Thinking of trying a new kind of beer? Here are some of my favorite Belgians:

Gulden Draak: A dark and rich ale, sometimes called barleywine because of its strength (10.5 percent). It's sweet, so a little goes a long way. Good with a rich Belgian chocolate dessert, or as a dessert itself. I've never seen it poured over ice cream, but it might be worth a try.

Piraat: A powerful golden ale (10.5 percent), but still with lots of subtle flavors that get warmer as both you and the beer do. It's been called one of the world's best five beers, and also the best beer to accompany a good cigar.

Karmeliet Triple: An Abbey beer made from barley, oats and wheat that's creamy and almost sweet. Not too strong (8 percent), and good enough to stand alone or with a variety of food.

Chimay Blue: A strong (9 percent) Trappist dark ale with some qualities of a good port wine.

Leffe brown: Of the three most popular Belgian imports, and the best sellers at the Sharp Edge -- Stella Artois, Hoegaarden and Leffe brown and blonde -- I prefer the Leffe brown. It's a mild brown ale that might be a good place for a beginner to start. It gets a little tastier as you drink it slowly.

Some of my favorite American Belgian-style beers:

Golden Monkey: A triple-style golden ale (9.5 percent), from the Victory brewery in Downingtown, Chester County (www.victorybeer.com), with a strong, rich taste.

Raison d'Etre: From Dogfish Head breweries (www.dogfish.com) in Milton and Rehoboth Beach, Del. Made with beet sugar, green raisins, and Belgian yeast, it's dark, warm and friendly, and not too strong (8 percent).

Allagash Double: Allagash Brewery in Portland, Maine, (www.allagash.com) makes this Belgian-style brown ale, plus a triple. I favor the brown, which is a little mild (7.6 percent), but still with soft rich flavor, especially as it warms up. The triple is good enough to have ranked among the top triples, including Belgians, in a blind tasting conducted by Celebrator Beer News in its current issue.

A few other breweries with excellent Belgian-style beers:

Ommegang in Cooperstown, N.Y. -- www.ommegang.com
Stoudt's in Adamstown, Berks County -- www.stoudtsbeer.com
Unibroue in Quebec -- www.unibroue.com/english.cfm
New Belgium in Fort Collins, Colo. -- www.newbelgium.com

Where can you buy them?

Pennsylvania's arcane and archaic liquor control laws don't make it easy. But in the beer-buying desert, you'll find some delightful little oases:

D's SixPax & Dogz, Regent Square -- Hundreds of good beers, dozens of Belgians, available by the bottle. Good hot dogs, too.
Trivia Pub, University Boulevard, Coraopolis -- Belgians by the bottle.
The Sharp Edge -- Usually 70 to 80 varieties of Belgians.
Pittsburgh Bottleshop Cafe, Bridgeville -- Craft beers and Belgians.

-- Jim White