Piraat

Why I tried this: I think a co-worker of mine, David, recommended this to me, but my memory is a bit hazy. Shit happens when you drink lots of beer. It was a tripel belgian, a style I haven't touched much of recently, so why not?

Smell: Has a slight hoppy bitterness to the scent, but otherwise is overwhelmingly sweet, mostly from malts and various fruits, such as citrus and berries. Quite pleasant.


Taste: Slight hints of caramel, but heavy on the berries and sweet malts. I could also detect some pear and apple in the taste, but that may be the beer playing tricks on me. Or the alcohol. Had a bit of a yeasty taste to it as well, but this was very mute and a welcome addition.

Overall, I'd probably award this beer a strong quarter full glass. It's a very good example of the belgian tripel style, incorporating heavy amounts of fruits and malts, but quality enough that you can taste almost everything that went into it. The carbonation is a bit high on this one, but I rather enjoyed that. I really can't say anything particularly negative about it, other than it didn't completely floor me. All in all, I would definitely recommend.

--Jeff

Verhaeghe Vichtenaar

Why I tried this: I was browsing through the various beer types at World of Beer UCF, out of boredom. I came across a style known as Flemish Red, which intrigued me because it was described as sour tasting. I've never had anything like that before, so I decided to be adventurous and give it a go. Vichtenaar was the first I found in the menu under that brew style.

Smell: Wow. Sour. It felt like a blast of vinegar, with a very slight hint of sweetness, perhaps from berries. I knew I was in for one hell of a sip.

Taste: My initial reaction was that I was drinking vinegar. Several sips into it, I began to get through to the full taste of the beer, and the sourness lessened somewhat with a little sweetness. It was a full bodied taste, very strong. Not recommended for the uninitiated.

On a scale of 1 to 10, I give this beer a 6. Verhaeghe Vichtenaar is a sour Flemish red ale made in Belgium. With 5.0% ABV it was not very strong, but the taste was anything but. Expect a similarity to vinegar. There is little to balance this strong flavor out. It is exactly as described, red and sour. If you're looking for something interesting out there, I can say this might be something to look into, but I probably wouldn't get it again. However, this did get me interested in other Flemish Red style beers, which turned out to be a great thing.

--Jeff

Probably the most awful beer I have had in my entire life.  Still cant believe this is a beer style 2/10.

--Jon

Tripel Karmeliet

Why I tried this: By now some of the bartenders are getting to know us pretty well. One of the bartenders we get pretty often is named Logan. I asked him to recommend a beer to me and after a short discussion about Belgian beer Tripel Karmeliet is what he came back with. He told me it was one of his favorites so I decided to go for it.

Smell: grainy yeasty earthy scent, not too strong, balanced and fresh

Taste: WOW! By far the best Tripel I have had to date. This beer was extremely well balanced and an extremely tasty smooth flavor all the way down. A refreshing flavor balance between a grainy flavor, slight citrusy flavor, sweetness, hops, malts and yeast. The carbonation of this beer was interesting as well and really completed the package.

On a scale of 1 to 10 I would give this beer a 9. This beer was incredible from my first sip to the last. The depth of how well the flavors worked together was awesome. This was a great beer suggestion on Logan's part and I will absolutely be enjoying more of these in the future. Next time I run into Logan we will for sure have more discussions about more Belgian beers to try.

--Jon

Delirium Tremens

Why I tried this: When World of Beer first opened I found myself absolutely floored by the amazing selection on hand, and while I had already put a few hundred different brews under my belt I was still a little flabbergasted as to where I should start. Luckily a neon sign sat in the corner, quietly proclaiming with a pink glow that Delirium Tremens was voted World's Best Beer in the 1998 World Beer Championship. I put that medal to the test.

Smell: The initial smell of this beer is a nice sweet smell, immediately followed by a spicy yeast note that is common in many Belgian style brews. There's also a slight smell of pear, clove, and the slightest hint of citrus. There's no discernible hop smell, and the aroma is really quite pleasant.

Taste: Wow. Just wow. This beer is extremely flavorful, starting out with a nice mild sweetness to it, but accented with a thin malt flavor. You can definitely get a bit of clove, pear, and banana. Towards the end you can definitely get a spicier flavor fromm the Belgian Yeast, which is balanced out by a slight bitter from the hops. Really just an all around amazing taste by my palate.

On a scale of 1 to 10 I'd give this a 9.5. This beer is an extremely complex Belgian, and by my count is deserving of the award it was given. Hands down this is my favorite Belgian, without a doubt, and is ranked in at least my top 5 for favorite beers, if not my favorite outright. The only reason I hesitate to give it a 10 is because this is something that the "uninitiated" in beer culture might find a bit too complex, and weighing in with an 8.5% ABV might be a bit too strong for the newbies out there.

--Scott

This beer is definitely pretty good. A sweetness with a balance of hops, nothing too overpowering. Smells a bit of bananas, but finishes with a taste of clove. Definitely very nice, not something I could have a few of though.

I'd give it an 8.5/10.

--Jeff

Love this beer. Scott recommended it to me when I showed up to WoB one day, this will for sure be a beer that I enjoy over and over for a long long time. 9/10

--Jon

Grimbergen Dubbel

Why I tried this: I had the Grimbergen Blonde and loved it so I decided to give the Grimbergen Dubbel a taste.  It came in a bottle much like the Blonde and I even got the officially logo'd Grimbergen glass this time.  I drank this while Jeff drank the Grimbergen Blonde that I recommended to him.

Smell: Peppery, yeasty, alcohol scent.  Much different than the blonde and much less pleasant.

Taste: slight malty yeasty flavor up front that was quickly overpowered.  I want to say it was almost an alcohol flavor or something I cant explain, but it came in strong.  That flavor stuck around and made this beer mediocre for me.  As I was drinking this I was really jealous watching Jeff sip on that delicious blonde ale.  That overpowering flavor completely made this beer one dimensional for me.

On a scale of 1 to 10 I would give this a 6.5.  I know this beer has a lot of great reviews everywhere but I did not find it smooth and enjoyable at all.  The first second of your sip is ok but what the flavor quickly fades into made this beer pretty un-enjoyable for me.

--Jon

Chimay Tripel

Why I tried this: I have had Chimay, all three types, in the bottle before and thought it was pretty good.  My friend Jason recommended it to me after he went to Vegas with his brother and dad.  I don't really see this stuff around very much so I don't get to drink it very often.  When I saw this stuff was on tap at World of Beer I definitely had to see what it tasted like on tap.

Smell: grainy bready yeast scent.  I didn't really detect any fruit scents as Ive seen around online, guess that's why I'm not a beer pro.

Taste: At first you get a yeasty, grainy, bready taste that is smooth and enjoyable.  It fades into a more hoppy grainy finish just before the slight alcohol finish.  None of the flavors are overpowering, this beer is smooth and enjoyable.  I could drink this beer for a good portion of the night with no problem.

On a scale of 1 to 10 I would give this beer an 8.  It tastes great, the flavors are very well blended and it makes this beer something that I know I will enjoy when I see it anywhere.  

--Jon

Grimbergen Blonde

Why I tried this:  Our boss always talks about how Grimbergen makes his favorite beer, I had never had any of these so I figured I would give it a shot.  Im not sure which Grimbergen is his favorite but this was first on the list at World of Beer so it was a great place to start.

Smell: Subtle bread scent with sweet malty overtones.  Had a great scent.

Taste: Up front this beer had a soft taste but it quickly turns into a very strong sweet malty flavor.  The Belgian yeast, malt and hop flavors over took any notable citrus notes for me, it still made this beer very enjoyable.  It was very well rounded for the higher alcohol content and I did not detect much of an alcohol finish at all.  All of the flavors of this beer really worked together great.  The only downside of this beer was the great flavor you have in your mouth after sipping fades off quickly and leaves nothing.  This beer finishes very clean, too clean.

On a scale from 1 to 10 I would give this an 8.5.  Very enjoyable beer that I will for sure be drinking again and again.  Its not very common around us here but I will more than likely be picking this up when I see it.

--Jon

Wittekerke

Why I tried this: Any of you who have been following along know typically Belgian beers were not my thing, at least I thought.  After enjoying Inlet Monk in the Trunk I have been trying as many as possible.  This beer was on tap at WoB and $1 off so I decided to go for it.

Smell: To be honest I didn't really smell much from the beer.  The bartender tossed an orange on top so thats about most of what I smelt.  No big deal the orange ended up being a nice addition, but this beer doesn't really have much of a scent at all.

Taste: Honestly, I was very disappointed.  Its not that this beer tasted bad, it just did not have much of a flavor at all.  If it was not for the orange in this, I cant imagine how much less flavor this beer would have.  It tasted watered down with no crisp flavor at all.  On the plus side I would probably recommend this to a friend that does not really like beer yet since it is so mild.

On a scale of 1 to 10 I would give this beer a 5.  It was not bad but, I really like beer and most of its flavors.  To drop $5 on something that tastes like water is pretty depressing.  It was not awful or foul, but I love the many flavors of beer.  The next time I go out with someone that doesn't like beer though, I will for sure send one of these their way.

--Jon

Holy Mackerel Golden Ale

Why I tried this: I had such good luck with Inlet Monk in the Trunk that I decided to give another Belgian beer a shot.  Same as typical flipping through the beer bottle menu this beers name caught my attention, I thought the brand name Holy Mackerel was pretty funny.  The waitress at World of Beer told me it was pretty popular and well liked in the area so I jumped on it.

Smell: At this point I had downed about 6 beers so my nose wasnt at its peak performance.  This beer pretty much smelt like the Inlet Monk to me, except maybe slightly sweeter.

Taste: This beer was much sweeter then the last, the citrusy flavor almost felt more lemony I guess.  That element really overpowered this beer for me and made it taste not as well rounded.  Id say it still tasted pretty good, but this is probably something I would not try again.  I will for sure be trying more Holy Mackerel beers regardless of not loving the Golden Ale.

On a scale of 1 to 10 I would probably give this beer a 6.5. It tasted OK but with the selection of beers out that I enjoy there are a lot of beers I would rather have then this particular one.  I will be sampling more Holy Mackerel brand beers either this week or next.

--Jon

Inlet Monk in the Trunk

Why I tried this: Before having this beer I was not really to into Belgian style beers.  I explained that to some random dudes at World of Beer I was talking to and I left them completely speechless.  After that long awkward pause I decided to give it another shot.  I decided to try this beer cause the name seemed hilarious and I figured it would be good to give Belgian style beer another shot.  If you have any recommendations for another Belgian style beer please add it as a comment.

Smell: I got a little hop scent, with a slight citrusy smell

Taste: I thought this beer tasted great and had a tasty hop and yeast flavor with some subtle citrus flavoring.  Im not sure how to describe the background flavor I usually taste in Belgian style beer like this but it was there and more subtle then in some of the others.  Overall I enjoyed this beer and would drink it again.

On a scale of 1 to 10 I would probably give this beer a 7.5.  There are a lot of beers I enjoy more than this beer but it was good.  If it was at a bar with a selection of 15 beers I would probably for sure get at least one of these.

--Jon

Lagunitas Lil Sumpin' Sumpin'

Why I tried this: This is the Beer of the Month at World of Beer and the awesome name caught my attention right away.

Smell: Slight Citrusy scent, medium hop scent

Taste:  I dont typically like beers that have too much of an overpowering citrus flavor but I thought this beer was delicious.  The citrus and hop flavor combinations were great and worked together great.  I really enjoyed this beer and it is the one that made me want to try the rest of the Lagunitas line of beers.

On a scale of 1 to 10 I would give this an 8.5.  This beer had a great flavor and I really enjoyed it.  It was very drinkable and light, and definitely something I could drink all night.

--Jon