I do a lot of home brewing, and I have had good success. I wouldlike to make a belgian style beer…something like Orval Trappiste comes to mind. I am told that the Belgians do not use cultured yeasts to make their beer…anyway, another homebrewer told me that you can use a bottle of belgian beer as your yeast source…just make your wort in the usual way, and pour a bottle of belgian beer in.
Is this true? Doe belgian beers contain LIVE yeasts? Or do I have to culture a wild starin of yeast myself?
Why not try something like Wyeast 3787?: http://www.wyeastlab.com/beprlist.htm#ale
The problem with using yeast from bottled beer IIRC is that some breweries add a different yeast at bottling than they used for the primary fermentation. Unfortunately I can’t remember the reason for this. Belgian brewing techniques are so funky though this may not apply.
I just wanted to come in and reiterate what BurnMeUp said. Mack & Jacks is just amazing.
I would also like to throw in a plug for the McMenamin’s chain. Based in Portland, they have pubs as far south as Roseburg, Oregon, and as far north as Mill Creek, Washington. I’ve heard people complain about consistency with their brews, but I’ve never been disappointed. Their general MO is to take an older building and renovate/restore/renew it. Good fries, burgers, salads, and they just started serving Tater Tots! They make wines and ciders (kick ass cider!) as well. Many places have live music, and they even have a couple of hotels/resorts including the Edgefield which used to serve as the Multnomah County poor house. All in all, a pretty cool company.
For their beers, they have some standards; Terminator Stout, Hammerhead (a pale ale), Ruby (made with Raspberries), and several others. My favorite has always been “Rubinator”, a mix of Ruby and Terminator. I am all over their seasonals, especially the Nut Brown and Kris Kringle.
I lived 1/2 a block from the High Street Brewery & Cafe in Eugene during college and have some fond memories (would probably have more memories if I didn’t drink so much.)
You can’t culture a Belgian beer, unless a pilot friend smuggled it in for you. All imported beers are pastuerized, which kills the yeast. It wouldn’t do you any good anyway, because they usually finish with a different yeast than they fermented with.
The key to making a winning Belgian clone is to use a good culture (LL’s suggestion is a good one to start with) and to use candi sugar in the wort. Called “invert” sugar in the UK, candi sugar gives the brew a characteristic flavor found in a number of classic Belgian beers.
If you would like some recipes that have won ribbons, just ask. 
There are a number of Belgian ale yeasts available from Wyeast and White Labs. Plus comparatively recently it’s been possible to get the bacterial cultures necessary for the distinct sourness of Belgian lambics - though be aware that you need a second set of fermentation gear for this, as you apparently won’t be able to get that stuff out of your equipment and risk getting it into your other beers too.
My recommendations are Goose Island out of Chicago - I’m especially a fan of their Hex Nut Brown Ale. Two Brothers Brewing in Warrenville, IL (Chicago suburb) has some lovely beers as well, especially their take on a Belgian wit beer. Berghoff has a restaurant in Chicago, but the brewery is in southern Wisconsin. A couple of their good seasonal brews are a winter ale with hazelnut, and their Solstice Ale. I’ll second the previous recommendation of the New Glarus Spotted Cow.
I found a great recipe in the book Clone Brews. It’s a clone of Barbar Belgian Honey Ale from Lefebvre Brewery in Belgium. Take a Belgian wit and add a good amount of honey, and you got it. 9% ABV, contains candi sugar, a pound and a half of honey, coriander, Curacao orange peel, barley and wheat malts, and the carbonating sugar is orange blossom honey. Damn, I love this stuff.
Alas, the link I provided is to an unofficial “fan-boy” site (scary the things you pick up by attending a single comic conference; thankfully, nothing a shot of penicillin… :eek: )
I suppose I’d best start a link somewhere in the “IMHO” forum. I truly hope to reach the place where I can go out and buy homebrewing equipment - thanks for the links, gatopescado - until now, I was very much intimidated by the kegging operation one of my competition-entering pals possesses. It was nice to see that it’s possible to get into the game (and even brew a nice porter kit!) to the tune of a modest $200, or so.
If you are going to mail-order your home brewing supplies, may I recommend The Home Brewery? I used to work for these folks, many moons ago, and I can testify to the quality of their products. But look in the phone book…there are probably a half-dozen supply shops within driving distance of where you live.
The yeast they use to finish (to carbonate the beer that’s been sitting in the fermenter for so long that all of the yeast is dead) has a much higher alcohol tolerance than the main yeast. It doesn’t necessarily taste, smell, or work anything like the original yeast.