Belgian tasting

1. Rochefort 10/Westvleteren 12/St. Bernardus 12/Cuvee van de Keiser Blauw
2. Rochefort 8/Westvleteren 8/Chimay Blue/Delirium Nocturnum/La Terrible
3. Westmalle Tripel/Tripel Karmeliet/St. Bernardus Tripel/La Fin Du Monde
4. Westmalle Dubbel/Chimay Red/Ommegang Abbey/New Belgium Abbey/Maudite
5. Duvel/Delirium Tremens/Don De Dieu
6. La Trappe Isidor/Rochefort 6/Westvleteren Blond

I'd aim for at least one from each category, possibly multiple from each if you're up for it.

 

St. Bernardus Abt 12
Fantome Saison
Tripel Karmeliet
Hanssens Oude Gueuze
Chimay Blue
Orval
Liefmans Goudenband

It would also be cool to compare those Belgians to American made beers of the same styles.

 

Just to add some easy-to-find ones:

Witbier - St. Bernardus Wit, Allagash White, Ommegang Witte (although I don't like this iteration), New Belgium Mothership Wit
Belgian pale ale - Ommegang BPA, Rare Vos, Orval
Belgian strong pale ale - Brooklyn Local 1, North Coast Pranqster, La Chouffe
Belgian strong dark ale - Brooklyn Local 2, McChouffe, Chimay Blue
Dubbel - Ommegang Dubbel, New Belgium Abbey Ale
Tripel - New Belgium Tripel, La Fin Du Monde, St. Bernardus Tripel
Quad - St. Bernardus Abt 12, SN Ovila, Three Philosophers, Rochefort 10
Saison - Saison Dupont, GI Sofie, New Holland Golden Cap
Geuze - Cuvee Rene

 

Are you asking about Belgian beer or Belgian style beer? If it's Belgian Beer, look at the common Trappiste's for a start. St. Entienne's is also a very good example of the style. Its an 8%ABV beer, with an Amber look and not as sweet as say La Trappe or Chimay(s). Another that I personally am fond of is Mardesous. They (Mardesous) makes an Enkel, Dubel, Tripel and Quad. Living in Europe, I've had the chance to experience some really good Belgians that may only be tried here.

If I were going for that (the Belgian) approach, I think I'd choose a few that were common and common enough to purchase then a few lesser knowns. Having been here (Europe) for seven years, I'm not sure how 'common' a brand like Mardesous is. With that, I would try to sample a few of the lesser knowns then add the ones I thought were good to my venue.

Good luck with your endeavor...

 

Last

Lastly, if this means going to Belgium...go to the Delerium in Brussells. Trip well made...

 

Maredsous, being brewed by Duvel, actually has a pretty wide distribution in the US. One of my local shops, which has a relatively small and unimpressive collection of large format bottles, has a bunch of Maredsous offerings.

 

Thats good news for me....I'm returning back to the US mid-summer and that is one of my favorite beers. Thanks for sharing that...made my day!

 

I guess the lesser knowns to me would be ones outside the Trappiste (ish) names. Tres Fointaines (sp?) is another Ive gotten to try here that I like. I think when people hear Belgian, they think of the typical Trappiste names...though there are many more. I like your idea and wish (I could try it) you the best of luck!

 

Yet another I know (and tried) is Tres Jolies. Had an IBU of 12-13 where as the St. Entiennes I tried was closer to an 18-19. Further, the Tres Jolies didnt have quite the noted flavors of the St. Entiennes (Vanilla, Carmel, Clove and Raisin) but still enjoyed the taste.

 

Possibly another you may enjoy is Grimbergen, if it can be found. This one seems very 'mass-produced' here and may not be a good representative (from a unique beer persepective). I mentioned it because I do enjoy the beer and find it flavorful.

 

Delirium Tremens
Westmalle Dubbel
St Feuillien Tripel
St Bernardus Wit
St Bernardus Abt 12
Orval
Stella Artois

 

Did you mean Drie Fonteinen?

 

I'd suggest that you feature STYLES, not just specific breweries (unless you want to offer a bunch of different Abbey-style ales). A good bottle shop can help you pick good representatives of each.

1. A Belgian strong pale ale (Duvel, nothing else)
2. A Belgian strong dark ale (Chimay Blue)
3. A Belgian quad (St. Bernardus Abt 12, Rochefort 10, etc.)
4. A good Flanders sweet & sour red ale (Rodenbach classic red or Grand Cru if you can find it)
5. A Belgian stout (?)
6. A geuze (unblended lambiek, no fruit)
7. A kriek or framboise
8. A saison
9. A wit (Hoegaarden shouldn't be hard to find)

possibly also a Belgian Tripel (Westmalle is often considered the standard)

 

What about Struise beers?

 

One can argue that Struise beers are not your typical Belgian style beers. On the other hand the OP is looking for a impression of the diversity that Belgian beers have to offer, so one of their stellar stouts could very well be a representation of one end of the spectrum.

 

No, there is a brew that I bought here that was called Tres Fontaines. It translated to 'three fountains'. I had the spelling incorrect, but its a brewery in Belgium. Like him or hate him, Sam Calagione mentioned the site last month in an article. As the story goes, the brewery lost a batch (due to spoilage I think) and about the same time, I had found a bottle from the brewery and decided to try it. They make lambics, though this was not a lambic.
I definitely had the spelling off but here is a the website:
http://www.3fonteinen.be/
Drink brew folks...get head!

 

No Trois Pistoles anywhere on any of these lists???

For shame.

 

but you forgot the lambic's, the saison's, Ambrees, browns, Bipa, oak aged browns, strong browns, white beers, stouts and porters, strong ales, lager even and favored beers, etc. hehe to drink Belgian is to DRINK THEM ALL.

Plus if you want Belgian, stick with real ones at first. just my 2 cents. In the style of just don't cut it, though I admit Unibroue is close at times. IMHO American brewers are not even close yet, plus they love to tweak things.

 

I will have to disagree with this assertion. Grimbergen is definetly not worth the money i've seen stores charging for it. For example, a shop I frequent sells 6 packs of grimbergen Blond for $15.99, I've also seen it similarly priced elsewhere. For $7 difference, he might as well pick up Leffe Blond.

Try;
St bernardus (all offerings, Wit, Tripel, 6, 8, 12)
Chimay (red, blue, white)
Westmalle (dubbel, tripel)
Val Dieu Bruin if you can find it
Unibroue (fin du monde, trois pistoles, don de dieu, maudite, blanche de chambly)
Delerium Tremens & Nocturnum
Gulden Draak
Tripel Karmeliet
Orval