Belgians-blech

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JimRausch

JimRausch

JimRMaine
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I've tried, I really have, to learn to like Belgian styles.
I know I should love Allagash White(after all I'm from Maine) but I don't.
I can't seem to get over the flavor/funk from the Belgian yeast.
I brewed NB's patersbier last December and have been very patient with it, but I wind up dumping at least 1/2 of every bottle. I had a certified judge try one and he said it is a good example. Yesterday I dumped the remainder of the batch so I could use the bottles. (I did save 12 bottles in case I cultivate friends who like Belgians).
Oh well, I am who I am.......... :mug:
 
While I kinda like the taste of'em, The wild yeast mixes make my guts tighten up & hurt for a week. I can't drink that stuff.
 
I did find one of the style that I like- Unibroue's La Fin du Monde.
It has a hint of the cloves flavor without the 'dead-mouse funk'.
I did a version of that last 12/31 using yeast that I cultured out of a bottle, plus some of the Belle Saison from the patersbier. That actually turned out well. Not a summer drinker, but by the time it cools down, it should be really nice, and with the 12 bombers plus almost a case of 12ozers left, it should last for a good long time. But I'm pretty sure it will be my last attempt at a Belgian style.
 
Belgians are a pretty big style. There are many different types from Wit, to Belgian Pale, Dubbel, Trippels and BDSA's. Even examples of all of those sub styles can be much different.

That being said, either you like the, or you don't. It is a much different flavor and not everyone likes them.

I love them and brew them often. I have about 15-20 different ones in various quantities aging in my cellar. Yumm.
 
Back in 2013 I tried really hard to like Belgian beer. I brewed and drank 5 gal each of
  • Belgian Pale Ale
  • Belgian Dubbel
  • Belgian IPA
  • Belgian Tripel

I tried two different yeasts
  • Wyeast 1214
  • Wyeast 3522 - Ardennes

The Ardennes yeast was much better in that it had a milder "pucker", but try as I might, I never could never say I liked Belgians.

More recently I tried my first Saison. Actually...quite interesting. I might even say I liked it. I am going to give this a try.

BTW, 6 out of 7 viewers felt compelled to reply. Wow. Belgians must be an emotional topic.
 
Yeah..... I am there with you. I have tried too. Just can't do it either. I can tolerate some Belgian Golden Ales and things like that. But, by and large, in any given situation there are 10-20 beers I would easily drink before a belgian of any kind. Different strokes for different folks as they say. It is always good to give every style an honest try - but, nothing wrong with not loving all of them.
 
I think this is just a preference issue. I felt the same way about IPAs for a long time.

I like Belgian styles. Dubbels are some of my favorite beers, but I'm very selective about it. There are some terrible commercial examples that I consider drain pours.

I'd suggest ignoring them for a while and trying them after you haven't had one in a long time. Tastes change over time.
 
Well, some of us get intestinal tightness from drinkin' them ferrin buggs. Not worth feelin like roadkill for a week. Flavor was OK , but...:drunk:
 
I love beer.

1295169628388.jpg
 
unionrdr said:
Well, some of us get intestinal tightness from drinkin' them ferrin buggs. Not worth feelin like roadkill for a week. Flavor was OK , but...:drunk:
Click to expand...

What type of bugs are you speaking of, Belgian strains of yeast are not wild strains in many cases and they are certainly not bacterias like lacto or pedio. In fact some of the Belgian brewers don't even use the same strain to bottle condition that they use to ferment. Sounds like you don't tolerate the yeast in a bottle conditioned beer which many Belgian beers are:confused:
 
unionrdr said:
It was a 750 of Chimay blue label. It tasted good, but boy, did it tighten me up!...
Click to expand...

Chimay Blue has no bugs in it. It is just straight up Belgian yeast.. WY1214 or WLP 500. Check your diet before blaming the intestinal distress on the beer. Chimay Blue is one of the best beers out there.
 
beergolf said:
Chimay Blue has no bugs in it. It is just straight up Belgian yeast.. WY1214 or WLP 500. Check your diet before blaming the intestinal distress on the beer. Chimay Blue is one of the best beers out there.
Click to expand...

Def agree Chimay Blue is one of the Best!!!
Now all this talk about Chimay I guess I gotta go pour me one now!!
 
I don't really like any of the Belgians that I have tried. Not because of the flavor of the beer, but because they tend to carb the ever-living piss out of them. I often leave them out for a while after opening before drinking them.
 
Until last night, I had not had a Belgian style beer that I didn't like.

Last night, I had Odin Brewing Company's Thor's Equinox. It's a dark Belgian strong ale. It was like dark fruity, raisiny, figgy, syrup beer with some spicy anise tossed in. Not my idea of a good time.
 
Everyone gots a different taste.

I do not enjoy sours.

Untrue to my name, I do not enjoy super hoppy beers

I like belgians

I am currently drinking a steel reserve

My favorite style to brew is apa

And some people even like lutefisk!

Beer is great is all I can say ( though lutefisk is not)


Sent from myPhone
 
eeewwwwww... lutefisk

I have tried it, and thankfully never been so hungry that I needed it a second time.... certain members of my family love it... but I can't understand that
 
There is something about Belgians. I have tried and tried to like them but can't. Like having a rusty nail in my mouth. :(
 
JimRausch said:
I've tried, I really have, to learn to like Belgian styles.
I know I should love Allagash White(after all I'm from Maine) but I don't.
I can't seem to get over the flavor/funk from the Belgian yeast.
I brewed NB's patersbier last December and have been very patient with it, but I wind up dumping at least 1/2 of every bottle. I had a certified judge try one and he said it is a good example. Yesterday I dumped the remainder of the batch so I could use the bottles. (I did save 12 bottles in case I cultivate friends who like Belgians).
Oh well, I am who I am.......... :mug:
Click to expand...

So you tried an American wit beer and your batch of homebrew and concluded you don't like beer from Belgium?

Logic expert I am not, but I do see a flaw in your reasoning.

Get yourself a bottle of Duvel. If you like hops and it's a fresh-ish bottle, the triple hop is really nice, too. Both actual Belgian beers and not what I'd call 'funky'.
 
I just saw an article about Belgians and saw two Maine breweries made the list of top 10 Belgian beers. Allagash and Oxbow both made the list. I have yet to have any Oxbow, but I haven't had any Allagash that I didn't like. :D
 
A local brew pub does and "Abbey Ale" that I really like, so I set out to try other
Belgian brews. Some I'm not a fan of, some are OK, some pretty good.
I try to find a commercial example of the style before I go to the trouble to brew it.
 
I will have to admit here I forgot about liking Thirsty Dog's Cerberus, A belgian style ale they do. On sometimes. off others, but when it's on it's damn good & I can drink a 6'r of it!
 
TNGabe said:
So you tried an American wit beer and your batch of homebrew and concluded you don't like beer from Belgium?

Logic expert I am not, but I do see a flaw in your reasoning.

Get yourself a bottle of Duvel. If you like hops and it's a fresh-ish bottle, the triple hop is really nice, too. Both actual Belgian beers and not what I'd call 'funky'.
Click to expand...

Good Point. Condemning an entire countries beers based on a limited sample is kind of like saying " I don't like American beers because MHL tastes like mule pee". ;) I'll keep sampling and who knows, maybe next year I'll start a thread of my eternal love of Belgians. Doubt it, but stranger things have happened.
 
The Northern Brewer Patersbier was my second brew just over 3 years ago. To date I would put in the top ten of my favorite brews. (more than 60 batches)

All in your tastes. I haven't tried a sour, but I have not found any other style that I don't like. Individual beers maybe, but not a style as a whole.
 
I like a lot of sour foods but can't get into sour beers. Like many others here have said, I've tried, it just didn't take.
 
Belgian beers are probably my FAVORITE beers.
I have yet to drink a Belgian style that I didn't like.

From abbeys to golden strongs, I just love them all.

My last two brews were Belgian. A saison followed by a golden strong.
Just ordered "Brew Like a Monk" and cant wait to read through it.
 
Doomsday said:
Belgian beers are probably my FAVORITE beers.
I have yet to drink a Belgian style that I didn't like.

From abbeys to golden strongs, I just love them all.

My last two brews were Belgian. A saison followed by a golden strong.
Just ordered "Brew Like a Monk" and cant wait to read through it.
Click to expand...

Wow, I've been on a brewing binge and done 6 batches in the last two weeks, but prior to that binge my previous two brews were those exact beers in that exact order. They both turned out amazing.

Also, I like all kinds of beer. I don't get when people feel the need to announce to the world that a certain style is "blech" and I also think it's closed minded unless that person truly tried every example of the style available to them. Many Belgian beers suffer from jetlag IMHO, so you've got to be open minded, find fresh examples, and not be such a wonderbread mac n cheese kid- to enjoy them.
 
beergolf said:
Chimay Blue has no bugs in it. It is just straight up Belgian yeast.. WY1214 or WLP 500. Check your diet before blaming the intestinal distress on the beer. Chimay Blue is one of the best beers out there.
Click to expand...

If you like brewing Belgian beer check out the recipes on www.candisyrup.com , there are some awesome beers there. I have been very happy using their product.
 
Well, with regard to the Chimay comments, I hadn't been eating anything "gassy" & nothing with the beer. It jut hit's my innards the wrong way. Idk?...:mug:
 
helibrewer said:
If you like brewing Belgian beer check out the recipes on www.candisyrup.com , there are some awesome beers there. I have been very happy using their product.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the link!

I was thinking the "premium" ingredients would have a price tag to go along with them, but those are some pretty decent prices!:rockin:
 
unionrdr said:
Well, with regard to the Chimay comments, I hadn't been eating anything "gassy" & nothing with the beer. It jut hit's my innards the wrong way. Idk?...:mug:
Click to expand...

I also think Chimay Bleue has more CO2 that other beers and may have been the culprit. I am a big fan of belgian beers and Chimay, but sometimes after drinking a Chimay Bleue I have light to medium heartburn (english is not my primary language so this word may be the wrong one). Also I heard some people who drink the yeast and the end of the bottle having some stomach problems (doesn't happen to me).

So my recomendation is try other trapist beers (Rochefort 10 is my favourite) and don't drink the yeast at the end of the bottle.
 
I like darker Belgian beers more so than paler ones. I really dig the dark strong category and only tolerate saisons. Lots of "belgian" beers tend to be excessively funky for no good reason. Sometimes American brewers just get hung up on the mantra "It's supposed to be funky, It's a Belgian!" When the reality is that duvel and chimay are funky but not dirty sock wringing funky.
 
I'm a hop head, but I loved Rochefort, Westmaille and Saison Dupont from Belgium. And from this side of the pond, Unibroue La Fin du Monde, Allagash Curieux and Omegang Triple Perfection are all excellent. Duvell didn't do it for me, and I thought Orval was disgusting (maybe a bad bottle).
 
In all honesty, I love Belgians, but I still get hit with some belgians that are too hot or fusel-y, or they're just imbalanced. Same with any kind of beer, there are all kinds of variations within a style, you could go through a hundred belgian beers, and every one will taste different, same could be said of IPAs, Stouts, etc...

Personally, I don't like stouts or English beers... it's just personal preference. There's nothing wrong with disliking Belgian beers, it's not like it doesn't make you a qualified brewer. Just brew/drink what you like :)
 

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