Attention: Please take a moment to consider our terms and conditions before posting.

Belgian Beer advice

Didn't want to clog up the main 'beer' thread, but have got a works do coming up soon and ending up in a Belgian Pub/Restaurant

Any recommendations on any of the bottled beers here - there are also draught beers you can click into


http://dovepubs.com/beer-menu-4




«13

Comments

  • Any of the Brune are good.
  • do like a drop of Leffe Blonde but to be honest I'd be straight to the gins, can't beat a Martin Miller's
  • Leffe & Stella are products of the large international breweries . Ask for the local stuff … it can get interesting . And try the Saint Bernardus beers … all of them .
  • I have spent a lot of time in the Farringdon Dovetail. I love the Mariage Parfait(sour), any of the St Bernardus beers, Des Doittignes(Saison), Orval. I've had pretty much all of the beers they sell.

    Enjoy.
  • edited November 2019
    Having worked in Lux, i can say i've drunk most of these (though not the fruit ones, as je ne l'aime pas.)

    Chimay Bleu is a beautiful dark beer.
    Orval is a real classic - i've been to their brewery and sampled their 'Green' too which is only available at the Monastery. A really nice beer.
    Blanche de Bruxelles is a nice refreshing Blanche beer, similar to Hoegaarden (but better)
    La Chouffe is my sons favourite beer of all time - also been to their brewery, very strange place.
    Slag Pils sounds interesting.

    The Tripels i personally would steer clear of - just way too strong for me.
    Strangely they dont seem to have the King of Beers in the list(unless i missed it)....Duvel . In Cape Town there is a bar called Den Anker which has Duvel on draught...apparently very unusual to get Duvel on Draught @skywalker , you agree with that?
    Also, doenst have my personal favourite...Rex Artus.

    Ah hem, I'm not really a beer lover :)
  • Boon marriage parfait for me. 
  • What a fantastic selection. 

    First things first, as Skywalker says forget the Leffe. As multinational mass productions go its tasty enough, but do you really want to waste the opportunity to drink something special by going for something you can pick up in Asda?

    Personally I'd go for the darker heavier ones like Westmalle, Rochfort, but it's very much a question of personal taste. Something a little lighter but still strong and tasty is Pavel Kawak (that's Flemish for Pawal Abbott btw).  If you're feeling adventurous, you may like to try one from the sour, lambic and gueuze list. They aren't my favourites, but they are radically different to anything else. So if you've not tried them before it's worth having one just for the experience.

    Enjoy!
  • Duvel is my favourite, just ahead of Saison du Pont.
    Whatever you have make sure you know how strong it is as they are typically 7.5 to 9.5%.
  • Personally I'd start at the top and work your way down! :-)

    As others have said the Duvel is a lovely beer and the Chimay Bleu tends to be my 'go to' beer when I'm stuck in a hotel and the selection isn't great.

    You must try the Westmalle Triple and the Rochefort 10 even if it's only to realise just how shit faced you'd be if you spent a night on them.

    My own personal favourite however is anything from the St Feuillien brewery, especially the dark beers and I notice they have an 8.5% there which is gorgeous.

    The happiest years of my working life was when our company employed the son in law of the owner of the brewery, which was already my favourite long before then. As a gift for my 40th birthday they presented me with a magnum of the 'St Feuillien Noel' which I thought was 10%. I still have the bottle so will check.

    Suffice to say my memories of that time are a little hazy!!!


  • Sponsored links:


  • Boon Gueuze and Rodenbach Grand Cru are absolute classics if you can tolerate sours - two of my favourite beers ever - but Orval is great if not

    Actually just looked - what the fuck they have Rodenbach ON TAP?! That's all I'd be having tbh
  • thanks for all the advice - Not going there until December 6th so will let you know how I get on.

    If I can still type the next day !
  • I agree with the other comments, steer clear of Leffe (even though its a lovely beer) and Stella - there are far more memsmersing, beutoful,  lovely beers to try. 
    One guarantee is you will be very smashed by the time you get to the end of the night, but by drinking 6 bottles of top quality beers instead of 10 pints of bubbly shit.
  • Pop in and see Roly and ask him.

  • I’m a big fan of wheat beers and the Blanche de Bruxelles is very nice, as is Hooegarden. 

    Not a lover of the really strong beers. I’m a typical Brit and drink any alcohol like it’s normal strength beer (sling it down my neck quickly). 
  • Pop in and see Roly and ask him.

    Actually, the 2 breweries in ST,Wilderen and Kerkom, produce (as you would expect) some fantastic beers, however, none of us can remember them.
  • Get proper stuck into the Orval


  • edited November 2019
    Boon Kriek is also legit! But yeah avoid the other fruit beers. And any gender may enjoy fruit beer, I know I do!
  • Must admit, most of the Belgies i worked with have said that Duvel is the King of Beers, and nothing come close to it, but tbh, i could never 'get' it.
  • Sponsored links:


  • most of the Belgies are correct :-)



    Chouffe is pretty damn good too.
  • skywalker said:
    Personally, I'd skip the Duvel . I had a look at the list and you can have a interesting line up. However mind the ones with a lot of alcohol . Start with the Brugse Zot (a very good brewery). It's got a nice full taste and isn't that heavy on the alcohol . Don't miss the Taras Boulba (remember the movie with Yul Bruynner ! ) . Pauwels Kwak is special because it's served in a unique glass (a glass for a coachman ) . The shape of the glass will have the beer make a sound once you drank about 2/3 of the glass . (The sound is "kwak" - hence it's name) . Best try a Rodenbach, in this case the Crand Cru . If you're still thirsty Vedett Blonde is much nicer than an average Stella . And as a Brit you'll be familiar with a De Koninck . Untill now … all of these you can survive if you eat something in between. However … if a bed is nearby … I see they have St Bernardus tripel, Karmeliet Tripel and why not a La Trappe Blonde or Quadrupel (10%) . Orval is a love or hate thing . I don't like it, as I'm also not a fan of the Gueuze beers, but others are addicted to them . If any women are around, have them try the Lindemans Kriek (cherry beer). Forget all those other fruit beers, they are artificially flavoured. By the way ... that Kriek beer makes a wonderfull sabayon . 
    Thank you @skywalker, I have a pair of those glasses but I never knew the story until now.
  • Just pick at random. Everyone seems to have their own favourite Belgian beers. Look at the strengths and choose something that might suit.

    Personally I'm a Chimay fan.
  • Jupiler / Zot
  • Just pick at random. Everyone seems to have their own favourite Belgian beers. Look at the strengths and choose something that might suit.

    Personally I'm a Chimay fan.
    Chimay...beautiful.
  • SamB09 said:
    Jupiler / Zot
    My Belgian boss used to say they drink Duvel and piss Jupiler.
  • Nice to see that one of my favourites Delerium Tremens is sold there! Definitely to be consumed in moderation! 
  • edited November 2019
    I never drink Duvel, but for about 10 years now there's Duvel Tripel Hop, and those I like a lot . Each year another combo of hop is used . People started collecting the different kinds . I like the citrussy ones (American hop) . And a draught Duvel, that was extremely rare a couple of years ago, the last year it's offered sometimes but still not that often . I never tried one … 

    But I've got a question : how about that English Trappist . I bought it and it's very nice, but it didn't have the official trappist seal of approval on the bottle . Has it been sorted out lately ?
  • I don't mind Triple Hop, but personally I find 9.5% beer is a step too far, Chouffe do something similar with their Houblon IPA.
    I both cases I prefer the taste of their standard beers, even if they are really weak at a mere 8.5% !
    Saison du Pont and Grimbergen Blonde are great beers at 6.5%.
  • Anyone else thirsty?.
Sign In or Register to comment.

Roland Out Forever!