A bunch of Belgian Beerz

I was contacted a couple of weeks ago by a lovely chap called Lode who runs an online Belgian Beer shop called Belgian Beerz because he wanted to see if I fancied doing some beer reviews and link to his shop, in exchange for said beers I will be reviewing.

How could I say no? I mean, I get more writing material for my blog and I get to help a small business with some promotion. It’s a win-win situation!

It’s also a great opportunity for me to discover more Belgian beers as I have neglected them way too much since discovering American & Danish beer.

Anyway, I got sent a lovely selection of 12 beers and I’m going to power through a review of each but in just a couple of lines or less as it seems like a fun idea!

Van Steenberge Cesar (8.5% Tripel) – Sweet, citrusy, biscuity and banana-y. Very nice indeed.

Waterloo 8 Double Dark (8.5% Belgian Strong Dark Ale) – Lots of red fruits, big sticky toffee with a little bit of dark vanilla chocolate at the end. Shocking lack of booze detectable which made it very drinkable! More please!

De Dolle Oerbier (9% Belgian Dark Strong Ale) – Brown sugar, plums, figs, raisins, caramel and chocolate, with a little bit of sourness that I’m not sure is really meant to be there. Fuck knows, but I like it.

De La Senne Zinnebir (6% Belgian Pale Ale) – Oooh citrus and funkiness dominate, with a little bit of sweetness. I am in love with this beer. Can I have an entire case of it please?

Préaris Quadrupel (10% Belgian Quad) – Waaaaay too sweet like I’ve poured an entire bag of brown sugar into a beer, but some nice banana and bitter coffee flavours when that clears up. Not my favourite quad in the world.

De La Senne Stouterik/The Brussels Stout (4.5% Stout) – Bloody hell this is nice. You’ve got chocolate and dark roasted malt with some milk chocolate giving it that little bit of sweetness. Insanely delicious. Very impressed with Belgian stouts.

Straffe Hendrik Brugs Quadrupel (11% Belgian Quad) – Awesome, a beer I already know and love… candy sugar sweetness, coffee, caramel and chocolate. YEAHHHHH!

Cantillon Kriek (5% Lambic) – Sour cherries, deliciousness. Emily said it smells like horses, which she didn’t really regard as a bad thing. It’s another beer I already know and love.

Caracole Ambrée (7.5% Belgian Pale) – Raisins, some citrus hops and some biscuit leaning in the background. It’s alright, but I was just pissed off that I lost half the bottle upon opening. NAUGHTY BEER.

Urthel Hop-It (9.5% Belgian IPA) – Really hoppy beers seem to be taking off in Belgium, instead of the more malty ones right now. This delivers… hops in your face… citrus deliciousness, honey, biscuit, more fruitiness. Absolutely love it!

Scheldebrouwerij ‘n Toeback (9% Belgian Quad) – Satisfyingly sweet and booze, with a nice crisp apple bite and lashings of caramel made me incredible happy.

Duchesse De Bourgogne (6.2% Flanders Red Ale) – A long time favourite of mine, this has right amount of sourness, fruitiness and woodiness to keep me very happy. Emily’s opinion was far different, but I’m not going to share that here! I love this beer!

So that was my latest foray into the much neglected world of Belgian beer, and it was a very enjoyable experience!

You should definitely check out belgianbeerz.com if you like Belgian beer… they have a massive selection and offer reasonable shipping costs, starting from around £16 to the UK.

Once again, thanks to Lode for sending these to me!

Nate