I’ve been on a beer exploration binge trend recently–a beer every couple of days or so.
So far:
Young’s Double Chocolate Stout: Tasty, though a bit rich and sugary (for a beer). Dessert beer, if such a thing can exist.
Leffe Blonde: Belgian ale. Kind of bitter to my taste, but sophisticated. However, it gave me a headache. I’m vulnerable to that, so this one is out of my repertoire.
Young’s Oatmeal Porter: Rich and fairly smooth. A good alternative, but not something I could drink nightly.
Samuel Smith’s Triple Stout: A trifle flat–I wonder if the bottle was too old. A little syrupy. Still, pretty smooth and rich. I’d like to try it from the cask.
That’s the first few. Three more to go, plus any others I may encounter–such as Smithwick, which I tried a taste of last night and vaguely remember as being relatively smooth and complex. But I need to be more sober to give it a fair tasting. š
Sandy Smith 
Dessert beers do exist, and Young’s Double Chocolate is probably appropriate. Also probably more tasty as a ‘snack’ beer. A little heavy, its probably best for an afternoon beer when you’re not going to eat for a while. Probably packing a lot of calories, it’s fine for sitting and having ‘a beer’ when you’re not thirsty.
Leffe Blond is a perrenial favorite of mine. It was my introduction to Belgian beers, and its a good solid Belgian ale. You’re probably reacting to chemicals called ‘esters’ in ales. Lager yeast generally produces much lower quantities of esters. This leaves lagers crisper, and with fewer ‘fruity’ overtones than ales, but I do sometimes think that they are responsible for the beer headaches I used to get. Not sure why, but I never get those any more. Your mileage may vary.
Young’s Oatmeal is a good tasty porter. Another porter to try is Anchor Porter. Probably the best porter brewed in America.
Never had the triple stout. Almost all other ‘triple’ or ‘trippel’ (if Belgian) beers are very desserty.
Never had Smithwick, either.
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