Beer in Belgium (trip report)

[corndog]

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cool trip report. sorry for a slight hijack, but I was wondering if you guys could give some beer recommendations for a guy that doesn't really like beer. I haven't tried much but for some reason don't really like the taste; would like to give it more tries. I've tried bud/heineken/fat tire and though I could tell fat tire was way better, the taste still didn't appeal to me. But I would like to like beer. Suggestions?

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Jumping into a complex Ale like Fat Tire probably isn't the best route. Ales usually have pretty complex flavor and might be hard to appreciate until you are a little more accustomed to beer. I greatly prefer ales to lagers, but lagers might be easier to adjust to at first.

Try a Stella Artois, Sam Adams Boston Lager, and a Warsteiner to get a nice variety of lagers. All of these should be available at any decent supermarket.

If you are going to try some more ales, look for "pales" or "blondes" to start with. These should be a little lighter, less complex, and easier to drink. My favorite pale ale is Deschutes Mirror Pond. It is [censored] fantastic, but I can't ever find it in Texas (it will make the move to Portland in a few months much easier though). In your area I think Sierra Nevada Pale Ale should be pretty easy to find. It is a solid beer, but not too complex and pretty enjoyable to drink.

You might find the above pale ales still a little too hoppy (which will add some bitterness) to your blossoming beer taste buds. Shiner Blonde is my favorite blonde but probably isn't available up there. Bridgeport Pintail Ale is another pretty good blonde and you might have a better chance of finding it.

After you've tried some Pale or Blonde ales, move back to an amber as a next step for something with a little more body. Fat Tire classifies as an amber but I've never really cared for it. There are a ton of other goods ambers out there. I think Pete's Wicked Ale would be a pretty solid choice here.

I would save IPAs (my personal favorite) for last. You really need to be used to drinking complex and flavorful beers before you can handle the high hoppiness of these. Go for a Widmer Broken Halo, Bridgeport IPA, or Victory Hopdevil. Yummmmmmm......

Once you've reached that step, you should be able to handle some of the world-class beers such as many of the Belgium varieties that have been mentioned in this thread. Chimay is probably the most widely available in the US. As someone else mentioned, the Unibroue beers are very very good imitations. I love their Tres Pistoles and La Fin Du Monde.