Whenever I'm at the liquor store, I always ask their resident beer expert for recommendations on some good Belgian ales - and then usually I end up ignoring their advice and getting one of the same tried-and-true brands I always stick to.
A few days ago, though, I listened for once. A worker at the Shelbyville Road Liquor Barn was more knowledgeable about Belgians than a lot of people I talk to in stores. When I told him I was not a fan of anything resembling Delirium Tremens or Delirium Nocturne, and preferred the buttery golden energy of Duvel and Hennepin, he immediately showed me several new options that he deemed Duvel-like. I acted on his recommendation of Maredsous Triple Ale.
The man didn't steer me wrong. I greatly enjoyed Maredsous and will be trying their other varieties sooner or later. I avoid discussing tasting notes in the popular and pretentious abstract manner, so let's just say if you're a fellow traveler on the Duvel dirt road, I think you'll agree with me and the Liquor Barn guy that is this is most assuredly in the same ballpark. (And with good reason - Maredsous may have originated at Maredsous Abbey, but it's actually owned by Duvel Moortgat!)
All the Maredsous brews are based on the original ancient recipes of one Father Atout, about whom I have been able to discover nothing. The beer is bottle-fermented and allowed to mature for two months (that's what it says on the bottle - the video on their website says three months, actually).
And oh yeah: 10% alcohol content. Hello.
- - JSH
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