Does the cold weather and the pandemic quarantining have you dreaming of travel and adventure? Does the prospect of crisscrossing a foreign country in search of one of the world's most sought after beers sound enticing? If so join Mark, Pat, and our Belgian-beer loving friend Hans Gorsuch, as we embark on a virtual tour... Continue Reading →
Pat’s Pints Picks – Five Belgian Breweries to Visit
About two weeks ago I wrote a post highlighting my favorite British breweries with the promise to follow up with similar posts from my forays into mainland Europe. In today's post we move across the English Channel to the Low Countries. Last April I spent 10 days with my wife and daughter visiting Belgium, The Netherlands... Continue Reading →
Hitting the Trappist Ale Trail Part 1 – La Trappe & Westmalle
Last month I completed a week long, beer-centric trip around Belgium. What an amazing trip and not just because of the beer. For a country with the second highest population density in Europe, it has a surprising amount of green space. We encountered vistas as diverse as the wooded hills of the Ardennes, the verdant... Continue Reading →
Quadropilia The Final Word – A definitive profile of Quadrupel Ales
Having spent a month of grueling research on Belgian and Belgian-style Quadrupel Ales this final post in the quadrophilia series is my attempt to summarize what I have learned. Over the past four weeks I’ve tried 15 different quads in three rounds of blind taste testing with my friends. I’ve gone back to many of... Continue Reading →
Quadrophilia The Final Round Part 2: The Winner is …
This is the moment you’ve all been waiting for. We reveal the final results of Quadrophilia and award the title, “King of the Quads”. The video below gives you all of the information you need delivered in video form by three happy judges who have been drinking some of the best 10-11% abv beers in... Continue Reading →
Quadrophilia Round 2: Battle of the Belgian Quads
In Round 1 we compared four American brewed quads, with Three Philosophers coming out on top. In this round, we move across the pond to Belgium and the Netherlands where this style of beer originated. There are two Trappist beers (Rochefort 10 and La Trappe Quadrupel), one abbey ale brewed with the old... Continue Reading →
Quadrophilia – Searching for the World’s best Quadrupel Ale
The cold days of winter are an ideal time for sipping strong, dark, hearty beers that warm you from the inside out. Strong malt-forward beers come in several different styles including Imperial Stouts, Barleywines, Doppelbocks and Old Ales, but one of the most interesting families of strong beers are the Quadrupel Ales (quads) that originated... Continue Reading →