Happy Holidays beer lovers, my name is Seven, and this year I’m spending Christmas in my hometown of Los Angeles. As a newly-inducted Belgian beerphile, I was excited to share some of the fine beers created by those Euro-geniuses with my family. So using Belgian Beverage Asia’s bottle list as a guide, I set out to find a handful of labels worthy of a Belgian beer tasting. What I found was three by Gouden Carolus plus one extra:
This sparkly, bubbly potion is more reminiscent of champagne than most beers. With a nose of floral and citrus notes, the stage is set for something big. The head is huge, the color a golden straw. Bitter on the front but quickly diffusing to bready, malty notes with a clean, hoppy finish. At 94% from BeerAdvocate and 96 points from The Beer Connoisseur, it’s a must-try. I poured a tasting of this beer for the family, and my mom and brother both gave it an enthusiastic thumbs-up.
The recipe for this beer dates back to 21 years before Columbus stumbled upon the Americas. Its golden amber color is as enticing as its aromas of spice, cereal grains, honey, and coffee. Flavors of caramel, brown sugar, and malt, along with a hint of bitter hops. It’s an amber that drinks like a blond, both robust and refreshing. Everyone in my family loved this beer. We didn’t have it with food—we just opened it and enjoyed it on its own.
This copper colored marvel has an off-white head of foam and aromas of graham cracker, honey, and depending on who you talk to, toffee or brown sugar. Fruit forward flavors of dark cherry and plum, plus molasses, and a balance of spice and malt, with some bitter hops and alcohol on the back end. Medium-bodied with a light, creamy mouthfeel, this beer is an absolute pleasure from start to finish. We drank it alongside my mom’s traditional Christmas stew and it was a perfect pairing, though it would just as easily go with pate, Roquefort, or even chocolate.
This beer pours a bright golden color with a fat, sturdy head. The aroma is heavy on the citrus side, intermixed with apple, grape, herbs, and cracker. It’s got a rich, creamy mouthfeel, and the first taste enraptures the palate with more citrus, white pepper, pear, bread, and Cointreau with an earthy, spicy finish. On Christmas Eve my family had a “happy hour” soft cheese and fruit plate in front of the fireplace, and we enjoyed the Tripel along with it.
As we approach the New Year, I hope you’ll make a resolution to try more Belgian beers, if you haven’t already. They’re the best beers in the world, and you’re doing yourself a disservice if you’re not drinking the best. And with doorstep delivery by belbev.asia just a click away, you have no excuse. So treat yourself to the finer side of beerstronomy, and check out Carolus, or Saison Dupont, or any of the dozens of premium labels on their website. And here’s to another sublime year in the greatest country on Earth—Thailand. Cheers, everyone.