How can I find a commercial beer similar to a local favorite.
January 17, 2015 7:01 AM   Subscribe

I recently tasted a beer that is brewed locally and I really enjoyed it. How can I determine which commercial beer would taste the most similar? I won't always be in this region and have access to this brewery. I'm not typically a "beer" person and don't really have tons of knowledge on beer and their flavors, but I enjoy this one and a Guinness occasionally. Thank you in advance.
posted by Doubleosix to Food & Drink (18 answers total) 3 users marked this as a favorite
 
Helpful information would be the name/style of the beer you liked, as well as the general region in which you usually live. Even commercial beer distribution is very fragmented, so your region will affect any recommendations.
posted by Wulfhere at 7:03 AM on January 17, 2015 [2 favorites]


You mean other than going to an Off-License / BottleShop and buying 1 of every commercial beer you can find and comparing them? - Broadly you could limit your search by specifying what type of beer it is. Stout, Ale, Pilsner, etc...

What is the beer you are enjoying locally?
posted by mary8nne at 7:05 AM on January 17, 2015


Response by poster: Sorry, I posted some links but they aren't showing up.

http://www.aviatorbrew.com/aviatorbeer

The beer is callled "DEVILS TRAMPING GROUND TRIPEL"

Thank you
posted by Doubleosix at 7:07 AM on January 17, 2015


Best answer: See if it's listed on Beer Advocate, click on the name of the style, and find the highest rated examples.
posted by mkb at 7:09 AM on January 17, 2015 [5 favorites]


Ask them what's in it?
posted by oceanjesse at 7:13 AM on January 17, 2015


Response by poster: Thank you!!!
posted by Doubleosix at 7:14 AM on January 17, 2015


Oh, that's good details in the update - that's a fairly distinctive style. The bad news is, there's not going to be anything universally available that tastes very much that. The one that you can probably find in the most places is La Fin Du Monde. Another widely available tripel (and a personal favorite) is Allagash Curieux. If you're not a big beer person, go ahead and pick up a rubber beer stopper while you're at the store as you might only want half of the 22 oz bottle at a time :)
posted by ftm at 7:14 AM on January 17, 2015 [3 favorites]


Came here to suggest BeerAdvocate too. One more thing to do is to look at the reviews people post... They're often pretty accurate and helpful in determining whether the beer you're looking at might be a match for your Aviator.

I am not a tripel guy but I too would suggest La Fin Du Monde. It's very well regarded and from looking at how people describe your beer, I think La Fin would be a good place to start. Not sure what state you live in, but here in my state, I see this beer at Bevmo, Total Wine, Whole Foods, Trader Joes, and even some local grocery stores. It's very widely distributed, at least in this neck of the woods. It's another tripel that's on the fruitier end, with a similar ABV (9, to your beer's 9.25), and some Hefeweizen qualities. You can see what you like about it and then use BeerAdvocate and other sites to dig up more info on new ones to try.
posted by Old Man McKay at 8:07 AM on January 17, 2015


Agreeing with the above posters that Tripels are relatively common (well, not common, but there will be at least one or three in any reasonably good beer shop). It's one of the standard Belgian styles, and there are a number of both Belgian and American versions you could find. La Fin du Monde (actually Canadian) is fine, and widespread, but not one of my favorite triples; I typically find it has an odd metallic taste. The more common Belgians you may see are Tripel Karmeliet and Chimay White (there are also blue-label and red-label Chimays, which are a Belgian quad and dubbel, IIRC), along with St. Bernardus and Westmalle (more uncommon). For Americans, Allagash makes both a regular tripel and the aforementioned Curieux, which is the barrel-aged version, and there are a lot of good regional breweries making their own, as you found. It may also be worthwhile to branch out and try other types of Belgian and Belgian-style beers: it's definitely possible that what you liked about the tripel you had was more about it being a Belgian-style beer than it was being specifically a tripel. Cheers!
posted by The Michael The at 9:09 AM on January 17, 2015 [1 favorite]


Definitely try Tripel Karmeliet when you see it. It is excellent. You should definitely experiment with beer styles labeled as Tripels and Quads. These have a good chance of exciting your palate. These tend to be high in alcohol and low in bitterness. You might also like Dubbels which aren't quite as high in alcohol as those and tend to be maltier and sweeter. There is an outside chance that you also like Farmhouse/Saisons which is another Belgian style that is low in bitterness but is a bit funkier.
posted by mmascolino at 9:29 AM on January 17, 2015


The good news is that any Tripel will be the same general style and means of production; the bad news is that they all have very specific yeasts (in the case of anything from Belgium, quite possibly a strain they've been tending for hundreds of years), and for a beer like that the yeast will have a huge influence on the final flavor. So you may have found a style you like (Tripel) but you may also have found just one specific Tripel that pleases you, when the others wouldn't necessarily, because of the yeast thing.

Tripels IME tended to be brighter and more floral/citrusy/herbal/complex than Dubbels, which were much more malty and sweet.
posted by fedward at 9:50 AM on January 17, 2015


New Belgium Brewery (maker of popular Fat Tire) makes a very smooth and tasty trippel that is distributed widely in six packs, and not terribly expensive. It's become a favorite in our group. Tripel Karmeliet is also really good, tho more $.
posted by artdrectr at 10:44 AM on January 17, 2015


On top of using beer advocate for finding beers in a similar style, you can also look up quality bottle shops wherever you happen to be at the moment. Most stores that stock even some craft beers will stock a few Belgians from Europe.

I guess while you're at it you can also look at popular bars and then check their beer menus. Belgians are a bit less common on tap throughout the country.

You've stumbled on what ive seem some call the holy grail of beers. Belgian beers are fascinating and unique and wonderful. I would explore all of the different styles. You might like their take on beer in general.
posted by lownote at 10:53 AM on January 17, 2015 [1 favorite]


Many of the Belgian Doubles and Tripels have a certain thicker, sweetness to them that might hit the spot at least a little and I think is quite different to most American lager beers.

In the UK, Leffe and Duval are the only belgian beers widely available - and are not terrible when there is nothing else. I would just start trying any Belgian beers you can find.
posted by mary8nne at 10:58 AM on January 17, 2015


If you want some decent Belgian style beer in America at a more affordable price point Trader Joe's Belgian beers are quite good quality (brewed under license by unibroue of the aforementioned La Fin de Monde fame).
posted by srboisvert at 11:09 AM on January 17, 2015


The label/name seems like an obvious reference to Duvel, which is a belgian golden strong ale, a very similar style to the tripel. Look for that one too, it is also widely available at Whole Foods and bottle shops. I homebrew almost exclusively Belgians because they are so interesting, my advice is to find a few tripels you like and then branch out into Belgian style beers in general. My beer nerd speculation is that they probably used a yeast cultured from Duvel (or similar) for this beer but brewed it stylistically closer to a tripel, hence the name.

In my major city there are definitely quite a few beer bars that exclusively focus on Belgian beers too, which are great places to try new beers since the styles are yeasts are all so different.
posted by bradbane at 1:40 PM on January 17, 2015


Boulevard Brewery makes "Long Strange Tripel" which is a very nice example of the style.
posted by jferg at 5:27 PM on January 17, 2015


Another widely available tripel (and a personal favorite) is Allagash Curieux.

I would be wary of that as it's a bourbon-barrel aged tripel and so likely very different to the beer the OP's looking to match. (And it's an expensive bottle to try on a whim.)

Trader Joe's Belgian beers are quite good quality (brewed under license by unibroue of the aforementioned La Fin de Monde fame).

And more at the good-value end of the spectrum too. (I find that often TJ's has the best prices by far on the beers they carry; although their selection rotates in and out pretty quickly and a lot of their American-style own-brands are pretty ropy. Locally they've had Green Flash Cedar Plank for $2 cheaper than anywhere else.) Look for the big bottles with the cork-and-cage and the U logo on the cap.
posted by We had a deal, Kyle at 12:01 PM on January 19, 2015


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