Belgibeer: The Ultimate Belgian Craft Beer Experience March 2018

‘Every month we discover a different craft brewer and collect the freshly brewed beers together with glassware, beers mats, posters and anything available on site.
In our warehouse the #beerbox are carefully prepared for you.
“We are the first online shop providing Belgian craft beers with a monthly discovery and subscription.”

Each box contains the glass of the brewery of the month; the beer magazine Golden Hops; a surprise in your box each month (a gadget from the brewery, an extra bottle, a T-shirt, …) and special discounts on our offers each month.’

Subscriptions are as follows:

8 bottles: £23.90 + £4.90 home delivery (other delivery options available)

4 bottles: £18.00 + delivery as above.

The box is very well packed, and on top you can see their magazine.

This month’s featured brewery is Brewery De Ryck.

A handy guide to Belgian Beer festivals!

Let’s look at the beers.

Arend Dubbel

6.5%

This really had a sweet-sour flavour, with distinct caramel overtones. The head was thick and foamy. Pretty strong too!

Steenuilke

6.5%

This was both sweet and bitter, with a lovely fresh fizziness.

Arend Tripel

This had a seriously lively head, and went over the top of the glass! It didn’t actually taste as strong as it actually is, and it had a rather fruity flavour. This one would really sneak up on your!

Arend Blond

6.5%

This was my favourite, it was light and refreshing, with just the slightest hint of malt.

The brewery this month is another fascinating place. It’s run almost entirely by women, which is actually very traditional, as men used to work in the fields and women would stay home and brew the beer. Yay!

All the beers are on the strong-ish side, but really don’t taste as if they are. I really enjoyed the Blond, and the Dubbel was a slo really very good.

The one thing I’m sad about is that the magazine, Golden Hops, is being discontinued. It’s a shame, because all the information in it really adds another dimension to the beer tasting.

Altogether a very enjoyable selection this month!

The box is delivered but courier and the packaging is very reliable. Value-wise, the large box is a no-brainer. Including home delivery, each beer is £3.60, rather than the £5.72 each for the small box. (You can knock delivery down to £2 if you collect from a dpd collection point, which is even better value.)

As always, beer is cheap in supermarkets, but you’re not going to find proper craft beer from small breweries. When you start to look online for Belgian craft beer, the prices are entirely comparable.