Beers Beers Beers

This blog seems to have been lacking on the beer recently, so time to change that. I am living in Belgium after all, and if you haven't heard, there is beer here. In the little over a month that I have been in Europe, I have ordered and tried 37 different beers already. To try and rank the beers I have tried would be a foolish thing to do at this point, because rankings are completely subjective and rather pointless when you think about it, especially since most of the beers I have only tried once or twice. At first, I wanted to take a picture of every beer I drank during my time here but that failed rather quickly (and by quickly, i mean it didn't even make it through the first night). So i switched my goal, and am now just writing down everything I order, because when you try over 37 beers in a month, you're not going to remember each that well, and wow I've had over 37 beers the last month, geez Belgium what are you doing to me. I hope that by the end of my stay here, the number will be in triple figures. I don't expect to keep up my current pace, but am pretty sure i can reach that goal. That said, here's some of the different beers I have tried and some basic thoughts, impressions, and remarks I can honestly give so far:



Delirium:
You really can't go wrong with whatever of the 2400 beers you can try at Delirium, at least in my small sample size. Here are some notables:

Delirium Tremens - labelled as "the best beer in the world", although I don't know by who. This is pretty much the standard for great Belgian beer. Probably not the best, but pretty much the one I compare everything else to.

St. Idesbald Blonde - This was the first true Belgian beer i tried on my first night here. I guess you can say it was everything I imagined? I had heard that Belgian beer was good. This one confirmed it.

Abbaye de Forest blonde - Also tried this one during my first night in Brussels. While different in taste to St.Idesbald, this one was just as good. I struck gold with my first two selections, and also realized that blonde beer would probably be my go-to.

Barbar Blonde - Pretty readily available, and one of the better choices for a blonde. I would probably put it on the same level with Delirium Tremens, but if I had to choose in a matter of life or death, I'd go with Tremens.

Bersalis Triple - Ok, yeah I'm not going to be giving some beer snob advice, commenting on each beer's head, bitterness, hoppiness or whatever. I'm still a relatively new at this Beer thing, and am diving into the literal ocean of beer (I think that analogy makes sense. Right?) But still, try these if you ever get the chance.

Some more frequently available beers include:

The Cheap Stuff: Maes, Jupiler, Vedett, Stella Artois - Cheap, but still infinitely better than the US equivalents, I imagine.

 


Not Belgian At all: Carlsberg, Newcastle, Desperado - No Comment

And some I can actually say some nice things about:

La Chouffe - a nice blond thats pretty common and even available in supermarkets. Not the "craftiest" per say, but you'll enjoy it. Big hit with the ladies, and by ladies I mean my friends Sandy, Melissa and Sarena.

La Corne - Seriously, it came in a horn glass, what's not to like?

Bush Blonde - No, not that Busch. Nothing like a blond that is 10.5%. Heavy but doesn't taste heavy. This was an experience to drink. One of my early favorites.

Bush Amber - Bush Blonde's more educated and serious older brother coming in at a whopping 12%. Be careful with this one. If I'm Bush blonde, my brother Rory is Bush amber. That's not a good analogy because Bush Amber is just as good as Bush blonde. Got you bro! Even though I seem to prefer blondes, the Bush Amber might even be better.

Hopus - Another of my early favorites, not just because of taste, but because of the way its served. The majority is poured in its unique long glass, while the end sediments of the bottle are poured in a shot glass. Tastes amazing. One of the best.

Chimay Bleue - My first Trappiste beer! It is a staple on any sophisticated menu. A bit darker, but not exactly a brown beer. It is definitely unique but is always a solid choice.

Kwak - I've come to believe that when, a beer has not only has its own glass but its own device to hold the glass, then that beer is worth your time, which applies here.

Duvel - Who doesn't like Duvel, no one in Belgium from what I've seen so far. Popular, not pricey and the standard for all Belgian beer.

Ok, so if you're still reading this, Good for you. You've managed to make it through getting lectured on Belgian beer by a 20 year old American, and for that I congratulate you. I don't want to become a beer snob, i just hope to enjoy this opportunity i have to try so many different and quality beers and if you want to listen to me talk about them, I will do so. If not, i'll shut up and and switch to talking about traveling Europe as a spoiled 20 year old American (Win, Win, right?). But seriously, hope you enjoyed this dumbed down and slightly sarcastic review of my Belgian beer experience so far. Cheers!