Top 10 Belgian Beers

lots of overlap here in the sour ale and dark strong categories once again, but top 10 new-to-me beers from Belgium in 2008.

Achel Extra
Belgian Style Dark Strong
Wow. Very full, highly carbonated and quite dry in the finish, the esters in this beer dominate the profile: figs, plums, raisins, vanilla, clove, you name it. Lots of chocolate, toffee, tobacco and even slight roast flavors. Only detracts being slightly sweet-syrupy, but this is balanced by the warmth and rather dry finish. Best Trappist version of the style I've had, hands down

Bink Belgian Blond
Belgian Style Blond Ale
A slightly thicker blond ale with some slight farmhouse characteristics and a very hoppy presence. Nose of citrus, earth and slight pine, with a hint of apple and pear esters, toast and bread. Thick and sweet up front, but the carbonation cuts through some of this. Additional earth, wood and slight lactic character in the flavor. Finishes dry an lingeringly bitter.

de Dolle Export Stout
Belgian Style Black Ale
Fruity, rich and slightly sour stout. Nose of chocolate, prunes, toffee, roast and caramel. The mouthfeel is quite full, slightly thick, and carbonation is medium. Additional smoke, coffee, raisin and licorice in the flavor. Ends rather smooth and slightly bitter, but mostly roasty and slightly warm. Not your traditional stout, really more of a farmhouse Belgian Black Ale.

N'Ice Chouffee Holiday Ale
Belgian Style Holiday-Dark Strong
A bridge between a dark strong and spiced holiday ale. Nose is of anise, clove, chocolate, toffee and plum, raisin and fig esters. Medium to lighter body, slight warmth but no slickness. Additional coffee, dark chocolate and brown sugar notes in the flavor, with a slight citrus and earthiness from the hops. The overall impression isn't too sweet, more rich and complex and warm.

Urthel Parlus Magnificum
Belgian Dubbel-Abbey Ale
Rich, complex and malty ale. Notes of toffee, chocolate, caramel and prunes and figs in the nose. Rich, thick mouthfeel, but not quite bock level. Still attains bock level melanoidian complexity, and has additional notes of raisin, earth and tobacco in the flavor. Finish is sweet, but slight bitterness and has a noble, earthy and piney hop character

Rochefort 8
Belgian Style Dark Strong
Walks the line with a Dark Strong, which most people consider it, this Abbey ale has a subdued aroma, is slightly sweet up front, rich in the middle, and slightly spicy hoppy in the finish. It has complex, aged and balanced flavor, with dried fruits, vanilla, figs, and even, dare I say it, slight cola.

Zoetzurr Flemish Sour
Flanders Red
A very sharp, acidic red with a delicious malt backbone. Smells like sour cherries, once again, but has a less musty and muddled aroma, much more tart, and the flavor is cleaner, not musty, but definitely bretty. Hints of oak, raisins, plums and sour fruit. Very dry, almost astringent.

Monk's Kettle Flemish Sour
aka, Bios Vlaamse Bourgogne. A Flanders Red
Deep, rich malt with sour power. Almost like a sweet tart. Carmel, raisins, cherries, chocolate, oak. Then the sourness kicks in and goes through the finish. Musty, but lacking the horsey Brett Flavor. Richer, fruiter and more luscious than many of its kind.

Rodenbach Grand Cru
A Flanders Red.
Intensely sour ale with a mild malty background. Nose of dark cherries, berries, plums, currants, wood, and earth. Mouthfeel is very puckering and acidic, rather thin. Additional notes of caramel, oak, plums, chocolate. Has a slight vinous quality, and the tartness lasts past the finish. More puckering and refreshing than the Alexander.

McChouffe Brown Ale
An Abbey Ale with a Scotch Ale Influence
Very malty, roasty and nutty. Not as complex and fruity as many Dubbels-Brown ales, but smooth, like a scotch ale with a Belgian interpretation.

Top 5 Saisons

my favorites new ones from 2008, not including Sour Saisons.
all time favorites include Saison DuPont, Dupont's Foret, Ommengang's Hennepin and the Lagunitas Farmhouse.

Malheur Brut Reserve
This may have been the most I paid retail for a beer in 2008 ... was it worth it? A champagne style Saison, brut, bubbly and very dry. Slight earthy,noble hops and biscuit notes in the nose. Biscuit and slight hoppy earthiness up front, then with pear, apple and slight bubblegum esters throughout the middle. The finish ends dry, bitter, and delicious.

Goose Island Saison
A very bitter and fruity Saison. Spicy, earthy noble hops up front, with pepper and pear-apple flavors throughout the middle. Bitter, but not a super dry finish, slightly creamy and spicy.

Trinity Farm House
Rich, dark, limited edition Saison, slightly maltier than others with a lactic and creamy edge to the style, very farmhouse. Still, a peppery, hoppy and bubbly ale with nice complex notes of dried fruits, tobacco and caramel. Nice interpretation, since I generally prefer the hazy gold versions.

Boulevard Saison
Refreshing and zesty Saison. Quite hoppy and more American interpretation, lacking lots of the peppery and farmhouse aspects, rather focusing on the fruity pear-apple esters and lemony-citrus aspects. Light graininess and grassiness throughout, with a slight bitterness at the finish. Very enjoyable.

North Coast Jubilee
This was the Whole Foods 25th Anniversary I bought at their store over two years later. Although this technically isn't a new beer, since I tried it then, it has improved so vastly with age that I had to place it in here. This straw colored Saison has wonderful apple, pear and citrus flavors, and is slightly sweet but effervescent, so well balanced.
Unfortunately it has been replaced by a much less drinkable and balanced beer in their lineup, Le Merle. Perhaps I should cellar a bottle of le Merle for a year or two, but I've generally thought a Saison is truly an ale meant to be consumed fresh? Maybe not.