Help for Belgian Beer gift to Mom & Dad

Last week I would have said buy them a trip to Belgium, but now, not so much.

 

I'd sit tight for a week or so and see what gift packs show up in the better stores in your area. A collection of Belgians with a logo glass in the box would be a nice gift. If you don't find a gift pack that you like, I'll recommend the three Rochefort beers, although they are easily found and your parents likely have had them.

A second thought is that you could look for Americanized versions of Belgian styles. Many of them are very tasty.

 

This. A gift box would be a great give, particularly something like St. Bernardus that would showcase a dubbel, tripel and a quad. I'd try to introduce a small variety of Belgian styles.

 

I would say you can't go wrong with any of these, as they run from excellent to exceptional. I think it would be a good idea to get all three Rochefort's, which is the entire line of that brewery. Whatever you get, it might be fun to get an American version in each style. They could compare a Belgian Quad with one from the States. Just a thought, but seriously, you absolutely cannot go wrong with any of the beers on your list. Just one thing, though. To the best of my knowledge Westmalle does not brew a Quad. A Dubbel, Belgian Pale Ale, and Tripel are all I'm aware of from that brewery.

 

I have a great prejudice toward Orval. Most of the other beers you listed are great, but make sure to include two Orval, one for each parent!

 

Chimay is good and easy to get. They have big bottles and smaller bottles that also come in a sampler gift pack with a glass to drink from. Tripel, Dubbel, and Belgian Dark Trappist abbey ales.

 

For $70 you should be able to get a ~12oz of each on your list

 

Buy them all!...but if you can't I'd go with:
Orval*
Westmalle Quad
Rochefort 8 *
St. Bernardus 12
Duvel

I do like Unibroue Belgian ales, I think they make some pretty great examples of the style even though they are in Canada and owned by Sapporo!

I also second Chimay, they make some excellent ales, Satan Red and Satan Gold (Brouwerij De Block bvba)were also very great tasting ales-

 

Here's my $.02

Dubbel - Westmalle (my fave)
Tripel - Karmeleit
Quad - St. Bernardus 12 (as close as you can get to a Westy 12 without a plane ticket)
Quad - Rochefort 10 (my other fave)

The Delirium stuff doesn't do a lot for me. It's a shame we can't get some sour beers on this list....not even a Cuvee Rene to mix things up?

 

I think the gift box with the brewery's chalice is a great idea. St. Bernardus does one that even includes their Christmas ale. That would be a great gift for someone who is a Belgium fan.

 

That's a nice sentiment, and very thoughtful of you.

One other thing to consider is purchasing glassware instead. The Belgians make some of the most bad-ass glassware on the planet and are very particular about putting the right beer in the right glass. Having a nice Belgian beer glass at home will heighten the tasting experience for anyone, and its a good conversation piece.

cheers

 

not a bad beer on the list, although it does fall off a little at the Delirium.. suggest buying two of each, so they can each have their own bottle. 25 cl doesn't split very well....also like the suggestion for glassware. I'm a sucker for glasses (way more than I need, and groans from the wife every time I bring a new one home)

 

Van Steenberge has a sample pack for $28 dollars. Gulden Drak, GD 9000, Piraat, Piraat Tripel Hop and Bornem Dubbel and Tripel. Also St Bernardus has a mixed gift pack with a glass for around $30. Also as mentioned I think you can get all those beers for around $70. Cheers and good luck.

 

Can you find any of the following? I highly recommend seeing if these are available in your area. Some have fairly wide distribution.

Drie Fontenien (anything)
Hanssens (Oude Geueze, Oude Kriek)
Oude Beersel (Look up reviews)
Boon (look up reviews)
Rodenbach Grand Cru (or Vintage)
Cuvee des Jacobins
Saison Dupont

From your list, some of the beers are similar to one another, I recommend the following:

Orval
Duvel
Westmalle Dubbel (no such thing as Westmalle Quad)
Westmalle Tripel
Rochefort 10

**Do not pour in the yeast sediment for any of these beers. Its popular in the USA to do this, but not in Belgium, and its not advised by the brewers themselves. It muddles the flavour and makes it extremely bitter. Pour slowly in one motion, if you stop pouring and tilt the beer back upright, you will mix the beer sediment into the beer.

If you have a large bottle of these, pour the entire thing into a pitcher or something similar while being careful not to pour the yeast (leave the last 10th of the beer in the bottle).

 

St. Bernardus has a package that comes with 4 of their beers and a glass.

I actually bought one of those for myself because I love St. Bernardus and I'm incredibly selfish.

 

rochefort 10, orval, abt 12, duvel are reliable classics. don't bother with gulden draak 9000...regular gulden draak is in my top 5-10 favorite beers and i can't believe how much of letdown the quad version was.

 

Great idea and gift. For a slight variation you might go strictly Trappist and include non-Belgians from La Trappe, Stift Engelszell, and Spencer if available and within budget.