Belgian Beers

fokker

Whats the opinion in Ireland on Belgian beer?

I am a Dutch, and to my opinion there are no dutch beers which deserve the name 'beer'. Well maybe Grolsch, but that too is very flat in taste.
For me Irish and Belgian beers are the best.

elmolesto

Belgian beers are definitely the best. So much choice...

trout

OP ... you may will not get serious answers here

There is a Beer, Wine & Spirits forum -> http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=598

I can move this thread there, so you can have a serious and informed discussion ... or we can leave it here, and see what happens.

Some of the regulars here really know their beers, Zaph, Des, LiB and many others ... so you could have some good advice. Or it could end up as a discussion about sentient kebabs from outer space taking our jobs and wimmins.

Let me know what you would like me to do ... move the thread, or leave it.

Tom Dunne

I've just tried Duff beer over the last two days, and much to my surprise, it was Belgian. Very nice indeed.

Tonight, I will be settling down with more Duff to watch In Bruges. Who would have thought a night's entertainment could be provided by the Belgians? Lovely people too.....

fokker

trout wrote: »

OP ... you may will not get serious answers here

I can move this thread there, so you can have a serious and informed discussion ... or we can leave it here, and see what happens.

Ah well, things dont always have to be serious, I do have a beer belly, and I like irish red about just as much as many belgium beers - so just leave it here
I always can ask these things in your wine&beer topic later.

Another question: what is the best irish beer for a guy likke me who likes dark beers?
And is it a crime to drink it cold in stead of tepid?

fokker

Tom Dunne wrote: »

I've just tried Duff beer over the last two days, and much to my surprise, it was Belgian. Very nice indeed.

Tonight, I will be settling down with more Duff to watch In Bruges. Who would have thought a night's entertainment could be provided by the Belgians? Lovely people too.....

Absolutely
Pity that half of them speaks french.
Try a Brugse Tripel, if you can buy it there.

deaddonkey

Lidl blonde is one of my favourite beers.

Zaph

Well if you're after dark Irish beer it has to be Guinness really. However there are a few other good Irish dark beers. The Biddy Early Brewery in Clare have Black Biddy and Red Biddy. They're really only available locally, but worst a go if you're ever down near Ennis. Their Blonde Biddy is seriously nice if you fancy a lager for a change. The Carlow Brewing Company O'Hara's stout, which I'm told is pretty good, although I've never tried it. It's available in quite a few off-licences and supermarkets. For something different try the Oyster Stout in The Porterhouse, it's very tasty indeed.

Never seen Brugse Tripel here, but you can buy both Westmalle Dubbel and Tripel in a few places. Very nice beers they are too.

LostinBlanch

^
+1
But without knowing whether you like light or dark beers it's hard to recommend anything to you other than give you a list. Of course it being BGRH you'd be honour bound to sample every one of them at least twice :rolleyes:

Going by your recommendations for tom I'd say it's more dark beers. Zaph has given you some good ones to try. You could always go for Murphys as an alternative to Guiness, but only if you're down south, especially in Cork really. It's a lovely pint, but only from a pub that serves it regularly, otherwise it jsut sits stale in the barrel and when anyone has a pint it's not as good as Guinness. In Cork it's the other way round.

Go to the porterhouse and get two taster trays. One to knock back and the other to savour

Zaph was doing so well on the recommendations - The white biddy is excellent, but you might try red biddy as well; he fell down on the oyster stout though - that's for girls. Wraesslers XXXX is where it's at! You'll know when you get to the porterhouse and taste them both.

Anyway, enjoy, you've got some drinking to do.

LostinBlanch

trout wrote: »

OP ... you may will not get serious answers here

There is a Beer, Wine & Spirits forum -> http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=598

Or it could end up as a discussion about sentient kebabs from outer space taking our jobs and wimmins.

.

WTF? They're taking our jobs and our wimmins?? :eek: Greedy bastards, they can take our jobs but taking the wimmins is too far, who'll get the rasher sambos?

P.C.

fokker wrote: »

Ah well, things dont always have to be serious, I do have a beer belly, and I like irish red about just as much as many belgium beers - so just leave it here
I always can ask these things in your wine&beer topic later.

Another question: what is the best irish beer for a guy likke me who likes dark beers?
And is it a crime to drink it cold in stead of tepid?

When you talk about 'dark beer' do you mean stout or ale?

If you mean ale, there is Smithwicks.

trout

LostinBlanch wrote: »

WTF? They're taking our jobs and our wimmins?? :eek: Greedy bastards, they can take our jobs but taking the wimmins is too far, who'll get the rasher sambos?

It's OK. Shush now ... settle down.

I was using poetic license to display to the OP how far off-topic this thread could go.
I used an extreme example for emphasis.

I can assure you ... there are no sentient kebabs ... anymore :cool:







*parp*

CreepingDeath

fokker wrote: »

Whats the opinion in Ireland on Belgian beer?

I am a Dutch, and to my opinion there are no dutch beers which deserve the name 'beer'. Well maybe Grolsch, but that too is very flat in taste.
For me Irish and Belgian beers are the best.

We've an office in Belgium... nice beers.

Duval is a fine beer, but be careful at 8% alcohol.
Leffe Blonde wasn't bad either.

There's 400 Belgian beers, so plenty of choice.
In fact Stela Artois was the budget beer over there at €2 per 500ml glass in bars. The nicer beers were €3 or €4.

* prices are about 2 years old since I was there.

Superquinn in Lucan is selling bottles of Duval, and a selection of other foreign beers.

Heisenberg.

This post has been deleted.

Zaph

The Scientist wrote: »

Another one to try is Westmalle, its made in Antwerp by Trappist monks i think. Its something outrageous like 13% or 14% and sold in most Belgian Bars.

Westmalle Dubbel is 7% and Westmalle Tripel is 9.5% and both are sold here as well.

D-Generate

Jupiler is a fine cheapo beer in pubs in Belgium. Shame that they don't export it here instead of Stella

Paddy Samurai

fokker wrote: »

Whats the opinion in Ireland on Belgian beer?

I am a Dutch, and to my opinion there are no dutch beers which deserve the name 'beer'. Well maybe Grolsch, but that too is very flat in taste.
For me Irish and Belgian beers are the best.

Hate grolsch think its piss,but yea i think the belgians produce a great range of beers.Next to the germans i would rate them the next best.I read somewhere they have 1200 breweries in germany,and everytime i go over i try something new.I used to keep the empty beer bottles of the different beers i had tried but when i got up to 400 i had to stop collecting(ran out of space).About half the beers i tried came from germany and belgium.Top notch stuff!.

mayordenis

dutch beer = http://www.latrappe.nl/index.php?pid=33&lng=EN

smashey

fokker wrote: »

I am a Dutch, and to my opinion there are no dutch beers which deserve the name 'beer'.

Woahhhhh there young fokker. :eek:

smashey's favourite beer is Heineken.

Ergo Dutch beer rocks. :cool:

mayordenis

smashey wrote: »

Woahhhhh there young fokker. :eek:

smashey's favourite beer is Heineken.

Ergo Dutch beer rocks. :cool:

nuthin cool about drinkin ****

smashey

mayordenis wrote: »

nuthin cool about drinkin ****

Go away.

Fratton Fred

Belgian?? Irish??


I had a few Leffe Blondes the other night. Very very nice, but a tad stronger than I had originally compensated for. Hence me becoming a dribbling gob****e in front of my work dcolleagues.:cool:

smashey

Fratton Fred wrote: »

Hence me becoming a dribbling gob****e in front of my work dcolleagues.:cool:

Maybe she was just hot.

Fratton Fred

smashey wrote: »

Maybe she was just hot.

nah, a very anoying american with tits like a sparrow. she did keep ordering me Leffe though:D

IronMan

LostinBlanch wrote: »

^
Wraesslers XXXX is where it's at! You'll know when you get to the porterhouse and taste them both.

Wrasslers is the best beer brewed in Ireland. It is truly awesome stuff. Stout like it should taste. Galway Hooker is also a great beer, but perhaps an acquired taste.

The Scientist wrote: »

Duvel you mean...
I've been to Belgium a few times in the last 3 yrs, it really is years ahead of any other beer producing Country with the exception of the Czech Republic.

I think our neighbours in Britain produce better beer than the Czechs. I'd even rate America ahead of them. If you visit America, you can get some awesome beers, it is an awful pity we seem to think American beer starts with Bud and ends with Miller. Hell, Sam Adams is one of the most popular beers on tap in America, and I would rate it above any widely available beer on tap in Ireland.

oblivious

smashey wrote: »

Woahhhhh there young fokker. :eek:

smashey's favourite beer is Heineken.

Ergo Dutch beer rocks. :cool:

You mean cork beer:P

Fratton Fred

IronMan wrote: »

I think our neighbours in Britain produce better beer than the Czechs. I'd even rate America ahead of them. If you visit America, you can get some awesome beers, it is an awful pity we seem to think American beer starts with Bud and ends with Miller. Hell, Sam Adams is one of the most popular beers on tap in America, and I would rate it above any widely available beer on tap in Ireland.

Why is that though?

in the UK, or England in particular, most pubs are part of chains. Punch Taverns, JD Weatherspoons etc, whereas in Ireland a chain of pubs means a landlord who owns more than one.

I would have thought with more owner occupier pubs inIreland there would be more opportunity for local brews to get an airing, but everywhere just gives you the same beer, except for a few "Exotic" places that sell starowhateveritscalled or something like that.

Is it just that the Irish only drink (en masse) Guinness and Heineken and nothing else will get a look in, or is it a distribution thing, or are landlords in the main very cautious and won't try anything new?

oblivious

Fratton Fred wrote: »

Why is that though?

in the UK, or England in particular, most pubs are part of chains. Punch Taverns, JD Weatherspoons etc, whereas in Ireland a chain of pubs means a landlord who owns more than one.

I would have thought with more owner occupier pubs inIreland there would be more opportunity for local brews to get an airing, but everywhere just gives you the same beer, except for a few "Exotic" places that sell starowhateveritscalled or something like that.

How many do you know that have a real interest in beer an just the usual suspects of Guinness bub etc.

Fratton Fred wrote: »

Is it just that the Irish only drink (en masse) Guinness and Heineken and nothing else will get a look in, or is it a distribution thing, or are landlords in the main very cautious and won't try anything new?

I would say the publican never really had to try for business, that is change a bit as you can see by the amount of pubs closing down. But I suspect more will fail thain change really try to get new customers. But the also Irish people are notoriously resistant to band change or just change in the drinking ways.

The beer nut usually puts is more eloquently than I do:p