"Brasserie De La Senne Taras Boulba" news and stories

When the average drinker brings to mind Belgian brewing, they often think of monks merrily making ales as strong as they're sweet.

"The average drinker doesn't know crap about Belgian beer," says Dan Shelton, co-owner of beer importers Shelton Brothers.

Once upon a time, Belgium was known for its hoppy, quaffable pale ales, Shelton says. "There's this perception that Belgium is all about these big beers, but the big stuff is a recent mutation from the '50s and '60s," Shelton says.

But for Belgians Bernard Leboucq and Yvan De Baets, bigger doesn't equal better. As the brewers behind Brasserie De La Senne, Leboucq and De Baets have begun rebelling against sugared-up, barely hopped ales by crafting Belgian beers the way they were once made: low alcohol, highly drinkable and as bitter as old men.

Zinnebir (5.5 percent ABV) is a light, yeasty blonde ale with a pronounced hop bite. Stouterik (4.5 percent ABV) is a bitter, chocolaty beauty. And then there's my top choice, Taras Boulba, a pale ale whose name references a tale by Russian writer Nikolai Gogol.