BEER!

Its no secret that I love good beer! Now, when I say "GOOD" beer I'm not talking about crappy Pabst, Miller, Bud, Ultra Translucent Mega Lite bullshit. I mean,.........Delicious GOOD BEER that isnt brewed with rice, corn and other adjuncts.

I've been into IPA's, doubles, stouts and so on for a long time but with this crazy IPA buzz that everyone is going so hard after, I feel like the style is getting tainted. These beers are now overly complex and bitter. Everyone is trying to brew this mega hop bomb that will wreck your pallet like a semi hauling 40,000 gallons of gasoline and someone just lit a match. Don't get me wrong I like complex beers and I like bitter beers but there's a fine line for everything. I find myself going back to the my routes with the style and enjoying classic, clean, and simple IPAs like Lagunitas ipa, and Pliny the Elder, or Big Eye from Ballast Point. Double points for cask Ipa's.

As of late, since Ive been on hops overload; Ive discovered a new love of Belgian and Sour beers. Ive never turned down an opportunity to try a new beer. Even if it was a style that I wasn't fond of. Ive always tried these beers but they never hit home until recently. Maybe it was my non hop pallet cleansing trying out different pilsners, wits, saison and kolsh beers that set me on this new path. So far, I havnt had a bad belgian beer. The ones that were less preferable were of the american brewed "belgian" variety. That being said, there are some delicious american/ canadian non-belgian belgian beers. Most notably Green Flashes Rayon Vert, Unibroue's La Fin Du Monde, and Goose Island's Matilda and Sophie. I have a guilty pleasure with Goose Island since they are the evil Budwiser company but the beer is damn good. I guess they can pull one good trick out of their hat.

As far as REAL Belgian beers...............There are sooooo many good ones! If I could ever visit Belgium, I would disappear forever and drink myself to death enjoying all the delicious beer and food.
Theres still a tons of belgium beers and sours out there to try but these are my current top five (not in order)

1. Chimay Red / blue
2. Trappistes Rochefort 6,8, and 10 (I dig 8 the best)
3. Delerium Tremens / Nocturnem
4. Duvel
5. Geuze Boon

Anyways, I love all these funky new yeast strains and will continue to keep trying them. Ive even discovered Hard cider with belgian beer yeast. Check out Crispin's The Saint! Its seasonal so grab it when you can.

cheers!