Any Belgian beer fans on here? Where do you buy?
Discussion
Just interested to see where other people go? Supermarkets do seem to have a few interesting ones in (Tesco sell Pauwel Kwak at the minute) but a lot of my favourites like Westmalle and Tongerlo seem a little tricky to find. beersofeurope.co.uk have a good selection but charge a fair bit for postage so is only really worth it when I can afford a big order. If anyone knows any good places in or around Derbyshire that'd be perfect!
Edited by norman156 on Friday 18th December 17:56
http://www.beerparadise.ltd.uk/default.asp
used to be in leeds which was very handy but has moved a couple of times and now in york. not been since it moved there but used to pick things up for between £10-25 a crate, part of which is a deposit on the bottles and crate.
used to be in leeds which was very handy but has moved a couple of times and now in york. not been since it moved there but used to pick things up for between £10-25 a crate, part of which is a deposit on the bottles and crate.
http://www.beersofeurope.co.uk/
Not in Derbyshire unfortunately but recommended for a visit.
As it's in King's Lynn it's ideal on the way to the east coast from the east mids area.
Not in Derbyshire unfortunately but recommended for a visit.
As it's in King's Lynn it's ideal on the way to the east coast from the east mids area.
Halb said:
I like Belgian Abbey beer.
That narrows it down then 
Im blessed/cursed with spending my time in Belgium. The supermarkets here have a pretty good selection as you'd expect, but there are so many beers which are 'regional' and specialised that you'd have to go to one of the 'Beer Temple' type shops to get a really broad selection - and then you'd be paying tourist price for them.
Considering the price of the tunnel/ferry nowadays, I could recommend just bundling over here and helping yourself to a selection from either a big Carrefour or the Delhaize chain which is almost as prolific!
Personal favourites for me at the moment:
Triple Karmeliet - a blonde beer with a nice hint of hubba bubba to the flavour... Try it, it works
Leffe Kerst Bier - ie the Leffe Christmas beer. Its not disimilar to the Leffe Bruin (Brown) but with a little addition of 'spice' to the flavour.
Kwak is okay, but you have to have it served out of the proper glass (which if you havent seen, is like a small 'Yard of Ale' glass that has its own wooden stand).
I can also recommend Ramee if you can find it. Its another blond and quite strong in flavour without being too aggressive.
My old favourite used to be Kasteel Bruin (Castle beer (Brown)) but at 12% abv, it was a bit of a heavy fellow to stick with for long!
All in all youve got about 800 beers to choose from, and most of them are stronger than the usual pub pint - probably a good job they come in 33cl bottles!
I'd offer to bring a shed load back for distribution, but the battle bus will be topped up to the gunnels with xmas presents for the family
If you're wanting to carry on the Belgian mood for an evening, make sure you eat chunks of cheese with some celery salt, some pretzel and nut snacks, and then chase it all down with a selection of fruity/creamy/strange Jenevers - again the list is endless!
Its no wonder theres such a drink drive problem over here - (most of the petrol stations are a meeting point after work for a few Jupilers and a packet of crisps)
Great post A911DOM, I recently discovered Tripel Karmeliet and love the stuff. Waitrose sell it at the moment I think. I'll be driving through Belgium in a few months, so I'll be sure to stock up then. The stuff I'm into (Karmeliet, Kwak, Delerium Tremens, Westmalle etc) usually seems to weigh in at £2-3 a bottle, is it much cheaper in a Carrefour or similar in Belgium?
shirt, that place looks rather good, free postage as well. Will deffinately give it a look.
shirt, that place looks rather good, free postage as well. Will deffinately give it a look.
A911DOM said:
Halb said:
I like Belgian Abbey beer.
That narrows it down then Im blessed/cursed with spending my time in Belgium. The supermarkets here have a pretty good selection as you'd expect, but there are so many beers which are 'regional' and specialised that you'd have to go to one of the 'Beer Temple' type shops to get a really broad selection - and then you'd be paying tourist price for them.
Considering the price of the tunnel/ferry nowadays, I could recommend just bundling over here and helping yourself to a selection from either a big Carrefour or the Delhaize chain which is almost as prolific!
Personal favourites for me at the moment:
Triple Karmeliet - a blonde beer with a nice hint of hubba bubba to the flavour... Try it, it works
Leffe Kerst Bier - ie the Leffe Christmas beer. Its not disimilar to the Leffe Bruin (Brown) but with a little addition of 'spice' to the flavour.
Kwak is okay, but you have to have it served out of the proper glass (which if you havent seen, is like a small 'Yard of Ale' glass that has its own wooden stand).
I can also recommend Ramee if you can find it. Its another blond and quite strong in flavour without being too aggressive.
My old favourite used to be Kasteel Bruin (Castle beer (Brown)) but at 12% abv, it was a bit of a heavy fellow to stick with for long!
All in all youve got about 800 beers to choose from, and most of them are stronger than the usual pub pint - probably a good job they come in 33cl bottles!
I'd offer to bring a shed load back for distribution, but the battle bus will be topped up to the gunnels with xmas presents for the family
If you're wanting to carry on the Belgian mood for an evening, make sure you eat chunks of cheese with some celery salt, some pretzel and nut snacks, and then chase it all down with a selection of fruity/creamy/strange Jenevers - again the list is endless!
Its no wonder theres such a drink drive problem over here - (most of the petrol stations are a meeting point after work for a few Jupilers and a packet of crisps)
My experience of belgian beer extends to stella, can you point me in the direction of where to start?
Lefty Two Drams said:
Wow, that sounds great!
My experience of belgian beer extends to stella, can you point me in the direction of where to start?
As well as the above mentioned beers, perhaps give Grimbergen Blond a try. A very nice beer, and Tesco are selling it for a rather reasonable £1.60 odd at the minuteMy experience of belgian beer extends to stella, can you point me in the direction of where to start?
la chouffe is one of my favourites. light as belgian beer goes but interesting with it.
just a note to say if you use the beer paradise link it seems to be trade only now [didn't used to be] and their public site is well pricey in comparison. doubt there'll be rigorous checks though and unless they want a VAT no. then who's to know.
just a note to say if you use the beer paradise link it seems to be trade only now [didn't used to be] and their public site is well pricey in comparison. doubt there'll be rigorous checks though and unless they want a VAT no. then who's to know.
I love Belgian beers, usually go at least once a year, so just load up on a variety of the most interesting looking bottles. After a couple of some of them you can't really tell what's what anyway...
I wouldn't mind living there, I spent a week out there last year in the summer between two races and the local pace of life was so relaxed, they were passed out in the pub at 5pm!
I wouldn't mind living there, I spent a week out there last year in the summer between two races and the local pace of life was so relaxed, they were passed out in the pub at 5pm!
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