Belgian beer and travel

Friday, May 11, 2012

Friday, May 4, 2012

Belgium: trip 24, day one.

Looong time no post. Getting ready for an eleven day, fifteen brewery trip will do that to you.

Sorry everyone.

Here's a pictoral look at some of the places I visited on April 21, 2012.

Brasserie Augrenoise in Casteau, Hainaut Province, Wallonia.

Christian Bougard, brewer of Augrenoise.

Mashing in at Brasserie Augrenoise.

Augrenoise, the brewery's primary beer. It contains
6.5% abv and has a fine hoppiness. A very
good beer.

Gunther Bensch of Brouwerij Montaigu pouring an

Augrenoise.

The Augrenoise Noel, another very good beer.

This one has 9.5% abv. Yum.

Taverne La Fourquet, taproom/restaurant of

Brasserie Blaugies.

Kevin Carlier, brewer of Brasserie de Blaugies in Dour, Hainaut Province, Wallonia, inside his brewhouse.

Alain Bailleux of Brasserie Au Baron in Gussignies,
France. The family is actually from Belgium, which
is just over the border.
Blaugies and Abbaye de Rocs are less than 10 km
away. The family have been running the superb
restaurant since 1973, and have been brewing several
fine beers since 1989. Cuvee de Jonquilles is imported
stateside. The Saison Saint Médard Ambrée should be
as well.

Now this is how grills should be cooked. Take
an old copper mash tun, cut it so the front part
fits in the corner of a wall in your restaurant, and
get busy cooking. Nice. Seriously. Cool. Oh, and
the food...

I had a mixed grill with baked potato and asparagus
on the side. Gunther had a steak and frites. The food
was excellent. That's Alain pouring a Cuvée des
Jonquilles.Yum.

Alain pouring the Amber Saison, 7% abv.
This one had a year of age on it, and possessed
an enticing light sour character. A very good
farmhouse ale!

Another brewhouse shot at Brasserie Au Baron.

The restaurant/brewpub is located in a beautiful
setting, right beside a small river. There is seating
for over 200 people outside in good weather.

Brasserie Brootcorens (Erquelinnes)

Hainaut Province, Wallonia.

Brewer Alain Brootcoorens with his son and

daughter.

Brewer Alain Brootcoorens with a colleague in the brewhouse.

Alain savoring the smell of some whole hop flowers.

Brasserie Brootcorens has a hop field across the street from

the brewery.

Alain with his new Abbaye de la Thure beer, with 10% abv.

Well everyone, that was just day one on trip 24. Of course it was a Saturday, which is always a good time to visit breweries in Belgium. More later!

Saturday, March 31, 2012

Brasserie de Bierkaai, Limburg Province

On the first day of my Belgian tour last autumn, I had

dinner at a great new beer cafe/restaurant in

Heusden-Zolder, near Hasselt in Limburg Province.

Brasserie de Bierkaai is located alongside a canal

that runs all the way from Antwerp to Maastricht.

It is an ideal location for cyclists-or anyone else-to

stop for a meal or just a beer.

(Photo, above: Kaaibier, an unfiltered pilsner brewed at

Bier Anders in Halen.)

One of the owners, Luc Van Esch, is a serious beer lover

and it shows in "The Beer Quay." Luc has an unfiltered

pilsner called Kaaibier brewed at the new Bier Anders

brewery in nearby Halen. This delicious, 5% abv libation really

hit the spot on an 80 degree day on 24 September.

(Photo, above: a server with a trio of Kaaibeers.)

Luc told me recently: "The Kaaibier will be the basis

for our new Kaaikriek. Both beers will be available

within a few weeks in 25 cl longneck bottles, as well

as in draft here at De Bierkaai. Both will be available

for export as well."

(Photo, above: Luc Van Esch pouring a Zonderik Tripel.)

Luc also has three other house beers. One is Zonderik

Tripel, and there is also a Dubbel. Both have 8% abv.

There is also a Tripel Speciaal packing 10% abv.

All were formerly brewed at De Proefbrouwerij, but

production has moved to Bier Anders for these as well.

(Photo, above: Zonderik Tripel.)

De Bierkaai offers about 40 different well-chosen brews,

with local specialties, as well as classics like Saison Dupont.

Nine Trappist beers are available too.

(Photo, above: Zonderik Dubbel and Tripel.)

Five beers are available on draft, with four of these being

the house beers. The Zonderik brews are offered in corked

75 cl bottles as well.

As you can see in the first photo, there is a huge blow-up

Zonderik Tripel bottle in the front yard of the cafe, letting

any beers lovers who pass by know this is a place that is

a welcome spot for them!

Brasserie de Bierkaai is also very family friendly as well.

They have a playground in front of the cafe as well.

De Bierkaai also offers tasty meals at affordable prices.

I enjoyed a dinner of several mixed grills, paired with

one of my favorite Belgian side dishes: croquettes.

Most entrees are in the 8 to 13 euro ranges, and many

smaller snacks are in the 5 euro range.

See their website here

Menu here

De Bierkaai is located at Laarstraat 41/2, 3550,

Heusden-Zolder. Tel: 011/745883.

So you heard it here: a stop The Beer Quay is a

must when in the area!

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

De Lambiek/Oud Beersel/3 Fonteinen article

I have a 1,200 word article on three places that are stars

in the lambic beer world in the April/May 2012 issue of

Celebrator Beer News.

You can read it here

and it finishes here

Since the article was written, there is news from

3 Fonteinen, posted right on their website here

Some is sad, but the end result will be good, as there

will be more 3 Fonteinen lambic and geuze for beer

lovers to enjoy.

The LambikODroom, or "Lambik Dream" cafe, will close

for good on Sunday, April 1. The reason is that 3 Fonteinen

needs space for the new brewery, and also for a shop to

sell products to the public. So the shop will move into

where the LambikODroom is now, and the present shop

area will be used by the expanded brewery.

I first visited De LambikODroom in May, 2008, and it

officially opened soon after. It is a shame to see it go,

after nearly four-year run.

But the prospect of much more "brewed-on site" 3 Fonteinen

lambics is a good one.

You can read more about it in my article.

For more info on Tourism in Flanders, see here

Friday, March 23, 2012

The Great Belgian Beer Dinner 2012

I mentioned there would be a very special beer dinner in

Belgium the week before the Zythos Bier Festival (ZBF)

on these pages a couple of months ago, here

Well, the details are now available, right from one of the

organizers, Yves Panneels of the fabulous In de Verzerkering

Tegen de Grote Dorst cafe in Lennik/Eizeringen.

I've helped a bit with the translation to English.

The event website is here

A fantastic menu prepared by three chefs

“The Great Belgian Beer Dinner of 2012” will be an exquisite culinary experience founded on a commitment to quality. It will be a major event in a prime location, with excellent beers, top class food, and the three best chefs in the world of beer.

Tom De Four of De Heeren van Liedekercke (Denderleeuw) with Stefanie de Vos of De Bistronoom (Ostend) and Chris Lively of Ebenezer's Pub & Restaurant (Lovell, Maine USA) will join together to serve a fantastic six-course meal on Wednesday, April 25, 2012. The location will be in the historical setting of 'De Majeur' in Roosdaal-Pamel, near Ninove.

The chefs have also selected very special beers specifically for this meal.

Information: Date is Wednesday, April 25, 2012 at 7 pm at Feestzalen 'De Majeur' at Rijstraat 16, 1760 Roosdaal (Pamel.) The six-course meal costs 80 euro per person, drinks included. Seating is limited. Quick Registration will be the key to securing a seat.

The Chefs

Tom DE FOUR  of the restaurant De Heeren van Liedekercke is one of the trio. His restaurant is situated just a stone's throw from the church of Liedekerke, just across the municipal boundary of the Dender. De Heeren van Liedekercke is a true fixture in The Beer Country, Belgium. For over 10 years, it has been rated very highly in many international beer guides. In the kitchen, Tom, 39, handles the cooking. His brother Joost is the beer sommelier. Besides their love for lambic beers, De Heeren van Liedekercke has been named an Orval Ambassador. See:   www.heerenvanliedekercke.be   

STEFANIE De VOS,  of De Bistronoom, which, since September 2011, has been at the top of the RateBeer list of the best beer restaurants in the world, is the lady in the group. Stefanie, 28, works her magic in the kitchen, while her husband, beer sommelier Christophe Pelfrène (44) greets and serves the guests. Stefanie, along with 47 other young chefs, was recently selected as one of the “Young Faces of Flemish Gastronomy” through the organization “Flanders: Nice Country.” She was also nominated for the title “Lady Chef of the Year 2012.” The restaurant is located near the Ostend marina, near where the Mercator anchor is found. See:  www.debistronoom.be  

CHRIS LIVELY  : Christopher Lively, 39, grew up in Texas, and after graduating from culinary school, went to work in California. He was the executive chef of the Marriott Hotel in Los Angeles, an important position. But Chris wanted his own beer restaurant, and he would have it. He moved to the other side of the United States, and settled in New England. Since 2004, he and his wife, Jennifer, have run Ebenezer Kezar's Pub & Restaurant in Lovell, Maine. From then till now, on Ratebeer.com, Ebenezer’s was voted four consecutive years the title of the “World's Best Beer Bar.” In 2009, Chris opened The Lion's Pride in Brunswick, Maine. Barely a year later, his second beer restaurant won second place on RateBeer. A very remarkable achievement. See:   www.ebenezerspub.net  and www.lionspridepub.com 

The three chefs will prepare a fabulous 6-course dinner with exquisite beers. Soon, it will be disclosed in detail.        

Location  

Feestzalen 'De Majeur' is located west of Brussels in the Payottenland, a stone's throw off the N8 from Brussels to Ninove road, in Roosdaal (Pamel). This restored brewery is surrounded by a beautiful garden. Inside, there are three beautiful banquet rooms with a capacity of 10 to 90 people.

 'De Majeur', is run by Evy Vandenberghe. She graduated as a cook from the Hotel Ter Dunes in Koksijde. She gained experience in restaurants such as Juana in Nice, France, The Grand-Bigard in Bigard, the Pastoral Reet, 't Molentje in Zeebrugge, Tom Thumb in Aalter, 't Krekelhof in Gooik, and The Elephant in Halle. Together with her partner and building contractor, David Ore Note, they bought and renovated the dilapidated building at Rijstraat 16, Roosdaal-Pamel. This building was once a brewery, belonging to Frans Tondeurs (born 1838.) He was the mayor of Pamel from 1879 to 1907. “De Majeur” has all the amenities of home. Evy sets the background, with all the trimmings available, for The Great Belgian Beer Dinner 2012. The rooms are stylishly decorated. The beautiful romantic candlelit baths will set tables while guests are pampered with the finest cuisine.

Address: Rijstraat 16, 1760 Roosdaal, tel 0474 92 56 56 See:  www.demajeur.be

The number of spaces for The Great Belgian Beer Dinner 2012 is limited. Quick Registration is the key. The price for the 6-course menu (including custom drinks) is 80 euro per person.  Upon reservation, 80 EUR per person is payable. The payment of this sum constitutes final reservation. Cancellations can only be made in writing (letter, fax or mail). Up until three weeks before the event, the entire sum paid will be refunded, minus 10 € administrative costs. Until two weeks before the event, half the sum paid will be refunded, minus 10 € administrative costs. Thereafter, no refunds will be given.

By transfer to current account of Flanders vzw Enjoyed: 860-1163576-43 (Centea Bank) IBAN BE66 8601 1635 7643 • BIC SPAABE22 Montignystraat

For more info about Tourism in Flanders, see here