de halve maan

So, another summer brought yet another trip to Belgium. A full-on agenda included a bar crawl around Brugge, a day in Brussels taking in Cantillon and all things Lambic, a beer tasting with the great and the good of Belgium, Canada and the USA, a trip to Tournai and a tour around the Saison breweries of the Senne valley and, finally a tour by bike around the hoplands of West Flanders to take in some of the wonderful breweries and bars that abound there.

The great thing about driving across to Belgium is that it is so close and quick. Landing in Calais at 10am my mate Luke and I had a quick 1 hour drive to our base for 4 days in Brugge. However, it would be rude not to take the hour detour to Noel Cuvelier’s wonderful farmhouse biershop in Abele and replenish the stocks. A little like ‘a child in a sweet shop’, with Luke and I cramming every bit of available space in the car with liquid delights. Arriving in Brugge an hour later we caught up with an old work colleague and began a tour of some of the best bars on offer in this beautiful city. Ian and Patricia’s Cafe ‘t Terastje was (and always is) first on the list, the best place in the city to enjoy draught Straffe Hendrick Tripel.

Other heavyweights visited included the Vlissinghe, Brugge’s oldest cafe at 502 years young and De Garre to enjoy their house tripel. The recently opened Cambrinus tap room with their ever-changing selection of draught beers is always a delight as was catching up with Tom Mathys at his Volkscafe neighbourhood bar. A personal highlight was to spend the evening with Daisy Claeys, former owner of Brugs Beertje at the aforementioned pub. Probably still one of, if not the best beer bar in the world. I’m looking forward to catching up with her again on a future trip this December, probably over a Kerstbier or two.

Our rented apartment was situated on the Walplein Square, home to the Brouwerij De Halve Maan. Well, it seemed logical to take a tour of the brewery on Luke’s last day as he had never visited Belgium before. It was also around 10 years since I last visited so I was keen for another visit. The tour certainly doesn’t disappoint with the perfect blend of De Halve Maan’s rich heritage together with an update on the brewery’s current status. The artifacts and old brewing equipment are fascinating and the re-configured tour route now takes you up through the old brewery chimney where you exit onto the brewery roof. Here you a treated to a magnificent view of the old city. The modern brewhouse surprises in its smallness, all polished stainless steel. Everyone was keen to see the ‘beer line’, installed to take beer underground to a packaging plant on the outerskirts of Brugge. The tours finishes with a sampling, unfiltered Bruges Zot – the only bar where you will find it.

My last day in Brugge was spent taking in the glorious local countryside in wonderful summer weather by bike, reinforced by liquid intake at the fantastic Welkom in nearby Hoecke. A great beer list. Despite taking a wrong turn (I had left my bike maps at home!) and putting in way more kilometres on the bike than I meant to, there was time for a quick shower before heading off to a beer tasting/bottle share hosted by Ed and Leila Waller who were spending their annual two months in Brugge. A selection of beers from Belgium, North America and Fuller’s were enjoyed and I was pleased that I managed to convince our Belgian friends that well made, tasty and balanced beers can be found in the UK. I was delighted when our Imperial Stout was judged by the majority as the most enjoyed beer of the evening.

Here’s some photos taken at the Halve Maan Brewery.

View from the brewery, fermenters in foreground

Beer Deliveroo - Brugge! — Beer Deliveroo – Brugge style!

Summer is here – almost – and warm weather gets me thinking about one of my favourite beer styles, Belgian Tripel. A seriously strong beer, ranging in strength from 7.5% to 9.5%, Tripels these days are normally blonde and bottle conditioned, leading to further fermentation. The beers are mainly associated with the Trappists and Abbey producers.

So naturally it seemed like a great idea to taste a selection of the best representations of this wonderful beer. Here goes…

Chimay White Cap

The Abbey Notre Dame de Scourmont is the second-largest of Belgium’s Trappist breweries. White Cap pours with a beautiful and creamy head, it is light amber/orange in colour with a constant bead. A subtle malt and hop aroma leads to a balance of honey-sweet caramel and bitterness with hints of banana, herb, spices and vanilla. It is balanced, complex, very spritzy and very easy to drink. The finish is long, bitter and warming. ABV 8%

http://chimay.com/en/

Witkap Pater Tripel

Nonove’s Slaghmuylder brewery produces one of my favourite beers, Witkap Stimulo. They also produce a number of other fine beers, including the well-named Slag Pils (I kid you not). Their Tripel is deep and straw-coloured with a firm, creamy head, while the nose is full of bitter hops, oats, yeast and hay. The taste is creamy, grassy and hoppy with fizz from the bottle conditioning. It is quite dry and has hints of orange peel and cannabis smoke. A citrus and bitter finish leaves you salivating and craving more. I had a great night in Ninove one July after a hard day’s cycling – Witkap did its best to re-hydrate my old body. ABV 7.5%

http://www.witkap.be/

Straffe Hendrik Tripel

Bruge’s Brouwerij De Halve Maan does a mean brewery tour. It comes complete with a rooftop view of that beautiful city, but the best bit is the tasting of the brewery’s quality wares at the end. Wifey’s favourite beer, Straffe Hendrik Tripel, pours dark amber with a huge foamy head. With a massive bead, again from re-fermentation in the bottle, the nose is full of hops, flowers, malt, honey and booze. The taste is smooth, replete with malt, hoppy bittterness, and is very warming. A long bitter and boozey finish. Tastes even better on draught, which can be found in the Cafe Terrastje, reviewed in an earlier blog. ABV 9%

http://www.straffehendrik.be/

St Bernardus Tripel

This superb brewery in Watou, just near the border with France, produces some of my favourite beers – which included, up until 1992, the St Sixtus beers. I love visiting Watou, the “Brewers Village” and most of our family trips to Belgium end up with a night at local haunt the Wethuys, where the ales of St Bernardus and Van Eecke (see below) can be enjoyed. The brewery can be visited and has its own B&B!

St Bernardus pours with a creamy white head and is rich amber in colour. A faint aroma of malt and toffee apple give way to a spritzy mix of bitter hops, malt and spice. The finish is warming and mouth-wateringly delicious. ABV 8%

http://www.sintbernardus.be/

Watou Tripel

To satisfy border-hopping French enthusiasts, St Bernardus also makes another Tripel. A rich amber beer with thick foam, Watou Tripel has a hoppy, malty and spicy nose. It is slightly sweet, hoppy and spritzy with complex spiciness. It is creamy and well rounded with honey undertones. Bitter hop finish. ABV 7%

Westmalle Tripel

The largest of the Belgian Trappist breweries, The Abbey of our Beloved Lady of the Sacred Heart is in Malle, between Antwerp and Turnhout. This is one of the world’s best beers. It pours a beautiful light amber with a thick, white head. Tons of deposit in the bottle leave it cloudy (I always pour it in) and the aroma is floral, hoppy and slightly sweet. The flavour is complex with both hoppy bitterness and caramel sweetness. You also get spice as the beer warms up. It is very boozy and leaves you with a very warming and bitter finish. ABV 9.5%

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Kapittel Tripel Abt

Another Watou brewery! Located just off the main square, the Van Eecke family has owned the brewery since 1862 (it also has the Leroy brewery in nearby Boezinge). Famous for its Hommelbeer, which celebrates the myriad of hop bines ever present in the area, there is a eccentric brewery tap In Het Brouwershof just next door that specialises in kitsch, Jazz and monkey nuts (has to be seen to be believed).

The range of Kapittel (Chapter) abbey beers is highly regarded and I fell in love with Tripel Abt when I first stayed in Watou many years ago. This golden-brown beer pours with a solid, foamy white head. The nose is yeasty, slightly sweet and hoppy with hints of bananas and esters/pear drops. A complex mix of bitter hops, toffee and some citrus leaves you with a long, bitter and warming finish. It is very strong, but once I started on this beer I didn’t want anything else all evening. The kids went for crepes after dinner, but with a beer like this who needed dessert? ABV 9.5%

http://www.brouwerijvaneecke.be/

Gouden Caroulus Tripel

Situated a short train ride south of Antwerp, Mechelen is Antwerp Province’s second city and worth a visit – I’ve booked to stay there in August and plan on touring the Brouwerij Het Anker when there (I’m also staying at the brewery’s hotel!). Beer has been brewed on this site since 1369, and since Charles Leclef took over in 1990 the quality of its range has become exceptional. Charles is a fifth generation of the Van Breedam family, which bought the brewery in 1872.

Award-winning Gouden Carolus Tripel (named world’s best in 2012), pours with a huge, thick, foamy head. Golden in colour, the bead is steady. An aroma of grapefruit, malt, spice and wheat leads you to a fizzy celebration of hops, malt, Bramley apples and rice pudding. There is a long apple and hop finish and the dryness leaves you with the desire for a second glass. ABV 9%

http://www.hetanker.be/en

Tripel Karmeliet

Tripel Karmeliet is the beer that I most frequently buy for weekend imbibing, I can even have it delivered with my weekly shop from Waitrose.com. Dangerous! Bosteels brewery in Buggenhout, between Ghent and Brussels, is responsible for producing Pawel Kwak, the one that comes with the weird stirrup cup glass. It has a knack for interesting glasses and doesn’t disappoint with the work of art that is the Tripel Karmeliet glass, frost-cut and elegant.

This is a truly exceptional beer, a desert island beer. One that you could take home and marry (thank you Gregg Wallace!). Three grains, a combination of wheat, oat and barley are used, based on a recipe from 1679. An enormous head sites atop liquid amber-gold. The nose is sweet, floral, slightly citrus and spicy, giving you a hint of the pleasures that await you. A beautiful balance of cream, honey, fruit (melon, banana, lemon even?), elderflower, malt and sophisticated hopping rewards you with a taste of heaven. The finish is bitter and boozy. One bottle is simply not enough.

Unlike some beers, Tripel Karmeliet tastes even better in the larger 75cl bottle. The aromas are more complex and intriguing and you appreciate greater pronounced flavours with the addition of orange peel. ABV 8.4%

http://www.bestbelgianspecialbeers.be/

Abeelsen Tripel

It may be unfair to review this beer as the bottle lip was damaged and I think that air may have got into it, minimising the effect of the bottle fermentation. I guess I will just have to go back to Noel Cuvelier’s bier shop (see earlier blog) in Abele, near Watou, and buy some more (just to be accurate in my reporting, of course). Noel’s shop, is probably the best beer shop in the world. Along with a fantastic beer range, you can buy sweets and chocolate, groceries, cheese and charcuterie, and Noel’s own-label range of port, sherry and beers.

Brewed by Strubbe in Ichtegem who produce a number of beers including Vlaskop, this Tripel is light gold in colour. The head dissipated quickly, probably due to the glass damage. It has a malty, hoppy and slightly sour nose and the taste is a balance of cream, vanilla, bitter hops and spice. A long bitter finish. ABV 7.8%

http://www.brouwerij-strubbe.be/

Go Large?

Big is indeed beautiful. Look at these beauties, bought for Christmas. Unlike some brands (Duvel?), the beers’ complex flavours aren’t diluted by their larger bottles. Recommended for special occasions, or just for the hell of it.

Beer Sommelier Kew

London-based enthusiast Paul Davies tastes delicious beers

Belgian Summer Saunter, Part One -Brugge

Tripel-Tastic! It just had to be done, a whopping TEN Tripels are tasted. Hic!