A few thoughts on my favorite beers:
I had the pleasure to tour a few breweries in Belgium last June and it really impressed me. Not only with the quality of the beers but the staggering diversity they are producing there. There are something like 300 breweries in Belgium, and the seven I visited couldn't have been more different from one another.
One thing I left Belgium with was a love for the sour beers, including the spontaneous ferments: Geuze, Lambic (Kriek, Framboise, etc) and the mixed ferment beers, especially Rodenbach.
Of the Trappist breweries I visited (Orval and Rochefort), I preferred Rochefort (I liked Rochefort 8, but we also sampled 6 and 10, and they were all spectacular). Orval was also delicious, but I prefered the Rochefort.
The most rustic brewery we visited was Fantome, a true 'farmhouse' brewery in every sense. Very rustic (one may say dirty, but I supose it's a matter of opinion). They make an incredibly good Saison which I highly recommend (they export 90% of what they make - you can find Fantome in Ft. Collins, CO, but not in Brussels, Belgium!)
Now, getting into the sour beers, we visited a lambic 'blending house' - Oude Beersel. There aren't many lambic producers left, and several of them have their wort brewed up by a larger producer (I believe Boone brewed for this place). So, they contract the brewing and transport the wort to their facility where they ferment/age in wood barrels. Then, by blending some young beer (1 yr) and old beer (3 yr) they produce Geuze, which is then bottled (and in the bottle, it becomes carbonated). Gueze beers are quite sour because they ferment by both wild yeast strains that settle in the wort during cooling and by bacterial action from the wooden barrels. They also produce Kriek by adding fresh cherries to some of the aging barrels, which impart a nice tartness to the beer. Oude Kriek by Oude Beersel was easily my favorite kriek beer. Anyone who disdains 'fruity' beer shouldn't dismiss traditional Kriek beers. They're not for the faint of heart due to the sourness and tartness.
There are several sweetend 'lambic', most commonly seen are Lindeman's. I'm not big on these are they are quite sweet (though their currant one 'cassis' was quite good, not to sweet imo).
Then, we visited my new beer mecca: Rodenbach.
Rodenbach produces a mixed ferment beer that begins like a typical yeast ferment, then, they age it in huge oak casks for at least 18 months, where some bacterial action gives it a distinctive sour flavor. They then blend several diffent casks to produce Rodenbach and, in some rare cases where the cask produces a particularly good beer, the bottle straight from one cask (no blending) to produce Rodenbach Grand Cru.
Rodenbach is simply delicious. I've never had a beer that was so complex, yet so easily drinkable. It's got a slight sour character that make my mouth water just thinking about it. Rodenbach Grand Cru, on the other hand, is quite a bit more sour and still more complex. These became my favorite beer on the trip. So much so that I ordered a case of 750 ml bottles of Grand Cru from the east coast (not sold in Colorado) and I occasional break out a bottle for special occasions...
So, I guess my favorite beers are:
Import
Rodenbach
Rodenbach Grand Cru
Rochefort 8
Oude Geuze
Oude Kriek
3 Fontaine Kriek
Cantillion Kriek
Cantillion Iris - Geuze style w 100% barley (trad. lambic uses wheat as well)
Kriek Boone
Orval
Fantome Saison
Samuel Smith Nut Brown Ale
Bass Pale Ale
Stella Artois
Domestic
New Belgium Abbey
New Belgium La Folie
New Belgium Fat Tire
Magic Hat #9
Samuel Adams Boston Ale (my forst forray into 'diffent beer' hold a special place in my heart)
Great Lakes Elliot Ness
