First Quad/Trappist style beers to try?

Well that explains it, thnx

I dont think i've seen this around, but i'll definitely be looking for it today on my belgian style beer run.

Besides the beers listed already, do you guys have more recommendations? I plan on grabbin as many belgian style brews as my wallet allows.

 

Today i served the Sint Amatus and the Pannepot reserva from the Struise Brouwers and the Westvleteren12 to a few of my friend who never had these beers......Sint Amatus won easily!

Thijs

 

Drink Orval for the first time right now. Just noticed the bottling date is 6/10/11, and i'm getting alot of citrus tartness and a lingering metallic grapefruit like bitterness... is this how it should be?

Other flavors/aromas include apple cider, caramel, pils like malts. It's pretty tasty, i'm just wondering if this is how it should be.

EDIT: Nevermind, just read some reviews and it sounds about right.

Carry on my good BAs.

 

Odd, I have a complete repulsion to grapefruit (ie any IPA), and haven't gotten grapefruit at all in Orval. Must be my goat-like palate.

 

Or my newb like palate, i've never really been a fan of the belgian styles. Then i tried Unibroue, loved them all. Then bought a bunch of little belgian bottles: St Bs, Rocheforts, Westmalles, and fell in love.
It's more of a metallic bitterness, but it lingers like a grapefruit bitterness.

 

Surprised no one is mentioning gouden carolous czar blue(sp?). One of my absolute faves.

 

I'm actually on my way to bevmo in hopes of seeing this there. Any last minute recommendations?

 

I was too (surprised) I put it on the list on the previous page ...

 

...and repeat.....

 

Delerium Tremens is another that has wide distribution. Ceramic looking bottle with a pink elephant on the label.

 

Trappistes Rochefort 10 and St. Bernardus Abt 12, as others have indicated, are excellent. TR10 is easily the best ale I have ever had.

Chimay Blue is an excellent strong dark ale.

While not a quad, Maredsous 8 (Dubbel) is a quality Belgian ale.

Westmalle dubbel is very tasty and I think can be appreciated even by someone who is hankering for a quad.

Ommegang, while located in Cooperstown, makes some great Belgian-style strong ales. I like their Three Philosophers (a quad blended with a small amount of kriek) and Art of Darkness (a strong dark).

If you're just interested in trying Belgian beers that are not necessarily trappist or quad, an interesting one to try is Duchesse De Bourgogne, which is considered a Flanders red ale. Fruity and somewhat tart. Very different from a quad.

A few others mentioned Orval. My experience with Orval was not wonderful. Maybe I just got a bad bottle, but the astringency was off the charts and it tasted like what I imagine licking the walls of a damp basement would taste like. I will probably give it another go at some point, since it is rated quite high here. Be that as it may, dubbels, quads and strong darks are more my thing than pales and tripels.

Personally, I am anxious to try Westvleteren 12. People rave about it. As soon as I can get my paws on some, I will be snatching it up. Apparently, it is sold out pretty much everywhere. Hopefully, as the brand gains a foothold here in the U.S. and the novelty wears off, it will be easier to get. Fortunately, I have fairly easy access to Trappistes Rochefort 10, which is considered by many to be nearly as good.

Cheers!

 

Yeah i seen it there but i bought the 3L 12.12.12, 4-packs of Tank 7, 6th Glass, Double Wide, & a bomber of Long Strange Tripel, so i couldn't spend anymore money. Lol

 

Don't hold your breathe on that one. This was allegedly a special one time release to help rebuild part of the Abbey. Normally this beer can only be purchased at the Store on site in Belgium. Try and trade with someone if you want to try a Westy 12.

 

I'm assuming you mean the Cuvée Van De Keizer Blauw? If so, I just had a bottle of the 2011. I sampled the same vintage back in January and thought it was underwhelming. However, after a year, it's utterly fantastic!

 

Looked for this yesterday, no go. Is this hard to find?

 

Do you have a Cost Plus World Market around you? They usually have it there, along with the Rood (Red) one.

 

No, Bevmo is pretty much my only access to decent beer...

 

What icetrauma said!

 

Sadness.

 

just had the 6th glass for the first time (sober, lol) and it's decent, but doesn't stack up. Way too boozy, and I can't say i would recommend this one...

This is 10.5%, Roch 10 11.3%, and this is the boozy one? Shows poor quality IMO.