OT: Belgian Beer

monkimark

Yeah, the Kwak was a bit on the steep side but it had been a long day so the overtime paid for it all

Tried the Achel last night, lovely with a chocolate fudge cake & brandied cherries - all part of the recovery process. Definitely be going back for more of that.

BelgianBeerGeek

Evenin' all. Bumping the thread.

As we all know, the TdF is the best excuse ever to quaff some of the finest liquids on the planet while enjoying some saddle action as our continental cousins would. Last year I spent a few days in Niewpoort, Belgium whilst the tour went through Corsica and onwards. Found a bar where every day two middle aged chaps would turn up, watch the whole stage on telly and sup several Duvels. One in shorts and T-shirt would turn up on what I assumed would be a pub bike but was about £4000 worth of Colnago. That's the spirit.

However, I am eschewing Yorkshire ales tomorrow for Cider Saturday. Cheddar Valley in fridge. Ho Ho.

Saving the Sint-Bernardus and De Dolle Brouwers for later. Biere de Garde for St 4, possibly.

Allez! (sorry about "saddle action" earlier :oops: )

hommelbier

CGRenn wrote:

Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier is not bad also.

Was lucky enough to spend several days in Bamberg last year and visit the brewery tap a couple of times. It is very much an acquired taste but is one of my favourite beers (you can even order it online for delivery to the UK ).

As for stage 4 I will be opening a 75cl bottle of 3 Monts Grande Réserve (9.5% abv) from the St Sylvestre brewery near Cassel bought last week in Carrefour in Calais.

BelgianBeerGeek

Have some 3 Monts (regular) and Angelus for the stage. Looking forward to these - I feel as though I know this part of the world better than my own part of the world.

type:epyt

My local was having a 'new beers we might be getting in' session last night that I somehow got embroiled in (read, looked forlornly at the free beer until they invited me to try me some) and I had this:



It's a bit strong at 8.5% but bloody tasty. Has a slight yeasty aroma very much like champagne. More importantly the bottle looks the business, as does the glass but I doubt they'll get those.

cgrenn

type:epyt wrote:

My local was having a 'new beers we might be getting in' session last night that I somehow got embroiled in (read, looked forlornly at the free beer until they invited me to try me some) and I had this:



It's a bit strong at 8.5% but bloody tasty. Has a slight yeasty aroma very much like champagne. More importantly the bottle looks the business, as does the glass but I doubt they'll get those.

Lovely Beer. Has it in Belgos a few times. Hope your local gets it in!

dsoutar

^ I've got some of this in the garage. I've not tried it before but now you've reminded me I might dig one out this evening. Only one though as it might make my Saturday morning 100km a bit unpleasant !

ducknumber1

Is this the correct order for the time trial (left to right)?

Followed the tour up to Bastille day, this is the remains of the treasure from Bruges Carrefour (plus 4 x Trappistes Rochefort 10).

Edit: got photobucket

fleshtuxedo

ducknumber1 wrote:

Is this the correct order for the time trial (left to right)?

Followed the tour up to Bastille day, this is the remains of the treasure from Bruges Carrefour (plus 4 x Trappistes Rochefort 10).

Edit: got photobucket

Are you really going to take this all on during the TT? I want updates during the stage - pacing strategy, nutrition, intermediate splits that sort of thing.

That's a lumpy looking parcours. Good luck!

monkimark

I like that you're starting off on the floor so there's nowhere to fall

No_Ta_Doctor

FleshTuxedo wrote:

ducknumber1 wrote:

Is this the correct order for the time trial (left to right)?

Followed the tour up to Bastille day, this is the remains of the treasure from Bruges Carrefour (plus 4 x Trappistes Rochefort 10).

Edit: got photobucket

Are you really going to take this all on during the TT? I want updates during the stage - pacing strategy, nutrition, intermediate splits that sort of thing.

That's a lumpy looking parcours. Good luck!

That looks like the parcours for a one week stage race to me. Give or take a couple of Duvels.

ducknumber1

Following an unsuccessful shopping trip amongst other tasks, I have had a bit of a delay and am only just starting now.

To accompany the beer after the TT, I have the Pantani DVD and the recording of stage 5.

As for updates during, I'm afraid this won't be possible, internet and alcohol consumption do not mix (as my eBay history demonstrates).

Mad_Malx

ducknumber1 wrote:

As for updates during, I'm afraid this won't be possible, internet and alcohol consumption do not mix (as my eBay history demonstrates).

I recognise this scenario.

BelgianBeerGeek

Drunken posting is what BB is for. Have been back in Blighty for a few days now and two pints of Fullers ESB has knocked me sideways.

Topped up with Belgian good stuff in Pervijze, West Flanders before leaving the continent. You need Dranken Van der Woude in Molen Straat. Walk through the warehouse and the "shop" is ahead. A British elf' & safety nightmare but wonderful. Lots of Struise and gueuzes.

type:epyt

Mad_Malx wrote:

ducknumber1 wrote:

As for updates during, I'm afraid this won't be possible, internet and alcohol consumption do not mix (as my eBay history demonstrates).

I recognise this scenario.

I'll admit to the odd Saturday/Sunday morning check of the previous evenings posts. It's usually not as bad as I think.

BelgianBeerGeek

type:epyt wrote:

Mad_Malx wrote:

ducknumber1 wrote:

As for updates during, I'm afraid this won't be possible, internet and alcohol consumption do not mix (as my eBay history demonstrates).

I recognise this scenario.

I'll admit to the odd Saturday/Sunday morning check of the previous evenings posts. It's usually not as bad as I think.

lucky you :oops:

cgrenn

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldne ... rules.html

Gutting. Never had the pleasure of having it, but its my birthday soon and I am going to Bruges....

EKIMIKE

What? Why gutting? Doesn't the article just say that they will have to put a label on the bottle?

It is a bit silly that they have to have a label though.

EKIMIKE

BelgianBeerGeek wrote:

Topped up with Belgian good stuff in Pervijze, West Flanders before leaving the continent. You need Dranken Van der Woude in Molen Straat. Walk through the warehouse and the "shop" is ahead. A British elf' & safety nightmare but wonderful. Lots of Struise and gueuzes.

Thanks for this info!

EKIMIKE

Went to Bruges last weekend. Popped into Dranken Vande Woude in Pervijze on the way. Brilliant place for beer, seems like a decent family-run business. Mainly got Struise and De Dolle and then a few others that I haven't previously been able to get hold of. Absolutely incredible selection on offer. Everything I asked for was duly offered up after being led into some dark corners of the warehouse.

In Bruges itself we finally managed to find the elusive pub, Staminee De Garre (having failed to find it on a visit last year) and enjoyed a few glasses of their house tripel (picture below). At 11% ABV it certainly started the night off in firm fashion. You could taste that it was strong but no way near that strong. Beautiful beer, fascinating old pub.



We also visited t'Brugs Beertje, Herberg Vlissinghe and Le Trappiste - all fantastic places to enjoy a beer (plus a lot easier to find than Staminee De Garre).

Cheers! Special thanks to BelgianBeerGeek for the DVW tip.

disgruntledgoat

Best pub in Brugge that.

Also brewed in the city is Straffe Hendrik. I've been enjoying their quadruple of late. Beautiful, sweet and malty at 11%.

EKIMIKE

Ah that reminds me, we to De Halve Maan brewery too! Good view from the roof and interesting news about their beer pipeline

disgruntledgoat

I'm doing an inter club track style racing day on rollers this Saturday. One of the rounds is a 3 lap sprint followed by downing a beer. Put my hand up for that immediately.

Next time you're over check out Gruut in Gent. They bitter with herbs rather than hops and do some nice stuff.

disgruntledgoat

Le Commentateur wrote:

FJS wrote:

The cobble season is almost there, De Omloop next weekend, and I saw this beer advertised on Belgian websites:


I'd never seen it, but now that would be suitable bier for the classics. Doubt it's available in the UK

The advertising campaign and website rather milk the cycling connection:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xS6grAMK ... ata_player
http://www.kwaremontbier.be/

'Gebrouwen voor kopmannen' - Brewed for team leaders

If you go to the bar in Kwaermont village you can have it in a branded tulip glass. Perfect for a bright spring day watching the bike race go past on the cobbles outside.

They've re branded this stuff now. The bottle and branding plays heavily on the cycling connection and the new glass has cobbles on the base. It's good stuff too and dirt cheap in the supermarket

awavey

disgruntledgoat wrote:

I'm doing an inter club track style racing day on rollers this Saturday. One of the rounds is a 3 lap sprint followed by downing a beer. Put my hand up for that immediately.

Next time you're over check out Gruut in Gent. They bitter with herbs rather than hops and do some nice stuff.

yes, been looking to do a trip to Gent for a while now, as its supposed to be just as beerily good as Bruge, but without all the tourists

EKIMIKE

disgruntledgoat wrote:

I'm doing an inter club track style racing day on rollers this Saturday. One of the rounds is a 3 lap sprint followed by downing a beer. Put my hand up for that immediately.

That's the spirit!

disgruntledgoat wrote:

Next time you're over check out Gruut in Gent. They bitter with herbs rather than hops and do some nice stuff.

The bloke who did the Halve Maan tour spoke about spicing beers with gruut. Definitely something I want to try. Thanks for the heads up.

skyblueamateur

I think Inspire in Coventry was mentioned earlier.

The lads who own that are friends of mine and have opened their own shop which also sells online.

Fill your boots - www.beergonzo.Co.uk

cgrenn

EKIMIKE wrote:

Went to Bruges last weekend. Popped into Dranken Vande Woude in Pervijze on the way. Brilliant place for beer, seems like a decent family-run business. Mainly got Struise and De Dolle and then a few others that I haven't previously been able to get hold of. Absolutely incredible selection on offer. Everything I asked for was duly offered up after being led into some dark corners of the warehouse.

In Bruges itself we finally managed to find the elusive pub, Staminee De Garre (having failed to find it on a visit last year) and enjoyed a few glasses of their house tripel (picture below). At 11% ABV it certainly started the night off in firm fashion. You could taste that it was strong but no way near that strong. Beautiful beer, fascinating old pub.



We also visited t'Brugs Beertje, Herberg Vlissinghe and Le Trappiste - all fantastic places to enjoy a beer (plus a lot easier to find than Staminee De Garre).


Cheers! Special thanks to BelgianBeerGeek for the DVW tip.

Going to Bruges on Tuesday next week for my Birthday. Thanks for the info on all these pubs, how much Euro was you your average bottle EKIMIKE?

jimmythecuckoo

Off to Bruges end of next week... this stuff is going to be invaluable

EKIMIKE

Average bottle price is a difficult one. It sort of depends on what the beer is and where you get it. For a 33cl bottle of a well known brand it was generally anything between €1.00 - €2.30.

For the well known brands I went to a border town (Adinkerke) which is well known for its tabacco shops and conveniently close to the main road that takes you on to Bruges. One of the tabacco shops has a self-styled 'Palais des Bieres' that has a pretty good selection of well known brands (Duvel and it's subsidiary breweries like D'Achouffe, St. Bernardus, Corsendonk, Gouden Carolus, Westmalle, La Trappe etc). This is where I got the bulk of my haul and 33cl bottles are for the most part €1.30 max and often slightly less. Here is the shop in Adinkerke - I don't recommend spending much time in the village though, it's pretty uninspiring:

Real Tabac XL

For the less well known, smaller volume brands I went to Dranken Vande Woude in Pervijze. For these (De Dolle, Struise etc) you're looking at nearer €1.50 - 2.40 a bottle. I didn't actually check their prices for the well known brands but when I went to a warehouse outside Bruges last time (Drankcentrale Rotsaert, Zedelgem) the average for a well know 33cl bottle was nearer €1.40-€1.50 - so more expensive than Adinkerke.

As for tips for finding Staminee De Garre, it is down the narrow alley under the cookie's sign, on the street (Breidelstraat) that links the main square (Markt) with the town hall square (Burg). It's sort of opposite the beer museum too:



Also, a little OT - I would really recommend the restaurant Gruuthuse Hof. The food is delicious - simple and traditional Flemish and French food - and it's reasonably priced (unlike many Bruges restaurants). Book early in the day though as it only seats around 25 people.