Belga Cafe

I tasted three beers during and after a wonderful dinner at the Belga Cafe in Washington, D. C.: Chimay Tripel, Rodenbach Classic, and Unibroue Maudite. I was attending a conference and found a "Belgian restaurant" with Belgian beer on tap.

The glass of Chimay Tripel was great. Funk, lightness, fruitiness (apples and pears), and a sour bitter hop finish combined to produce a flavorful and refreshing beer. According to style, Chimay Tripel clocks in @ 8% by volume. I am thinking of adding it to my list of top beers.

Chimay is one of 6 Trappist breweries in the world. This means that the beer is brewed by monks as a means to sustain their monastery. The Cistercian Trappist monks of Chimay have produced world-class beer and cheese since 1862.

Chimay Tripel is sometimes called white (blanche) label or Cing Cents. The label on the beer is white. The labels of the other two beers produced by the monks are red (rouge) or blue (bleue). The label on the 750 ml bottle contains the words "Cing Cents".

Rodenbach Classic was a tasty refreshing treat. It is Flanders Red Ale. The flavors are a mix of apple, cherry, sweet, sour, and vinegar. It is extremely refreshing and cleanses the palate wonderfully. The flavors seems "brighter" and more vibrant and the vinegar flavor seemed more pronounced than I remembered from bottles I had tasted. The waitress said that I would either like the beer or hate it. I liked it a lot.

Unibroue Maudite served as the nightcap back @ the hotel. It was a wonderful assortment of wheat, funk, yeast, malt, apple, clove, and "bite". I was in food heaven after I added a few slices of stinky cheese and sections of apple. I classify the beer as Belgian Amber Ale. BeerAdvocate calls it Belgian Strong Dark Ale.