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.....

Perfect brew!

For me, the jazz junkie and beer lover- a perfect brew. It also helps that I just can't get enough blueberries!

Beer of the day- Heavy Seas

It's HOT, HOT, HOT here in New Jersey.  I sure would like to be out on a boat somewhere. And most people would not think of drinking a dark beer, (except for me). I stopped at the High Street Grill in Mt. Holly the other day and found something new, Heavy Seas Smoke on the Water.  And of course, as it was new, I had to explore the taste. Not too heavy on the smoke, and very drinkable. After all, that is how the porter style evolved, drinkable. A nice brew from the folks at Clipper City. They have a full range of styles, I'm sure you'll find something that you will like from their brewery.

Home Brew Big Brew day!

There is too much beer and too little time in the day. I have many ideas saved up to share with you, but reality gets in the way ...
However this came along and I thought it important to share. The Whales home brewers club made a great video of their big brew day. And there is a contest to see which video gets the most views, so please take a look! After all, it's about the adventure..
Click here to see the video on youtube!

T'Gaverhopke

Probably the smallest brewery the group has visited, T'Gaverhopke has a tiny brewery and cool brewpub open on the weekends. I'm sure if I lived in the neighborhood, it would be a favorite hangout.  Gudrun is not only attractive and charming, she is one talented brewer.   The newest beer, the singing blond, a 9% triple made a big impression on everyone. Check out the review on this cool Belgian Beer site.  The beers are now being imported to the USA, be sure to look for them at your favorite beer store.

Rodenbach Brewery

Our second stop was at Rodenbach Brewery for lunch.  One aspect of this visits which is fascinating to me is the mix of  old tradition and modern equipment. Much of the old brewery is evident on the out side, yet you find new brewing equipment on the inside.

However, at Rodenbach, the key to the beer is aging in oak barrels, hundreds of them.  Many  of them the oak is more than 300 years old.

The beer is carefully monitored and blended so each bottle has the perfect balance.


Here is an interview with the master brewer, Rudi Ghequire, who was our informative and gracious host.