Day Three in Belgium

I have to say that on the beer tour with Ale Street News, I always feel like royalty. We have stayed in beautiful ­hotels and have consumed incredible meals. This year was no exception. Wednesday night we stayed at the peaceful Priorij Corsendonk . The dinner was served in a beautiful room in the cellar. I was very happy with the scallop appetizer and of course, plenty of beer from the Brasserie du Bocq. In the morning It was sunny with a chill in the air, but I took a little stroll around the beautiful grounds anyway. It would have been very easy to stay there for a few quiet days in the countryside. 

 But alas, the group had to depart for Westmalle, our fourth stop at a Trappist brewery. The current monastery was built starting in 1836. They have a special well for the pure water they use, a secret of many of the breweies. Since the basis for beer is water, the water does have an influence on the final product. The modern cafe across the street served us generously. The dark double was surprising hoppy and not as malty as I had expected. The triple served at room temperature has a full rich flavor.  What a wonderful way to start the day! As with the other Trappist breweries, they closely guard their special strain of yeast, the magic which makes the beer sing! The monastery is sadly off limits.  We have been very lucky to have a peek inside of the others this year.

The happy beer adventurers next arrived in Lembeek at the Brouwerij Boon for a tour and tasting. Boon uses the ancient lambic  method of using wild yeast to ferment the ales. Owner Frank Boon gave a us an informative history of the brewery during his wonderful tour. They use 40% wheat in their beer and aged hops which is unusual for Belgium. The beers are aged in oak casks, the oldest of which dates back to 1883. Boon is fastidious about cleaning the casks between batches, not an easy task. The brewery is also in the middle of a total reneovation, it will be interesting to go back in serveral years to see the new brewing equipment. The question is, will the beer be the same?

The bus next headed for Sint-Pieters-Leeuw to the new Brouwerij De La Senne for a tour and tasting. We departed the bus and strolled down a long drive behind an industrial building. So may breweries in Belgium are in old buildings. It was a bit of a shock to find the brewery inside a largely empty industrial hangar type space. We were greeted by Ivan, the brewer, who was generous with delicious samples while he explained their operations. They chose the volume of space because it gives them room to grow the brewery, and expand the equipment as their business grows. Their signature beer is hoppy by Belgian standards, which is not so hoppy by the west coast scale. Ivan has been able to translate his passion for beer into liquid gold. 


There is still time to join the Ale Street news beer pilgrims for the 2012 trip, you can read about it here!

Sharing 99 Bottles of Beer

I know. I still have many tales from Belgium to share with you. I found this article to share which is quick and easy because some one else did all the hard work.

See what the top NYC beer sellers love for summer brews!

99 Bottles of Beer

What ever your favorite, take a glass, head to your favorite cool spot and enjoy!

Something Old, Something New

Day two in Belgium. Well,  not exactly Belgium, we did wander over the border to the Netherlands.  I was ready for adventure after a good nights' sleep.  Our first stop, was in Hamont-Achel  to the Brouwerij St. Benedictus Abbey of Achel.  The tour had been there in 2007 which was my first trip.  This year we were fortunate to have a tour of the church and the chapel that the monks use with its beautiful stained glass.   The border between the Netherlands and Belgium runs through the property of the Abbey. 

The newest and smallest of the trappist breweries, Achel started brewing about 1998 with help from Westmalle. Chimay is the largest, Achel the smallest.  They have a lovely cafe and the courtyard in summer is filled with tables. And a store filled with great beers and of course chocolate too!  

 Back on the bus and over the border! You know you are in the Netherlands when you see the fabled windmills.  We are headed back to  Brewery Koningshoeven, brewers of La Trappe. In 2008 during our previous visit, there was much construction taking place. We were very pleased  to see the new cafe for a bit of lunch and of course a glass or two. There were several new beers to taste.  Purr, has organically grown ingredients and is and very light yet tasty.  As with many breweries, La Trappe is experimenting with barrel aging. Barrel aged in oak, each batch of tripel has a different character, we tasted beer from a sancerrre barrel and a port barrel. . They have 3 yeast strains, 1 for the traditional trappist, 1 for the whitt, purr and bock, the last for the contract beers. Some brewers recycle the yeast, La Trappe has a propagation area so that they have fresh yeast for each brew. Ludwig, the brewer is very passionate about buying from local farmers, and they buy the best ingredients they can locally. 

So we have had some old and a little new.  After a stop at the store, we're back on the bus and headed to our final stop, something new, the  Brewery de Dochter for a tour and tasting. A micro brewery with great attention to detail, the  tour consisted of the brew room and the tasting room, with a peek at the storage.  Ronald ages some his unique beers in whisky barrels, one of which, Embarasse, was heavy with peat. And in payment for our tasting, we snag 'Happy Birthday' to his lovely wife!  It is finding these small breweries and seeing the passion of the brewers, engaged in work that they love, which makes these trips so fascinating.

 

Something Old, Something New

Day two in Belgium. Well,  not exactly Belgium, we did wander over the border to the Netherlands.  I was ready for adventure after a good nights' sleep.  Our first stop, was in Hamont-Achel  to the Brouwerij St. Benedictus Abbey of Achel.  The tour had been there in 2007 which was my first trip.  This year we were fortunate to have a tour of the church and the chapel that the monks use with its beautiful stained glass.   The border between the Netherlands and Belgium runs through the property of the Abbey. 

The newest and smallest of the trappist breweries, Achel started brewing about 1998 with help from Westmalle. Chimay is the largest, Achel the smallest.  They have a lovely cafe and the courtyard in summer is filled with tables. And a store filled with great beers and of course chocolate too!  

 Back on the bus and over the border! You know you are in the Netherlands when you see the fabled windmills.  We are headed back to  Brewery Koningshoeven, brewers of La Trappe. In 2008 during our previous visit, there was much construction taking place. We were very pleased  to see the new cafe for a bit of lunch and of course a glass or two. There were several new beers to taste.  Purr, has organically grown ingredients and is and very light yet tasty.  As with many breweries, La Trappe is experimenting with barrel aging. Barrel aged in oak, each batch of tripel has a different character, we tasted beer from a sancerrre barrel and a port barrel. . They have 3 yeast strains, 1 for the traditional trappist, 1 for the whitt, purr and bock, the last for the contract beers. Some brewers recycle the yeast, La Trappe has a propagation area so that they have fresh yeast for each brew. Ludwig, the brewer is very passionate about buying from local farmers, and they buy the best ingredients they can locally. 

So we have had some old and a little new.  After a stop at the store, we're back on the bus and headed to our final stop, something new, the  Brewery de Dochter for a tour and tasting. A micro brewery with great attention to detail, the  tour consisted of the brew room and the tasting room, with a peek at the storage.  Ronald ages some his unique beers in whisky barrels, one of which, Embarasse, was heavy with peat. And in payment for our tasting, we snag 'Happy Birthday' to his lovely wife!  It is finding these small breweries and seeing the passion of the brewers, engaged in work that they love, which makes these trips so fascinating.

 

Day 1, part 2

Day one is the toughest, with the overnight flight and the lack of sleep.

After our wake up stop at du Bocq, we continued over hill & dale to Abbaye Notre Dame St. Remy at Rochefort.

 A fire had destroyed part of the buildings, much construction was on going. The Abbaye has been largely closed, so we were privileged to be one of the first groups to visit. The gleaming copper with the scents of the malt cooking always seems to sing to the group of beer pilgrims.

After our tour of the brewing facilities, we attended a lovely daily service with the monks chanting and  singing psalms 125, 126, and 127. There are less than 20 monks left at the Abbaye. The names of 6, 8 and 10 of Rochefort derive from the orginal gravity in Beligian scale which is not commonly used any more. The 6 is brewed the in the smallest quantities. and is not generally found here in the USA.

In case you don't know, you'll find the bottle conditioned beer different than a draft. Many Belgian breweries have bottle conditioning which adds a small amount of yeast and sugar into the bottles to continue fermentation.

After quenching our thirst, both spiritual and physical, we boarded the bus to continue to Fantome, one of the many tiny specialty breweries you can find scattered through the Belgian countryside.  Like many of their fellow brewers, Fantome takes pride in their unique recipes and pure water source which make their brews stand out from the crowd.  One of our gang ventured into the hamlet to bring back these lovely gingerbread cookies to accent the delicious beers.

I'll admit to being  too tired to enjoy our visit in the scenic city of Liege that night. A good night's sleep to all, getting ready for more beer adventures the next day!

Back to Belgium

There's a certain fascination to Belgian beers. Why are they considered the best in the world? Could it be the scenery or maybe the traditions that go back centuries? It's hard to say. But one thing is certain, it's always a fun trip.  The first day is never easy. The plane takes off from Newark, NJ about 6:30, and we arrive about 7:30 am in Brussels. Does anyone sleep well on a plane? Please tell me your secret!
The trip would not be complete without a breakfast beer on the bus.Thanks to Ale Street News for starting us off with a fabulous brew, Duvel 2010 Tripel Hop. What a breakfast beer! You'll be hearing more about Duvel from me later.
We drove a little over an hour to Brasserie Du Boqc in Purnode. This is the first time I have seen any of the scenic hilly country of Belgium, southeast of Liege.  Our first beer was the Gauloise Amber which is not exported. In addition to the Gauloise beers, Du Bocq brews the Corsendonk beers, several local brands and a new beer Tempelier which I suspect was designed to compete with the favorite beer in the land, Duvel. Who could not enjoy a beer in a place a scenic as this?
Next stop: Rochefort! Stay tuned.....