Open Flavor Friday: Black Friday Edition

I personally have some major difficulty with sours.

The historical Belgian approach to brewing lies on the opposite end of the spectrum from the German Beer Purity laws. Where the Germans restricted brewing to the four core ingredients, the Belgians dove wholeheartedly into experimentation. They messed extensively with indigenous yeasts, open fermentation, spices and adding sugars through syrups, fruit juices and candi. The result is that the Belgian tradition has the broadest range of taste profiles within the traditional beer genres. Belgian isn’t a single style. Heck, it isn’t even a single taste profile. There are Belgian brews for almost every taste profile and a few that are unlike anything short of the experimentations from Dogfish Head.

Here is a brief outline of some of the traditional Belgian styles for those who are interested in taking a walk on the wilder side of traditional beer.

Trappist Ales: Dubbels, Trippels and Quads Originally brewed by a series of Trappist monasteries, these are malt forward styles with increasingly higher ABVs. Hops are downplayed to bring out the unique flavors of the yeasts and malts.

Saison: Summer Farm Ales A lighter style of Belgian beer that is accessible to many American palettes. It was traditionally a farm brew and varied considerably based on where it was produced.

Belgian Sours: Flemish Red and Old Sour Browns These beers have a distinctly sour, fruity profile caused by their use of yoghurt yeasts and aging in wooden barrels. These are the beers that give Belgian beers their skunk reputation. Unique and for many an acquired taste. Not something that I would try first, but definitely worth considering as you explore beer.

Golden Ale and Pirate Beers These are high alcohol, spiced, malt forward beers with a rich golden color. They will often have a reference to the Devil or Pirates in their names. Great beers for those of us who love malt forward styles.

Witbeer: Spiced Wheat Beer This is the Belgian version of a Hefeweissen. It is almost always flavored with coriander and bitter orange peel.

Lambics: Belgian Fruit Beers These are beers brewed with fruit juice. Depending on the brand they can be sweet, fruity or tart.

Belgian Stouts and Holiday Beers Malt forward brews that utilize Belgian brewing with the darker malts and aromatic spices.

 Lots of fun stuff to sample and try. The emphasis on yeast and malt along with all of the additives make the flavor profiles wide and varied. Have fun.

I just consider myself appreciative of several kinds of beer. Though I do favor darker and well crafted (read smaller batches) over the mass batch. I mostly drink home brews and micros of many ilks. But as a still playing soccer player I have been known to not refuse what would some here would label a “frat beer.” shudder