Bouncing ideas for Belgian tasting session

For a blonde beer why not try a Pater Lieven blond from Sint-Lievens-Essene? I'm aware of the fact that this is a very ordinary Belgian blonde, but very smooth!

Witkap Stimulo?
Boerinneken blond?
Lamme Goedzak from the Scheldebrouwerij? This is is a bit more robust, very hoppy
Taras Bulba from brasserie De La Senne? Very drinkable and who doesn't like it?
Steenuilke from De Ryck is pretty fruity and assuming your from Brussels isn't to hard to find, I know prik & tik Ninove has it

This is just my 0.2 cent, too much choice really for a blond beer.

And for a wild card, maybe try Cuvee De Ranke? A sour ale with 30% lambic from Girardain, I'm a huge fan!

 

My initial thought was 3 Monts. Shame about the Dupont. And I think a fruited lambic would work fine, to a certain extent explaining the geueze.

 

Maybe scan the top beers of Belgium list and see which are available to you by style. A fruited lambic, as well as Orval should definitely make an appearance. St. Bernardus Quad is also a hallmark, albeit not Trappist as you point out. If not Rodenbach Grand Cru, do you have access to Goudenband? Sounds great - makes me want to revisit some old favorites!

 

If you don't have enough Rodenbach Grand Cru, you can try Ichtegemense Grand Cru or Vanderghinste Oud Bruin. I think both are a bit more 'approachable' then the Rodenbach Grand Cru (which is my personal favorite though).

Fro a blond you can always give Brugse Zot. Can't do anything wrong with that one.

For wild card: something from Alvinne? Or you can give Orval as the wild card, maybe an horizontal tasting with young and aged Orval?

And when and where are we expected to be?? :-)

 

Building on what you've already brought to the table, riffing off a couple of suggestions already made, and thinking of some of the tastings I've organized, here's a bit of food for thought.


If you go for 6 rounds I'd make the initial portion size closer to 10cl and budget about 2.5 hours total so you have time to introduce each beer, serve it, and allow for some group discussion of what they noticed about each beer. In addition I'd have the same beer for all and provide each guest with paper and pencil to take notes while tasting each beer. Notes both to use in the discussion (but not evaluation in the sense of "this was the best") of what was tasted. Then in a grand finale session have folks rank order their beers from most to least linked privately and after that have each person explain which beer they enjoyed the most and why. With the 10cl portion you also ensure that with some free time at the end there will be enough of the various beers left for people to revisit one or more of their favorites.

During breaks I'd have lots and lots of bottled spring water to consume and only unsalted crackers, etc. since salt is a palate changer but not a true palate cleanser. I'd save the other snacks for a social session afterwards and have about 3 cheeses and some cold, cooked meats along with the bread.

While I appreciate the Screen name you use I'd bag the Saison entirely if only because there is so much diversity within that category that only one sample does not really do it justice.

Instead I'd lead off with the fruited lambic as an introduction to something uniquely Belgian and follow that with the Gueuze to allow for a bit of time to talk about the difference between using the fruit during fermentation and doing the blending of beers of more than one age.

Next I'd bag the blond entirely and go for the Orval as being one of the iconic beers of Belgium that is often imitated but never dethroned as being one of a kind and one that is almost a different beer at various stages of it's shelf life. (This also allows some reinforcement of what happens with a bit of aging and why some folks choose to cellar some beers rather than drink them fresh. And possibly more importantly why most beers should be consumed fresh.)

Next I'd go with your Red-Brown and stick to having everyone tasting the same beer so the experiences are more comparable.

For your wild card sixth beer I'd next insert into the order the Westmalle Tripel, or perhaps the St. Bernardus Tripel, as being both from a style that began in Belgian brewing and that has had an impact that makes some version of it available much pretty much world wide.

Concluding with the Quad I'd say either of your choices but probably the Rochefort 10 if only because it is more widely and easily available outside of Belgium. As for aging I'd avoid that since it seems to me it requires greater depth of experience to fully appreciate than many of your audience may have. That aging effect is something around which an entire tasting session could be organized.

The final time slot of the evening would be effectively free time for folks to enjoy the cheeses, meats and bread, and revisit one, at most two, of their favorite beers. It also creates a nice social experience for people to share an interest in what they've been doing and to enjoy each other's company. (Also if anyone expects to be driving more time elapses between the beer and the drive. )

Finally if you really want to make a lasting impression on WormanForAllSaisons you can volunteer to follow up with a second tasting of just Saisons and their origins, history and diversity. (You could have the requirement that you will prepare a list of 5-6 and each person brings enough of one beer for the tasting and sharing. A spare person could be charged with securing the crackers, cold meats and bread for the after tasting time.)

But most importantly, enjoy what you are doing and your tasting group will surely enjoy their experience.

 

I love Saison's - it's the first Belgian style I fell in love with. I might go with a fruited sour and skip the gueuze - it can be a little off-putting for the uninitiated. I'd keep the brown-red in the mix since it is so uniquely Belgian and oak, leather and tannins have interesting elements can be teased out in some wines and spirits - a good way to show what beer can be. Triples are hit or miss for me personally. Pannepot would be a wonderful addition. Would it be the Quad option?

 

I'm inclined to go with a nice fresh Kriek rather than an aged one. Then the emphasis is on the fruitiness of the cherries and their cherry tartness. I'd also go for the Kriek rather than the Fou simply because if someone develops a taste for fruited lambic, it is much easier find a fresh good Kriek outside of Belgium. (e.g., finding the Fou in the US is mostly only possible by doing an order from someplace like Belgium in a Box and then you pay an arm and a leg.) Also I'm not convinced that there'd be too much sour in the Gueuze. (Especially after having had a few beers that were lacto soured only.) I personally find there's a lot of complex flavor balance in a good Gueuze, especially with the moderating effects of the Brett, so for me the sour becomes a background and not something that's up front.

Minimizing carry over effects between beers is part of the reason I was suggesting that palate cleansing between beers invove some time for discussion of the beer just finished, a glass of water, and a few unsalted crackers.

While I agree there seems to be bit of a risk of too much sour in one tasting session with the red-brown, it also seems to me that one of your goals in part is to introduce people to as full a range as possible of uniquely Belgian beers and their stylistic diversity. Seems sort of like the red-brown is essential if only because of that, so I personally would take the gamble on the water, crackers and discussion and go with the red-brown.

 

if you do Orval, i always find it interesting to compare fresh vs aged. i find the sweet spot to be 2 years of age, but even fresh vs 1 year is a very interesting comparison.

Quad: Roch 10's a great example of a quad and a nice way to close out the night. better tasting than Berny abt 12.

Blonde: i actually dig Hommel bier. not a typical blonde, but i think it's a nice example. *shrugs*. also, Arabier's an atypical blonde but i think it's a delicious beer.

Gueuze: stick to original vs fruited. they can appreciate the pure style. offer some sugar cubes if they need it and tell them about the history of it. it's a very interesting beer to hear about and try.

Saison: i'd choose either a Wit, blonde or saison. i wouldn't do more than 1 of those. i'd rather introduce a good tripel (and I'd suggest St Berny's tripel, which is very underrated) to show off the yeast than have a blonde or saison, which some may find to be quite similar.

Food: ahh, this is always something that beer geeks overlook and, for a 6-beer sampler, gets tough. and it increases your costs and your prep time. choose your cheese carefully. you mentioned Brugge cheese and just remember that it's quite a strong cheese. for Orval or gueuze, you want something less strong and with a bit of funk or acidic finish.

Quad: charcuterie. even some sausage to have.
Gueuze: frommage
Orval: you can get away with some fruit for this, like dragonfruit or even pineapple. otherwise, charcuterie would likely also work.

Reds: cheese

 

@ManforallSaisons

I forgot to mention earlier, I for one would enjoy hearing/learning after the tasting what your final choices were and how things all worked out for you and the folks who will be part of this tasting.

 

For the wildcard I would go with something unexpected, like Faro. It's a dying kind of beer, just a few brands left making it, not something every shop has but can be found without looking too hard.

 

Agreed. While those of us lucky enough to experience Belgian beer to a good degree seem to stray away from Fruit beers, I have heard many of my friends comment that Belgium has some notoriety from fruit beers.

However, there is some stouts out there too?

TW12 - I'd bring that out last and only after you read your audience to know if it's something they would truly appreciate or not. I think you couldn't go wrong with Rochefort 10. Straffe Hendrik Quad?

I'm taking notes here too, as I'd like to do this for a group of friends someday. One thing I think would be cool is a brief history of the brewery from the beer being served and perhaps even the beer itself: think Buffalo Stout 1907.

 

I think a Pannepot will fit in just well, also one bottle of Cuvee de Mortagne won't be enough for six I think.

 

Wow, I didn't realize your event was so soon! Glad to hear of it's success! Thanks for the feedback. I will put it to good use when I get to do my tasting. First, I need to find a small group of folks who would appreciate such an event!