Grimbergen

So the craze for Belgian blondes has finally gone nationwide...Blue Moon seems to be the standard bearer for the corporately oriented US market. I know this because my parents' neighborhood in Baltimore County is corporate beer central, and I've never seen Hightopps more crowded than on $2 Blue Moon night. Honestly, I find the blondes (beer, that is) to be a little too sweet, so I generally turn it up a notch with an abbey style beer. You may be most familiar with Leffe, and so was I...that is, until my neighborhood liquor store was getting rid of cases of Grimbergen for $6 because of a shipping accident. I said, "Sure, why not?" I went in with no expectations, and found a beer that was generally balanced with a good malty flavor and a molasses aftertaste. If you're new to abbey style beers, be careful...after distillation they are aged in a controlled environment for several months to several years, the result is that they have a very mature flavor and a very high alchohol content. Anyhow, if there is any knock on Grimbergen, it's that it doesn't go down as smooth as a Leffe or a more traditional Belgian Abbey on draught might. But for the price, I couldn't beat it!