I thought that about all of their seasonal/flavored stuff also, but eventually decided that I just got older and my taste got better. A long time ago I used to like Budweiser because I was 16 and Beer was "cool"...

I just can't get into any of it with the exception of the Winter Ale nowadays.

It'll probably be hard to match that really close, but as a couple people mentioned you could likely approach the general area by drinking most any tripel Belgian ale. What they describe in that quote of yours is some manner of trappist ale, but what you describe seems to stray from the basics of a trappist a fair bit.

The Grande Réserve Chimay in the blue label that Phalanx mentioned might be a place to start looking. Chimay's actual Tripel is pretty light, so probably not what you're after. (Still, all three of their trappists are pretty nice and worth trying.)

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I feel pretty much the same way about their stuff. 1554 is best appreciated by many of the people I know after they've had at least one or two of something lighter to prime them, but I like it most anytime.

I'll give this a try on the coming weekend. We almost picked up some of that last weekend, but none of us were very familiar with their stuff so we balked and grabbed other things instead.

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Depends heavily on which types of beer you most like. If you're not a dark beer fan, even some of the best darker brews in the world will still taste pretty bad to ya.

Here's my take on Brooklyn Brewery stuff. Almost every brew they make can be good, but for whatever reason, they can also be really damn bad at times. The first time I tried their Lager, I absolutely loved it. When I tried it again a year or two later, it was awful and I have no idea why. I haven't had a bottle anything like my original taste, since; and I stopped trying. I dunno. All of their stuff has been like this, for me; but the majority are only ever bad once in a blue moon. I think they actually changed something about the lager.

My sure favorites:

Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout -- I think it might be seasonal only, but it is pretty awesome when it's good.

Brooklyn Brown Ale -- Like Newcastle even a tiny bit? A good batch of this beats the pants off of non-local Newcastle.

Monster Ale -- It's a barleywine thing that is sneaky as hell. Not for everybody. It's batch brewed by the year and not always easy to find. I liked it, but it creeps on you something fierce. You can have several and be fine, then out of nowhere you're smashed. I guess most heavy barleywine's do that, though.

I don't like their IPA that much, but tons of people swear by it. If you like IPA's in general, it probably wouldn't be bad to at least try one. Their regular ale is pretty meh. Their pilsner is okay.

There's a couple of great brews they produce that you can't buy bottled at all. One of them is a low-volume Antwerp thing. If you're actually in a pub and they have a Brooklyn Brewery offering on tap that you've never seen in a bottle, it will very likely be pretty damned good.

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I'm currently nursing an Avery White Rascal. It's a spice-brewed Belgian-style wheat ale from that microbrewery in Colorado. Tiny bit of orange in it. Extremely light. Nothing astounding. I wouldn't drink more than a couple in an evening before moving to something better, but I do like the aftertaste quite a lot and it's got a cool label. (Course, I'm a sucker for all wheat beers and most anything with yeast in the bottom of the bottle; so take that as you will.)

Avery has a pretty damn good IPA, which is why I ended up trying the beer I'm currently drinking.

Sam Adams Black Lager is similar for those who can't find 1554. And if you like either of those, Shiner 97 is worth a try as well.

These are pretty much my favorites from Brooklyn as well. Sans the Black Chocolate Stout, can't get into it.

However, I'd thought I'd atleast mention a stout that I really like: Victory Storm King Stout. Had it a the local BBQ joint a week or so ago (where I first had a 2005 Monster Ale, there are cases of the 2006 at my local BotW, one of which I will pick up later today). It was smooth and tasty, no overwhelming smokey flavor which I don't typically like.

Avery has a pretty diverse lineup, I'll put that on the list to try. I'm also going to try and pick up their Thirteen, which is probably at the opposite end of the spectrum.

I really wish I could get New Belgium and Shiner varieties in NY.

I agree completely. If I had to choose one or the other, I'd definitely go with 1554.

ZOMG! BEEER!!!!

And with that I'd like to recommend a personal favourite, Youngs Double Chocolate Stout. It's a stout (if you don't believe me, read the name of the brew again) and it's got a pleasant aftertaste of chocolate.

In addition I find that Hoegaarden is a nice beer for just having something while you chat around in general whereas Leffe is a bit too fruity for my taste.

My favorite beer is called Dragonmead's Final Absolution, a belgian style trippel ale. I'm not sure how much distribution this gets outside of Michigan, but I highly recommend visiting Dragonmead's brewpub in Warren if you get the chance.

My old roommate has had a couple Dark Lords, and says they are incredible. Unfortunately Three Floyds has apparently pulled distribution from around where I live, so getting one (or the fabled Dreadnaught) will be even harder for me.

Bought 6-packs each of Samuel Adams White Ale and Summer Ale. Both are good but not outstanding, go well with virtually any food, and aren't overly fruity like I thought they'd be. Also very drinkable so they really are summer, sessional beers.

If you like unfiltered wheats, you'll like these.

I recently snagged a six pack of the Long Trail Hefeweizen, and I find it quite good. It's not as crisp as other pale beer, so it provides a nice bridge into summer that you can keep drinking. Vermont is still kinda chilly overall, so I'm not looking for something with a really crisp finish at the moment.

I'll have to give the White Ale a shot - I didn't like the Summer ale at all the last few times I tried it, I thought it had too much lemon.

Whoever it was that told me to pick up some Breckenridge Avalanche a while back, I finally got around to it last weekend and I like it quite a bit. Not a bad brew at all.

I liked the Sam Adams White when I had it, but I tend to love most decent quality unfiltered wheats, so it's not like that says much.