Guide to European Beer

Good catch. Thanks.

 

Not light struck so not skunked, yeah, I just find 'em tough to find fresh. But they sure seem to end up in light on American store shelves.

 

One caveat. Read style guides with a fair helping of salt, particularly regarding European beers.Some are shall we say imaginative and some are downright ficticious. The brewers in the originating regions didn't brew to style-there was no concept of styles, just names and descriptions-they just brewed what suited them. Belgians in particular have shown no interest in styles.

 

I know how you feel old chap. I'm at the very beginning of my journey towards wine connoisseurship and I haven't a clue where to start. Generally, in a beer shop, most things light in colour from Germany or Belgium will probably taste of bananas, unless it's a lager.

 

Here's my two cents... to build on what Hoppsbabo said, most lighter-colored German and Belgian ales are /probably/ not for you (you should give them another chance at some point, just to see), but perhaps try some quads or doppelbocks: Ayinger Celebrator, (I would say Schneider Aventinus, too, but it has a fair amount of banana), Rochefort 10, St. Bernardus 12, Chimay Blue. Those are all fantastic beers, and if you really don't like them you can then say so with some confidence.

On a completely different note, give rauchbier a try -- look for "Aecht Schlenkerla" and buy a bottle of whichever catches your eye.

 

As a European, the advice I can give is most Belgian beers are awesome. My favourites would be Duvel, St. Bernardus, Delerium Tremens, Rochefort 6 & 8 and Westmalle Dubbel & Tripel.
For UK beers, I am particularly fond of BrewDog, Fullers & Meantime.
A bit different, Norweigan brewery: Nøgne Ø, Icelandic: Einstök, Netherlands: De Molen. I really enjoy beers from all of those breweries.
And being Irish, I have a fondness for Irish beers. My favourite would be Galway Hooker, then other good ones are: Trouble brewing, Porterhouse, O'Hara's & Eight Degrees.

Hope that helps a bit.

 

abraxel is right, search for the belgian beers/ales, chimays are good, and I really enjoy the Trappistes Rochefort (6, 8 and 10, I recommend getting all 3 and find the one you like best), Duvel is always great, but the belgian ales do have a lot of fruit in my opinion, I wouldn't call it banana, but definetely fruit!
Rauchbier is a great idea too, I recently had one by a german brewery (they also import craft beer from all over the world to germany) called "Braufactum", the beer I am talking about is called "Roog", it has a slight Weizenbier-like thing in it, but it wasn't a banana character. I think that beer actually won the title "Best Rauchbier", not sure which year, but somewhere I read about the award. I don't know about the availability of Braufactum in the US, but their beers are worth a try!
Cheers!

 

I understand your problem, but mine is always not having enough money to buy all the beer I want to try. I do like the German beers, Kostritzer, Spaten, and I do enjoy a dark Warsteiner whilst I am flying on Lufthansa.

 

from my experiences, avoid Erdinger Weissebier and Paulaner Hefeweizen Naturtrub and Orval. I really enjoy Warsteiner Dunkel, Augustiner Edelstoff, Ayinger Celebrator/Brau Weisse/Oktoberfest-Maerzen/Ur-Weisse/Weizen Bock, anything Weihenstephaner, Primator, Moretti La Rossa Doppio Molto, Spaten Optimator, and Schneider Weisse/Aventinus/Aventinus Weizen-Eis Bock.

Bitburger Pils isnt bad, but not worth the fanciness at times.

As for Belgians-yea thats a long list.
Cheap(ish)-Lindemans Cuvee Rene, Boon Gueuze, Duchesse de Bourgogne, Echte Kriekenbier, Timmerman's Strawberry, and Duvel.

Things can get expensive when you delve into things from Cantillon, Tilquin, Hanssens, Oud Beersel, any trappist, and Girardin.

My secret love is draft Peroni Nastro Azzuro. Its lighter than most, but still has more flavor than AbInbev and MillerCoors.

 

RichardMNixon, stay away from Leffe. I like the stuff, but it's about as far towards banana as you can get. Duvel is a better choice for a pale beer because it's drier, but I agree with whoever said to try dark Belgians. The complexity is more apparent, and they're more likely to show you what's possible. The St. Bernardus is a good start (as would be Rochefort).

UK beers tend not to be wild, sour, or estery/phenolic. If you see Fuller's London Porter, give it a shot. UK IPAs aren't so hot unless you pay top dollar.

Of German beers, hefeweizens/weissbiers have the banana/clove character you're trying to avoid. If you go German, try bocks/doppelbocks, something like that.

 

I wish I could smell and taste this banana everyone is talking about. Duchesse de Bourgogne is an interesting choice if you like sour beers and something a little more towards "having a beer instead of a glass of wine." You've already said you don't like sours. I found it too heavy and rich for my tastes. I'm a big fan of Duvel and Chimay (and in that case Ommegang Abbey Ale and Three Philosophers). I'm still learning myself and jotting a few of these down for when I return to work. I've found some Belgian ales to be effervescent (like Delirium Tremens -- the bottle is interesting too).

A lot of soldiers come here from Germany and raid the shelves for what reminds them of there. There's definitely nothing like going there and tasting the beer while it's there versus after it's shipped. An expensive way to taste beer but probably worth it huh?

 

Hey chief, while I'm quite fond of Leffe Brune just be aware that it's probably not the most inspiring Belgian brown. It's a good recommendation because it doesn't taste of bananas but I think many would agree that it's not quite in the same league as the others you've been recommended.

 

Sounds like you need to learn the basics of beer styles and learn of the classic examples - I would reccommend a Micheal Jackson pocket guide to beer (even though now outdated) or something similar. Then just start picking up the beers that you read about (if still available) and trying them - just keep in mind that they are most likely a shell of their former selves due to age.

 

Sounds like a great selection. If you don't enjoy any of those, there's probably something wrong with your tongue

 

Good choices. Even the Leffe Brune, which is a good one to compare with the St. Bernardus.

 

When I want different I usually go the English Extra Bitters. Brews like Bluebird and Batemans IMO are really about finesse and balance. Just damn expensive.

 

Start with dubbels and quadrupels. Stay away from tripels for now.

Go with st bernardus 6, 8 or 12 (best) Go with rochefort (any) Go with Chimay red or blue. or like I said, anything that says dubbel or quadrupel

Leffe brune is wayyy better than blond and blond is known as very banana/clovey. You'll like brune much better (it's my favorite cheaper, sessionable 6 pack beer in the world)

Golden ales like the duvel and the somewhat similar tripel style are most likely to have the banana/clove you don't like

 

Glad to hear that, since I'll be traveling near Coniston (Bluebird) in a couple weeks. I agree, bitters are nice.