I’ve had an awkward relationship with Belgian beer over the last couple months. When I go to a bar or scan the bottle shop shelves I avoid them. Maybe I’ve had a few bad encounters or certain yeast strains are producing esters and phenols that don’t agree with a changing palate.

I decided that the best way to confront this problem is to conduct my own Belgian beer refresher course. So I went out and bought a six-pack. I can’t even remember when I last had these classic beers, but it will be good to refresh my memory.

I plan on doing this a lot more often in the future. Buying beer in groups by style, region or country, to taste in succession. Not all in one sitting by the way, or I may even invite a few people over.

They’re so many choices on the shelf and the stock keeps getting rotated and refreshed. Like many people who enjoy beer, I’m a serial taster. I almost never drink the same beer twice and I’m always jumping from one new beer to the next. It’s time to slow down every once and awhile and concentrate on the fundamental beers.