Beer Tour of Belgium

For Kevin's birthday present, Anne planned a beer tour of Belgium.  (We were going to go on vacation somewhere, but we hadn't decided what to do until Anne had that idea).  Since the trip was centered around Belgian beer, this post will be beer and nothing but beer.  WARNING - if you're not into beer you may find this post a little boring.  In fact, as we're writing this, we're drinking a 2008 Aardmonnik (Earthmonk) Flemish Sour from De Struise Brouwers (hops & brown sugar aroma; carmel malt flavors perfectly balanced by sourness).  


First stop after arriving in Belgium was Brugge (or Bruges).  The first day, Kevin made the 20 minute walk through heavy freezing rain to de Halve Maan brewery.  There wasn't time for a tour, but there was time to warm up with a glass of their tripel.  The beer was nice but the brewery was a little touristy.  


Next day we all stopped at de Struise Brouwers tasting room/bar in Brugge.  Ratebeer.com ranked them best brewery in the world in 2008.  They're a small brewery that makes many, many types of beers.  We got four different versions of their Pannepot between what we drank there and the bottles we bought.  They also make Flemish Sour beers and barrel aged beers (purchased a few of those as well).  

 Since Eli passed out, Anne and Kevin were able to hang out and have a few beers

That evening, after driving to Dinant, we had dinner at Leffe cafe where we got Leffe Radiuse and Anne had a Leffe 9.  Yes, I know even though it's a Trappist brewery their brewing operations are now owned by AB Inbev.  But we needed to find a place where Eli could get some food, and we weren't going to turn down the chance to try more abbey brews.  


Next morning was a trip to the Maredsous Abbey benedictine monastery for some even better abbey beer.  Anne had the Tripel and Kevin had a couple Brunes (malty, spicy, somewhat fruity; very complex; hop bitterness very noticeable on the finish).  We also got some lunch - bread and cheese also made by the monks.  

No fancy glass at  Maredsous Abby  - the beer is served in clay mugs 

That afternoon, we headed out to Rochefort.  Abbye Notre Dame d’ St Remy in Rochefort is not open to the public, but there was a stand in an outdoor Christmas market selling their beers.  The continuing heavy cold rain again didn't stop Kevin from enjoying a glass of Rochefort 8 (nice Brune, very unique yeast character, spicy, moderately hoppy).  


Since Anne was watching Eli while Kevin was at the Christmas market, she tried the Rochefort 8 with dinner back in Dinant.  Kevin got Gauloise Brune.  

Saturday, we had scheduled a tour of Brasserie Dupont, a small farmhouse brewery that only gives tours four times a year.  We were lucky the timing worked out.  Their traditional brewery even uses old copper boil kettles heated by flame, which adds some nice carmelization to their beer.  Along with the tour, we got to try their Pilser, Saison, and a large glass of the Moinette blonde 

From there, we headed to Brussels where we got Westmalle Dubbel and Tripel at our hotel.  (Westmalle is the trappist abbey that pioneered selling high-alcohol beer to the public to raise money with their Tripel.)

Anne found about an awesome beer bar in Brussels, Moder Lambic.  47 Belgian beers on tap.  47.   All from smaller breweries.  We started out trying sour beers - Tilquin Gueuze and a Kriek from 3 Fonteinen. For our second round Anne had a trappist Val-Dieu Grand Cru and Kevin had a Gueuze from Cantillon.  The Grand Cru was Anne's favorite beer (dark, strong, licorice and anise flavors), and the Cantillon Gueuze was Kevin's.  (Gueuze is a blend of lambic from three different years).  

The last day, we had a tour of Cantillon Brewery.  Cantillon brews sour beer using much of the same equipment & methods as they did 100 years ago.  This place is so unique that their working brewery is also a museum.  It was incredible, and their beer was something special

Real sour beer is fermented by wild yeast from the environment instead of by added brewers yeast.  The first picture below is the cooling tray where wort sits overnight, collecting whatever microbes may be present.

After wort is boiled, it is pumped here to cool and collect wild yeast

Eli really liked exploring all the old machinery at the brewery

Top of an old boil kettle

After cooling, beer ferments in wood barrels

then secondary fermentation in horizontal bottles.

Kreik (fermented w/ fresh cherries)

Faro - sweetened & spiced sour beer

We'll try to add another post soon to tell you about the non-beer-related fun we had too.  But for now, we're enjoying a Abbaye du Val-Dieu Tripel (Banana and tropical fruit aroma, spicy clove flavors, very smooth)

Merry Christmas!