so the whole bottle can be decanted at the same time with no swishing and glugging on the pour.

When pouring I decant the liquid (as recommended by many brewers) and leave the yeast behind. If I want the yeast I'll shake up the last oz of liquid and sediment and pour them in a small glass to have on the side. I don't much care to have the yeast flavor in the beer. Especially since I discovered that some brewers use a different yeast for bottle conditioning than they use for fermenting, so the different yeast will be bringing "different" flavors to the beer.

As for the "shot" of yeast on the side I started doing that some years back when I discovered that a fair number of Belgians who have regular easy access to such beers, including some that are aged, typically do that as well. So now I'm not "wasting" the yeast, but don't have those potentially different yeast flavors influencing the beer while I enjoy it.

 

Drinking a Belgian beer is already a fun experience... add a monster bottle, the experience just got better... well if you can remember it!

 

750 and share always.

Referring to those huge bottles:

Gimmicky...maybe. Costly...yes. Fun and impressive...hell yes!!! I'm all for it! (especially if someones pitchin' in)
Cheers!

 

Maybe the Belgian people are just a friendly lot who prefer to share a beer with a friend

 

For Belgian styles don't you just want a 750 and most of it for yourself? I know I don't want a small BSDA or a little Tripel.

 

I have never noticed a difference between beer in a 350 ml or 750 ml.

 

So.... More beer equals better experience.
Got it.

 

When I first heard a couple of people arguing that Chimay Blue in the 33 cl bottle is a different beer than the 75 cl bottle I thought the whole thing was absurd but after several years of subjecting the idea to rigorous testing I think the beer conditions better in the larger bottle. The only time I had the opportunity to test the idea with fresh beer I was in no condition to judge.

 

Also noticed a slight difference in St. Bernardus abt 12 750 versus it's little companion as well. The 750 has more of a sweeter flavor versus the more yeasty flavor of the 33cl.

 

You are absolutely right. I did a blind test with a 33 cl Westie 12, a 33 cl St. Bernardus 12 and a 75 cl St. Bernardus 12. They were all purchased in Amsterdam so were reasonably fresh and the 75 cl St. Bernardus came in first, the Westi second and the 33 cl St. Bernardus came in 3rd but they were all very close.

 

This is where I find myself as well. My wife enjoys just a handful of styles: porters, stouts... and Belgians. Quads, tripels and dubbels. Which makes the 750ml bottles perfect whenever the urge strikes. I've seen the little bottles of Fin du Monde and Triple Karmeleit... they look cute, but they're not coming home with me.