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Zappa: Belgian is the new IPA

2K views 35 replies 16 participants last post by  slide mon 
#1 ·
I've sampled more than my fair share of Belgian ales this year, so I was psyched to find that the latest Zappa beer was a Belgian Tripple Ale. I like it. It's been a hard week and I expect to have more than my fair share of these this weekend.

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#4 ·
Check out the new Stone Brewing Co. Vertical Epic Ale.
Its a cross betwwen a Belgian and and West Coast style ale. Fruity odd yeast strain meets big hops. Yummy! Very smooth and malty. Should be really good when it comes to age in four years.
 
#10 ·
francois said:
I'm into the Belgian Triple Ale's. Way more complex than those blue-collar IPAs.;)

Any recommendations? This pricey little thing was good:

Others: http://beergeek.stores.yahoo.net/belgianale.html

fc
I'm still getting a handle on the whole Belgian thing, seems there's about 8 different types of Belgian ales. True Belgian ale fans probably drink imports, but I've been sticking with the western microbrews for the most part. Think globally, drink locally. My favorites so far are

1) Lagunitas: We're only in it for the money
2) Avery Salvation in the 22 oz bottle.
3) Avery White Rascal
4) Pranqster
5) Cru D'or

Didn't like the Avery Karma as much, and the Russian River Damnation was one that I was really looking forward to but was a bit of of a dissapointment, but maybe I was having an off day.

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#12 ·
Bikinfoolferlife said:
The Anderson Valley Brother David Doubel and Triple brews are pretty good, as is Green Flash's Triple. Just picked up some Bison Brewing Belgian Ale at Bevmo at a good price, but haven't tried that yet.
I wasn't into the Bison Belgian. It needs to be brewed by celibate monks.

fc
 
#16 ·
I keep hearing about Green Flash but haven't seen it at any of the regular places I go.

I need a new beer store in Marin, anyone know of a place in San Rafael with a large selection that stores their beer cold? The dogfish head ipa that I got from San Rafael Bevmo last week was skunked, that was a major bummer after hearing about that one for so long....

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#18 ·
baycat said:
Slide.

Try Marin Beverage Outlet on 3rd St. and Lindaro. Charles is the owner, and he can get you most stuff.

Try Whole Foods yet? I have talked to the Cheese/Beer Order person, and they can fulfill requests.
Hey Thanks Ryan, Whole Foods is a regular stop.

I stopped in at Marin Bev outlet for the first time a month or so ago. I talked to Charles for a while about why Lagavulin has gotten so damn expensive the last few years. Seems like a good place and the beer selection was good but not overwhelming.

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#21 ·
baycat said:
Than I implore you to make a side trip to City Beer Store whenever you can.

Folsom between 7th and 8th. They got everything, know Neil makes special trips to stock up.

www.citybeerstore.com
Hmmm, an 18 minute walk from the office and there's a bus to Marin that leaves from the doorstep. Nothing like riding the bus full of commuters with a brown paper bag :thumbsup: Thanks for the tip.

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#22 ·
Some Belgians we usually drink (and that I've probably mentioned here before):

Brother Thelonious


Ommegang


As for triples, they're often more difficult to pick out. The Anderson mentioned earlier is top notch.

Along the same lines, try out some barleywine ales. I find them to be similar in flavor, sweetness and alcohol content.
 
#23 ·
Wow, some great beers mentioned in this thread! :thumbsup:

I haven't tried the latest Zappa, but sounds encouraging. I'll be dropping by my local tonight for a bottle or two.

When I first got into Belgians, of course I went for the Trappist classics, and for good reason. But lately I've really been enjoying the domestic interpretations.

- North Coast Pranqster and Brother Thelonious.
- Ommegang, especially their Hennepin saison.
- The Anderson Valley Brother David's dubbel and trippel are really quite delicious.
- I also really like New Belgium's 1550. A strange beer, kinda like a black ale with Trappist yeast fermented on the cold side. Probably brewed as a mistake the first time, but it turned out so well it's become a regular.

I know I'm missing some, but dang...I'm thirsty. Is it beer thirty yet?

Good drinkin' this weekend, y'all!:thumbsup:
 
#26 ·
francois said:
I'm into the Belgian Triple Ale's. Way more complex than those blue-collar IPAs.;)

Any recommendations? This pricey little thing was good:

Others: http://beergeek.stores.yahoo.net/belgianale.html

fc
Westmalle Tripel is indeed a good one, I grew up not too far from the place where they brew that. They're one of the only 5 or 6 'Trappist' beers in Belgium (there are a whole bunch of 'pseudo' Trappist or abbey beers though). The Belgian monk species that brew beer all belong to the (catholic) Trappist order, hence the name.

If you like the Westmalle, you may want to try the Westvleteren 12. If you can get your hands on it at least. The Westvleteren monks are pretty hardcore and cap their annual production. No money in the world can convince them to increase it.
 
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