Hey guys, I have a good friend going to Europe for a couple weeks and he plans on passing through Belgium. Have any of you been to any any Trappist breweries or have any recommendations as to where to get some great Belgian beers to bring back to the states?

I'd recommend the Rochefort Trappists especially the 10. It is pretty difficult to find in the US, though. You can find Orval and Chimay pretty easily if you look, but I've only seen Rochefort once.

http://www.merchantduvin.com/pages/5...ort_beers.html

There is no bad beer in Belgium. (Unless you drink an import there.) All of the true Belgian Trappist ales I ever had were excellent and your friend shouldn't have a hard time picking some good offerings up without necessarily having to chase around the country to the big breweries. The best bet is for him to find something that isn't one of their heavily exported brands, as someone already mentioned. The best beer in European countries are generally made in batches and kept in-country.

If your friend is also into wine, he can find some excellent local offerings from the southern areas (near France...go figure). Most tourists cruise through the Flemish areas, though, and around Brussels...so I'll assume he's going through there. Should be able to find virtually anything he needs pretty easily in that location. You should also have him bring you back some chocolate if he can get it back safely, because even their cheap stuff is amazingly good. ;)

I'd pretty much echo this sentiment. One of my goals in life is to take a month or two, put some clothes in a backpack, and weave my way from town to town across Belgium. The less time spent sober during that month, the more successful I'll count the trip. From what I can remember pretty much every town has its own little brewery. I'd recommend hitting such local places early and often for the most diverse beer experience.

The Trappists are my 'I'm definitely going to do what I can to try these' list. I'll check my BotW to see if they have any, but I did notice that Internet Wines and Spirits offers some of the Trappist Ales.

Has anyone ever used this place before?

http://www.internetwines.com/beer-belgium.html

The price seems to be what I would expect. Perhaps even a bit cheaper given it's rarity here (I would assume).

Westvleteren Abt 12

Accept no substitutes.

Just had a similar experience. Cherry Wheat, you are not the beer you used to be! I can't love you anymore.

What is this Double Bock of which you speak?

Even though Sweden generally sucks for getting rare beer due to the state monopoly I managed to find some of the beers listed in this thread.

The Samuel Adam's beer really surprised me how good it is for a US macrobrew, especially liked the dark lager and winter lager.
Hoegaarden Weissbier/white is probably my new favorite and will probably replace the cheap eurolager I usually drink, simply amazing.

I also noticed that Rochefort trappistes 10, while not common in sweden, can be ordered at any "systembolaget".

You're totally wrong, Systembolaget gives us a variety that's hard too match and not only in the major cities but through out the country side as well.

Hmm eurolager. Now we need a comparison which is the best one of those. ;)

Ok, seriously, I've done some lager tests blindfolded and I can't tell the difference between carlsberg, heineken or foster's. The only interesting thing about eurolagers is that the less alcohol it has, the better it tastes. That's probably because eurolagers a quite flavorless, so the taste of alcohol is quite prominent. And alcohol by itself tastes pretty terrible.

Latest trip to BotW:

* Rochefort Trappistes 8
* Chimay Bleue
* Rogue Dead Guy Ale
* Double Bastard Ale
* Avery The Beast Grand Cru (again!)
* Ommegang (staple)

I had the Dead Guy Ale on New Year's Eve, and I really enjoyed it. Just had a 12oz bottle, poured into a weizen glass. This will definitely be stocked in my fridge for the short-term.

I also tried the Double Bastard, and I just didn't like it. Too bitter, too harsh. In contrast, The Reverend from Avery was the complete opposite of this beer. It was sweet, smooth and hardly any alcohol taste. DB was the opposite, a bit harsh, a bit bitter.

I left all of the other beer's back home (I know..), so it won't be until this weekend that I get to try the Trappist Ales. They didn't have the Rochefort 10 when I went and one of the guys who worked there said he hasn't had it in 3 months or so. After I try the 8, I might just order some off the internet.