My husband picked up some Belgian beers to share this weekend. This particular beer is the Stillwater Artisanal. My friend Monica describes it as, “perfectly balanced!”. It has a rich, dark chocolate flavor up front, and a spiced caramel finish – without being sweet.
It’s an 11.2oz bottle, but plenty rich to share with friends! Cheers!
A really good Belgian Style Tripel is worth its weight in gold! One of my favorite American brewed (but Belgian Style) Tripel is the Golden Monkey, by Dogfish – but coming in a close second is Allagash Brewery’s Tripel. It’s so crisp and delicious with notes of banana and honey; if they weren’t 9%, I could drink them all day! When you drink a Belgian Style Tripel – make sure to drink it in the correct glass, as the fancy glass really does make a difference in the taste!
If you fine you like this style of beer, you may want to venture on the the Belgian brewed Tripels… which I’d recommend a Tripel Karmeliet… but that’s a cap picture and post for another day! Cheers!
I went through this Belgian White stage years ago… if there was a Belgian Wheat beer around, I’d drink it (hold all the crappy fruit though, please). When I saw that this new brewery (or at least one I hadn’t heard of) called Blue Moon was now making a Belgian White Ale that you could buy at any grocery store, I was floored – I must have! Once the six-pack was mine, I had a big ‘ole gulp of this new ale. I swear, I almost spit it out… I know that sounds harsh – but it tasted like soapy water to me. Belgian Whites are supposed to have a coriander and orange peel taste – and this one was way off base, tasting more like lemon Dawn detergent. Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t expecting this new beer to taste as stellar as my beloved Hoegaarden, but I really found it not to be drinkable.
Despite not having my patronage, Blue Moon has raged on – so I guess some people out there like it. If you enjoy Blue Moon Belgian White, pick up a real Belgian White like Hoegaarden, and you’ll see why I was so confused with where they were going.
A Cap A Day 