I have been invited to a beer-tasting party and everyone is supposed to bring a unique beer for everyone to sample.
I would appreciate some suggestions for a beer that would be different yet enjoyable for everyone to try.
Men’s Health rated ‘Saison Dupont’ the ‘Best Beer in the World’ but I am hoping that someone can confirm this if they have tried it.
Thanks!
I’d go with something Belgian that drinks well young. Unless of course you have time to try and score something with age on it.
Saison Dupont is a great beer, as is their organic version, La Foret. If you can find it it seems it would be a solid choice.
Otherwise other Belgian beers or perhaps a Scottish ale (Traquair is my favorite) would be interesting. I’d avoid lambics, other fruit beers, other bretty beers, sour beers and a lot of aged beers if you want a crowd pleaser. While those all have their fans, they are less likely to be universally appreciated.
Saison Dupont, Foret and their New Years beer, Avec les Bons Veaux de la Brasserie Dupont are ALL out of this world.
More extreme would be anything from the Phantome or Cantillon lines. Or some smoked Rauchbier from Bamburg.
Or, if you could score a bottle of THIS, you will be THE MAN:
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You should probably show everyone this video anyway as it is friggin’ HILARIOUS!
Mike,
If you are going for “intersting” get the New Holland Dragon’s Milk. It is a little sweeter than I prefer, but there won’t be anything else like it there!
One of my favorite beers in Unibroue 17, it is the closest relative to a wine that I have tasted. Delicious!
ON the wine like front: Duchesse de Bourgogne!!!
I invited Christina Perozzi (AKA The Beer Chick) to give some suggestions here. She is a font of knowledge and a fun girl to boot. Make her welcome if she shows up. Check her site too:
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“enjoyable for everyone …” is a hard bill when it comes to “unique beer” … if you truly want to bring a “unique beer” to the party I would suggest that you abandon any expectation that you may have of it being “enjoyable for everyone…”.
I will represent the other side of the coin than Josh did with respect to the sour beers; I think sour beers are among the most unique in the world of beer. Look for a Belgian Gueuze – pretty much anything made by Cantillon would be a solid offering in this regard, as would anything made by Drie Fonteinen or Rodenbach.
Roberto’s suggestion of a Rauchbier is also an excellent option … that is, if you don’t mind your beer literally tasting like bacon! Get an Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier Urbock … I know Roberto would suggest the Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier Marzen – both are very good representations of the style; the Urbock is a little smokier and heavier than the Marzen.
the Allagash Curieux could be another good option: it’s a Belgian ale aged in Bourbon barrels – I imagine this would be more accessible than either the Gueuze or the Rauchbier, but also isn’t as “unique.”
if you can get your hands on an Alesmith Speedway Stout, then you have what is, arguably, the greatest coffee stout in your hands. it tips the scales at 12% abv, so be careful. this, too, is not quite as “unique” as it sounds like you are looking for.
IMHO, the Saison Dupont is a “good” beer, but is fairly standard issue for a Belgian Saison – granted, a Belgian Saison could be very “unique” depending on the beer drinking habits of your cohorts.
It’s definitely a trade off of mass appeal vs. uniqueness. The two inherently cannot overlap 100%. Rauchbier and Geuzes and the like are heavily slanted towards unique and will definitely not be liked by all. Then again, nothing actually worth drinking is really going to appeal to everyone.
Curieux is a good call for a “unique” beer that will have somewhat wider appeal. It’s a bourbon barrel oaked tripel, so it’s 10%ABV or higher as I recall, and has obvious bourbon/vanilla/oak flavors as well as some oak tannin which is a bit different in beer 
I’ll agree with the geuze idea. Definitely not for everyone, but if these people aren’t beer geeks you’ll probably be the only one to bring one. Rauchbier is also interesting, but it destroys the palate. If you can get an ageworthy beer with some bottle age on it (Unibroue’s anniversary brews, the ones with numbers for names, age quite well – I had a 10 about 2 years ago that was drinking great, and sometimes you can find these. Of course, any beer that someone has intentionally aged and would try to sell you is probably a good candidate) that would be great.
As far as the Men’s Health claim … best in the world?? Come on! Dupont’s beers are very good, but I always find it silly when such publications use superlatives to describe something so based on personal taste. It’s like me saying xxxx is the best wine in the world. I couldn’t be right. I do think that a saison is kind of an obvious choice for a theme such as this one. I’d be surprised if someone else doesn’t bring one.
Mmmmmmmmm…German beer… 
Kidding aside, I’ll second the suggestion for ANYTHING from Unibroue, as Doug mentioned…even their regular bottlings (Maudite, Fin du Monde, Trois Pistoles, etc.).
Brian, I once had a German brew that had a disntictive mustard seed flavor component to it. Definitely an acquired taste. Have you ever come across something similar?
For a US made beer, I’d bring something from Victory if you are on the east coast.
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How about a Weisse beer?
Schneider’s Edel Weisse is pretty good.
I spent four long but happy years in Germany in the service…
I miss putting my hands around a Masse (or is it Maß) like the ones in the photo
no, i haven’t … but, being as though i am a mustard freak, i like the sound of this. please let us know if you remember what it was
Found it! Thought it was German…wrong; Belgian Strong Ale.
From beeradvocate.com:
Poured from bottle in tulip glass.
A: Clowdy golden yellow. Good head retention. Some seed or spice particles at bottom of glass–not yeast.
S: Rich mustard aroma. Not like smelling commercial mustard in a jar, more like a really fresh and pleasant aroma from quality mustard seeds.
T: Slightly sour, yet sweet finish, with a bit of spiciness from the mustard seeds. The mustard flavor is bold yet not too overpowering. I’m not too attached to the mustard flavor, yet it does make for a very interesting and well balanced beer.
M: Light, and somewhat similar to that of a saison.
D: Easy to drink, but after one or two I’m ready for something different.
Serving type: bottle
very cool … i will try to track-down a bottle. what is the beer’s name? I’m having a hard time deciphering a couple of those letters with that weird font.
Wostyntje
cool. thanks. ![[basic-smile.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/8/83717c74df9b0ce202453063bc4f11baf0ee6b8a.gif "smile"){kind=small}
If you are going to a fancy beer tasting event, everybody there will be bringing some European, South American, Asian and/or small American tribute. If you want to the most unique beer there, try this one:
