Belgian Beer Recommendations?

All of them.

 

What I came to post.

 

If Belgian Style beers are what you like Ommegang is great and so is Unibroue. la terrible and fin du monde are two of my favorites from them. My list of favorites form ommegang is too long to mention.

 

I like the Belgian Strong Golden Ales - Duvel, Delirium Tremens, Chouffe which I see in our beer stores, and Russian River’s Damnation if you visit the brewery and can pick up a bottle or two - Cheers!

 

The entire line-up from Het Anker is worth exploring. Plus, I generally feel that their beers aren't super estery compared to some of the others. That will cut down on the dark fruit notes.

 

Westmalle Tripel is another solid one that I don't think I saw mentioned above.

Fantôme Saison is another I really enjoy. It has a unique yeasty (if I'm remembering correctly) quality that I loved.

Some honorable mentions from me also are: Affligem Blond, St. Bernardus Wit, and Achel 8.

If you're open to any more suggestions from beers brewed in North America, Lost Abbey and Unibroue has a bunch of good Belgian brews.

 

Just about anything that says Tripel or Strong Golden/Pale Ale should be right up your alley.

Good luck and happy hunting!

 

Try both Unibroue and St. Bernardus. They are both bargains for the quality of their beer. All of the Trappist beers are worth trying. Duvel is a must and other beers from the same brewery are good. Saison Dupont is a classic but I have found 30% or more of their beer in green bottles is skunky. If you don't like the dark fruity stuff go for the Tripels.

 

Not so much sour but more like funky (e.g., barnyard) since Brett is added at bottling. It has been my experience that you need a minimum of 6 months of bottle age for the Brett produced flavors to be expressive.

Cheers!

 

Yes, the funk may not be appealing? So far he has just listed sour and Orval (fresh or aged) is not sour.

Cheers!

P.S. FWIW I am personally not a big fan of sour but I am a BIG fan of funky flavors from Brett. I have a homebrewed batch of Belgian Pale Ale (BPA) where I used some Brett in my basement.

 

St Bernardus Abt 12 is one of my absolute favorite beers. Give it a try!

 

If the OP only liked Quads/BSDAs . . . .

 

You’re from NY? Try Brooklyn Local 1; actually easy to find everywhere. A good representation of Belgian Strong Pale Ale.

 

There are many great Belgian beers. My favorite is Orval!

 

I am a huge BSPA, Belgian IPAs, Saisons, and the like. Lots of great suggestions so far.

I would say the best traditional American Belgian breweries are Ommegang, Allagash, and Unibroue. All of these breweries have a great classic lineup.

We used tripel karmeliet as our wedding toast. That and Chimay white are my favorite tripels.

Duvel and Duvel Tripel Hop are fantastic for BSPAs. I also love Houblon Chouffe.

If you find yourself into Saisons you have to try the Fantome lineup

 

I think a lot of people forget about the "standard" lineup from Allagash. Great Belgian style beers.

I also think a lot of people forget about, or at least overlook, the Trappist/Abbey witbiers and tripels and look to the quads and dubbels for some reason.

 

Although the amount of praise for Saison Dupont can create a dangerously lofty set of expectations, it's probably my favorite beer from Belgium that's available in bottles in the US. I think it's incredibly special. Try it in a brown bottle. I just started to see the Cuvee Dry Hopping Styrian Eureka versions on the shelf... so it's a great time to give that variant a shot.

Although it might seem ridiculous to consider Westmalle undervalued, it just might be a fitting description. Try their tripel if you haven't... and if you are feeling adventurous enough for some single-digit-ABV "dark fruits" despite your initial feelings, try their dubbel.

It really depends on the style and brand.