The Pacific Northwest is a great place to be if you love great beer, and Seattle has one of the best spots for Belgian beer that I’ve ever seen: Brouwer’s. With 25 Belgian beers on tap at any time (and literally hundreds more in bottles), you can pretty much find any style of Belgian that you please. I headed there with a few friends, and we had quite a few beers, all quite good, some delicious. Here are my reflections of my favorites (at the time, jotted down hurriedly on my hand or menu):
1. Foret Saison: I’m currently in the middle of brewing a saison myself, so I wanted to try a few authentic examples of this style. The Foret was a cloudy straw color, with a citrusy spiciness that dominated the aroma. The beer tasted of citrus and yeast on the nose, with sweet malt undertones. Towards the end, I could taste a subtle horsey funkiness coupled with moderate hop bitterness. This was an excellent beer with very distinct flavors that I thoroughly enjoyed.
2. Gulden Draak: Gulden Draak is a dark trippel that I’ve had bottled a few times, and it never fails to impress me. The color is a dark, almost opaque brown. I could smell the alcohol in the aroma – though I don’t know the exact figure, it has to be pushing 10% ABV. The taste is dominated by a malty sweetness at first, which settles a bit into notes of plum and raisin. It had a very low bitterness – the taste was mostly the molasses-like maltiness with some fruit and yeast. This is always a good beer.
3. Duchesse de Bourgogne Sour Red Ale: This was my favorite beer of the night, and one of the cheapest we tried (only $6.00! — WooHoo!). A great example of the Flanders Red Ale style, Duchesse is a brilliant dark crimson color, and has an aroma dominated by sour cherries. The taste is a little sweet with marked sourness, and tasted of cherries, apple, and a little sweet mustard. The taste finished with a slight alcoholic warmth that was most pleasant. This is one of the most wine-like beers I’ve ever had, and one I would get again and again.
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Article comments
1 - Chris McVetta
Maybe I'm just simple ...or maybe I was just raised by circus folk.
But for my money, Blue Moon and Hoegaarden are neck and neck when it comes to fine Belgian Ales.
Kind of like the race between the Sausage, the Hot Dog and the Bratwurst at a game hosted by the Milwaukee Brewers.
Like I said: I'm simple. Yee-hah!
2 - Crissy
That many Belgian beers, in North America?! That's it - I'm going!
Cheers,
Crissy
Vancouver, BC, Canada
3 - Jake
Nothing beats Gulden Draak. One of my favorites.