Top ten Belgian beers

*** UPDATED ON ***
*** 31 MAY 2008 ***

With more than 100 Belgian beers sampled -- leaving the initial goal of the 40b40 well behind us -- I think I have a pretty good grasp on what I like. So, below find my list of the ten best. Because there is such a variety of styles, however, and because different beers suit different occasions, I find it very difficult to create an ordered top ten. Thus, the following list should not be treated as a league table or ranking system. It is, simply, my top ten Belgian beers in alphabetical order.

Achel Brune Extra: Amazingly rich, with vanilla, malt loaf and Crunchy bar all wrapped up in a puffy cloud. Regular Achel Brune is also good, but "Extra" really does go to the Spinaltapian 11.

Cantillon gueuze: I enjoyed my trip to the brewery here in Brussels, and I loved this wild-fermentation beer. Dry and tart. Other labels from Cantillon are also worth mentioning, like Cantillon Rosé de Gambrinus lambic and Cantillon Kriek.

Chimay Grande Réserve (aged): I don't think the regular Chimay Blue, Chimay Red and Chimay White -- though good -- are worth putting in the top ten. And even the fresh Chimay Grande Réserve -- though better -- doesn't quite make the grade either. But let that bottle sit for a few years and wow, you've got something completely different. I tried the Chimay Grande Réserve 2001 in 2008, and I think its rich smokiness is just outstanding.

Deus: Is it a beer? Is it the effervescent nectar of a thousand meadow flowers? Deus is in a class all its own. And now we’ve found it for 10 euros instead of 18, we might not wait for a special occasion.

Floreffe darks: Floreffe is a name I didn't know but quickly fell in love with. Floreffe Dubbel has chocolate and cola flavours. Floreffe Prima Melior is bitter burnt malt with a hint of nutmeg.

Orval: This was my favourite Belgian beer before the 40b40 -- even before we visited the monasterey last year -- and it remains in my top ten very easily. A super-hop delight.

Rochefort: This Trappist brand has three well-known labels -- 6, 8 and 10 -- so, from favourite to least favourite... Rochefort 6 one reminds me of my favourite chocolate: Wittamer’s gorgeous red love-hearts made with fresh essence of red fruits, particularly raspberry. Rochefort 10 A strong dark beer with a very complex, yet well balanced, cluster of flavours, including gingerbread, Christmas pudding and malt loaf. Rochefort 8 is not in the same league as the other two, to be honest, and probably doesn't even belong in the top ten. But the 8 is usually the one you get in the pubs in Belgium, and it's certainly worthwhile if the other two aren't available.

St Bernardus Pater 6 Smooth and thick and like a gingerbread milkshake.

Westvleteren 8 Warm black bread and a hint of granny smith apple. After pouring, let it just sit for a few minutes in the glass before drinking to let all the flavours come out.

Westvleteren 12 Creamy gingerbread and dried fruits. Richer than the 8, with perfectly balanced flavours. The hardest beer to acquire, for obvious reasons.

That’s it: my top ten in alphabetical order. You can tell right away I’m mostly a dark beer kind of guy.

But, of course, this list is only made up of beers I’ve tried. There could be better Belgian brews out there just waiting to be added to this best-of group. Still a huge number out there I haven’t tried.

UPDATE, 9 March 2008:

After new tastings in early March, my top ten changed. Previously, I had Westmalle Dubbel listed here. But after sampling the fantastic Achel Brune and Achel Brune Extra, I simply had to make the change.

UPDATE, 31 May 2008:

Having reached over 100 Belgian beers now, I had to make a few changes to this list, adding Chimay Grande Réserve (aged) and Floreffe Prima Melior. To do this, I sort of had to cheat by combining Rochefort 6 and 10 into one entry and lumping the new Floreffe with the Floreffe Dubbel that was already on the list.