March 19th 2026 Meeting
Monthly Meeting Style of the Month: Belgian Beers This is a reminder that the MCZA March meeting is this Thursday, 3/19/2026 starting at 6:30pm (business will begin at 7pm) at Blackthorne Pub in Kennewick.🍻 Mid Columbia Zymurgy MeetingTheme: Belgian Beers – Tradition, Yeast, and Complexity🧭 OverviewBelgium’s brewing heritage is legendary—steeped in monastic tradition, wild fermentation, and expressive yeast. This meeting explores the core styles, brewing techniques, and flavor profiles that make Belgian beers a homebrewer’s playground. 🇧🇪 Belgian Beer Styles (Organized + Explained)🍺 Trappist & Abbey AlesThese are the spiritual backbone of Belgian brewing—monastic, malt-forward, expressive yeast.• Single / Enkel – Light, sessionable monastic table beer.• Dubbel – Dark fruit, caramel, rich malt; 6–8% ABV.• Tripel – Golden, spicy, fruity, dry; 7–10% ABV; Westmalle is the prototype.• Quadrupel / Belgian Dark Strong Ale – Deep, complex, raisin, fig, plum; 9–12%.---🍯 Strong AlesBelgium’s high-gravity masterpieces.• Belgian Strong Golden Ale – Dry, spicy, deceptively strong (Duvel-style).• Belgian Strong Dark Ale – Rich, fruity, warming, layered.---🌾 Wheat & Farmhouse StylesRustic, expressive, and often yeast-driven.• Witbier – Wheat, coriander, orange peel; hazy and refreshing.• Saison / Farmhouse Ale – Peppery, citrusy, effervescent; originally brewed for farm workers.• Grisette – Light, minerally, sessionable cousin of saison.---🍏 Sour & Wild FermentationBelgium’s most unique contribution to world beer.• Lambic – Spontaneously fermented wheat beer from Pajottenland; funky Please bring your own brews to sample, and be sure to support Blackthorne that’ll have Belgian beers on tap! As always, we will try to have some industry examples for you to taste through. Please feel free to bring anything else you've been working on lately. Looking forward to seeing you all on Thursday!
