perfidy

J,
I never had a can of Guiness. I always felt, and tasted, that bottles=good. You know, more beery, less can-y. Am I wrong about Guiness?

About Guinness, undoubtedly so. The Widget bottles are new development, so let's leave those aside. You usedta only see Guinness in squat Red Stripe style bottles with a yellowed label. The product inside was overcarbonated, syurpy, sweet, and acrid, about as much like regular Guinness as a mud puddle is like Evian. The Widget Cans actually come pretty close to giving you a keglike experience, complete with snowy white head and almost completely barren malt profile. Widget bottles, much like that. In fact, I'd rather have a can o Guinness than try a pint at a place I don't know. If they haven't cleaned the taps recently, UGH.

I like the Belgian wheat beers - Blue Moon being a fine example. In fact, Hefeweizen is my favorite type of beer, and has been for several years. I really have to be in the mood for one of the more traditional Belgian style beers. But sometimes, the odd amalgam of sweetness, malt, and the palate coating thickneess appealing.

I'm with you on Hefeweizen-- Paulaner and American imitators are my summer beers of choice. But any darker, and blecch!

Maybe it's just me and I need to learn what's good.

J,
I think NDR is pretty smaht on Belgian beers.

I was partial to a hefe from Wurzburg name of Werner, but I never saw it outside Bavaria. Last trip to der Vaterland I enjoyed Erdlinger. Paulaner's good too.

I like hefes with heavy meals, it just fits that master-of-the-hunt, boar steak culture. But definitely have to undo the belt and top button after- loaf of bread in every bottle, if you get my meaning.

Where do you live? There are a couple of breweries in the states that make belgian beer, the same way the belgians do it. Open vats and natural yeast. There's one in Cooperstown called Ommegang that makes some really great beer.

I've rarely had real imported Belgian beers, but those I've had were not as extreme as yours. Malty, yes, but not syrupy. Some tips: you gotta pour it into a glass and let breate a minute or two. Also don't have it too cold. Under room temperature, maybe like 55-60 degrees.

Paul, I live in coastal Massachusetts. I know there's a brewery in Haverhill MA that does some Belgian styles in the Belgian way. I just need to get up that way. I don't think they bottle right now.

I actually just tried a bottle of Ommegang last night and found it excellent-- less syurpy than others I've tried, so that is lucky.

Next time, I will be sure to let the beer breathe and make sure to serve it at ale temperature. Thanks for the tips!

I also vote Ommegang. Johno, when you come down to DC, please stop by [url='http://www.belgianbeer.com/guestbeer.html']The Brewer's Art[/url] in Baltimore. They have Ommegang and an extensive list of Belgian beers and do their own brews in the Belgian style. I personally like [url='http://www.lindemans.be/html-uk/UKgeschiedenis.html']Lindeman's [/url] in raspberry (Framboise). It's a lambic, also a weissebier. Kriek is also very good if you care for cherries. It makes for a nice dessert drink.

On the raspberry theme, I like Berliner Weisse. It's a hefeweizen that's served with syrup. It's best with raspberry, but I 've had it with green apple and cherry. But I guess it's not Belgian by the name.

Guinness in cans is okay and preferred over almost everything else if there's none on tap even if it's 80+ degrees outside. The only problem I find is that it's always served appallingly cold in the US. I like it cool, but not cold. More taste.

I think most beers taste better if cool but not cold, like red wine.

I like hefeweizen and making it really lemony. I always ask for extra. I had a beer cocktail in Munich once. It's called Radler It was beer with lemonade, about a 50-50 mix, basically a Shandy. I think they made it with pilsner, but the articles in the link say lager. It was refreshing. I make it at home with Rolling Rock and whatever lemonade I have at the house, Snapple or Minute Maid. Don't use powdered mix. Ick. It beats Mike's Hard Lemonade. I can't really stand the fizz on malt beverages. If I wanted fizz, I'd just order champagne or soda. (note: not 'pop'! *winky*)

Sorry for the digression, I'm just happy to talk about beer and not the election. *gush* *hugs* *ick*

Maps,
regret to inform that proper terminology is in fact "pop" for those of us whose biological/cultural origin is defined as "rust belt." I've come over to the "soda" bandwagon but only because when I order a "pop" in Massachusetts I get funny looks. At least up here I have the option to order a "tonic" or even "phosphate" and be understood as wanting a Coke, if I get too sick of the "soda" thing. We also call shakes "cabinets" from time to time.

I have been meaning to shandy it up, but I will have to try it with something that's not Rock, as I find it disgusting. This is not ONLY because all the people I know from Latrobe, PA (more than you'd expect) all spent their teenage years peeing in the Youghiogheny River up above where the brewery get their water. It's also because the beer is swill and for some reason Rock Lite ("Green Lite") gives me-- no shit-- severe heart palpitations like I'm gonna die. Maybe I'll use Corona instead.

Johno,
I spent about 4 days in Belguim a couple of years ago, and was able to sample a wide variety of their local beer. I generally enjoyed most of them -- and perhaps that was a result of the overall experience (it was awful nice to kick back in a city like Brugge, beer in hand, and just soak it all in) or the fact that they all tend to be so high in alcohol that flavors just blend together in an alcoholic funk after one big mug of beer.

The bottled imported Belgian beer I've had since returning is pretty close in taste to that from the tap. Choice and variety here in the US are the issues, as you tend to find Belgian imports that American palates equate with "Belgian style" beer. That's like equating all of the world's pilsner with Budweiser. So you've got your syrupy group and your yeasty group, and not much else in between.

I had a decent one in Belgium: Leffe Brune, which I liked alot more than their blonde ale. It tasted like a thinner, malty, nut-brown ale. Very drinkable, but not alot of the, well, weirdness. Leffe is a large brewer in Belgium, so alot of beersnob purists think its crap. But I don't need to be a brewmaster to know when I like something. And I dug it (and I think you can find it in the States).