There was a time when Belgian-style beers were widely brewed in America, but these days the yeast-forward, elegant beers of Belgium seem to be relegated to a small niche of the American market. You can still find Trappist ales in better beer stores, but try searching for American-brewed interpretations of those styles is a challenging exercise. America’s own Trappist Brewery, Spencer, ceased brewing operations last year and long-time stalwart Ommegang now makes everything from hazy IPAs to chocolate peanut butter stouts, while closer to home Rockmill Brewing is in foreclosure. In this episode Quinn Bartlett, formerly of Buzzsaw Brewing and now at the soon to be opened Hoster’s Brewing, joins us to talk about a variety of topics related to brewing, selling and drinking Belgian-style dubbels, tripels and quads. We discuss the art of brewing Belgian beers, the challenges of selling these beers in the American market, and get a sneak preview of what Quinn has been up to at Hoster’s. Along the way we try a couple of new Abbey Ales from Brewery Ommegang, including their excellent Three Philosophers Quad in the nitro pour format usually reserved for Irish stouts, and the classic Brother Thelonious from North Coast Brewing.
Don’t forget you can find this episode and earlier ones on our podcast page, as well as Apple Music, Podbean, Spotify, Stitcher, and various other podcast apps. Just search for the All Things Beer podcast, and don’t hesitate to leave a comment or a rating.
Beers Reviewed
- Treasure Trove Tripel (Buzzsaw Brewing)
- Wind of Change (Homebrew)
- Tripel with a Twist (Brewery Ommegang)
- Three Philosophers Nitro (Brewery Ommegang)
- Brother Thelonious (North Coast Brewing)
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