The Beer Tourist

Belgium is not the only country split along linguistic lines in Europe, but there is a country that tackles it much better. Whereas the best Swiss microbreweries are looking to Belgium for inspiration, the reverse should have been true for Belgian politicians. But then again, copying the Swiss model would leave many of them without a job, so I suppose it is out of question.

Switzerland has as many as four official languages with Romansh having the same marginal role as German in Belgium. Meanwhile, in Switzerland the German-speaking region, Deutschschweiz (mind the consonants if you are drinking!), is by far the biggest.

Welschland is a schwützerdütsch (the Swiss dialect that can frustrate any student of Hochdeutsch) nickname for the Swiss French-speaking region (which prefers to be called Romandie).

The is nothing derogatory about Welschland in Zürich, however. A wealth of artisanal products from the Western, French-speaking part of Switzerland is competing for your attention (and luggage space), including sausages, wine, cheese and, of course, beer. At the time of my visit they had only 10 beers, all lined up in the picture, far less than the major beer supplier in town, the centrally located Drinks of the World. Unless you have a particular liking for similar-tasting blond lagers though, you will find the beers of Welschland far more rewarding.

In fact, I encountered surprisingly few memorable beers from Deutschschweiz despite its proximity to Germany. The friendly co-owner of the Welschland delicatessen explained that the poor growing conditions for grapes, especially in the cooler Jura canton, paved the way for beer brewing there. It cannot fully explain why all the best craft beers are made in that region.

One of them, BFM- Brasserie des Franches-Montagne, occupies 10 of the top 20 twenty ratings for Swiss beers on Ratebeer, a position resembling that of Nøgne Ø in Norway. The decent beers of the Trois Dames brewery of the nearby Vaud canton do not reach that high only because they are generally rated by too few people. Both give a successful Swiss twist to beer styles originating in Belgium and beyond.

La Salamandre by BFM was among the beers in my luggage that managed to escape the destructive efforts of the SAS Ground Staff at Copenhagen Airport- for their careless and beer-hostile luggage handling I wish they be served Bud Light in all eternity. In contrast, La Salamandre is orange golden and cloudy with an admittedly minimal head. The nose is acid and complex, revealing lemons, orange zest and spices. Flirting with geuze characteristics. The sour lemony and orange zest flavours find balancing honey sweetness. An outstanding beer - a flavourful ambassador for this otherwise neutral country.

Unlike the Belgians the Swiss always preferred to perfect their own little world rather than conquering the rest of it. Unfortunately, perfectionist Switzerland seldom turns out beers that deviate from the main. But when they actually do, their craft beers should feature high among enthusiasts worldwide. Finding the good stuff remains a challenge, though.

Labels: BFM, Switzerland, Trois Dames, Welschland

You certainly have to leave home (or your hotel room) to get to the best beer shops in Belgium. One of the best is undoubtedly Bierhandel Willems in Grobbendonk, a village in the Antwerpen province and a 40-minute bus ride from the Sinjorenstad itself. Willems en zoon stocks 300 different beers, and among them are quite a few rarities, including the three on the picture.

The bottle on the left is, I think, as close as you can get to a commercially available home brew, Bière Brassèe à la Maison. The female brewer has supposedly turned her bathroom into a brewery, called Brasserie La 42ème. Except for the location in a village near the Wallonian capital of Namur, little is known about this microbrewery. The beer turned out a bit too spiced, but by all means drinkable ( and far from being a candidate for my bathroom zink!)

There are women behind the beer bottle in the middle, too. It has become an annual event for the female (lead) members of OPA- Aalst Objectieve ProefAjuinen, one of the 24 local associations making up the Belgian beer consumer organization Zythos, to brew a beer. (In Vlaanderen, the inhabitants of Aalst are known as ajuinen-literally onions/buds- and objective taste buds were always the ideal of Zythos' predecessor, De Objectieve Bierproevers.) Supervised by chief brewer and leading beer authority, Jef van den Steen, at Kleinbrouwerij De Glazen Toren, this year's beer turned out a decent honey beer named Nette.

A little help from a bigger brewer was also necessary to bring the bottle on the right to the market. De Verhuisbrouwerij - the portable brewery - is a "hobby brewery" run by five enthusiasts in Antwerpen since 1998. They bring their 30 liter brewing facility with them in their caravan to your party/event, where you can witness a typical 9am to 5 pm brewing session. The beer that is brewed in the session, is only for the brewers' own consumption, though (following the legal definition of homebrewing, I suppose), let alone available after a 3-month process of fermenting and maturing. Knowing Belgium, it would surprise me if informal arrangements cannot be made to overcome the legal bits.

The "proef" is in the tasting (literally in Dutch), so together with the brewing equipment they bring their "big brews" for tasting sessions. These beers are the result of successful recipes that they let commercial brewers produce under licence. These give a small contribution towards some of the costs involved in this hobby. Or, as the hobby brewers say, you can support an association by buying a membership card or in this case by drinking a beer. An easy choice in my (and their) opinion.

So it was with good conscience that I opened my Trisser VI, a blond tripel brewed for De Verhuisbrouwerij at De Proefbrouwerij in a quantity of 1100 litres. My 75 cl bottle had been filled on 27 March 2007, and inside 7.6% ABV was kicking. It poured hazy golden with some orange below a rich, lacing head and released some herbal and piney hop aroma. The initial taste is sweet, but with good offsetting bitterness as well as some yeasty bread flavours. Spicy notes completed the picture of a more than decent beer.

Trisser is actually the nick name given to a student retaking the same exam for the third time, and this tripel is no doubt a comforting beer for such a fate. Maybe an appropriate beer for De Verhuisbrouwerij to bring to the excellent Vilvordia student beer festival on May 18, where they are scheduled to have one of their brew days.

Rolling home brew out to the beer lover community sounds like quite a good idea, if you ask me. Not because the monetary contribution is likely to make any difference nor does the brewing session necessarily open a new world to seasoned craft beer enthusiasts. However, the best beer bottles are tales of a great brewing talent, and sharing a talent tends to improve it. It is time for the best to leave home.

Labels: Belgium, Bierhandel Willems, Brasserie La 42ème, De Glazen Toren, home brewing, Verhuisbrouwerij, Vilvordia beer festival

Gold, incense and myrrh were the gifts of choice some two thousand years ago. Whilst gold may still be a great gift, the La Binchoise brewery claims it has brewed a superior replacement for both incense and myrrh.

Their Christmas beer, La Binchoise Speciale Noël, pours cloudy and copper with a big, beige head. For the nose there are liquorice, caramel, spicy yeast aromas with a hint of pear. In the mouth fruity and caramel flavours mix with coriander and some other dry spices. The finish is dry and yeasty, and the beer provides warming alcohol appropriate for this cold, festive season.

When it comes to festivities, the brewery should know what it is talking about. It is situated in the small Hainaut town of Binche, which comes to life once a year with some wild celebrations, that have given rise to the English word "binge". Not well-known outside Belgium their Mardi Gras carnival is a must-see. During the procession, the Gille Character wears his impressive hat covered with ostrich feather and throws hundreds of oranges to (or more often, at) the public.

The Christmas celebration may be rather more subdued and peaceful, but the golden fruit remains one of its countless treats. Another and one highly recommended, is La Binchoise Speciale Noël. Indeed, I see the whole range of Chrsistmas beers as the brewers' annual gifts to the craft beer enthusiasts, as a thank-you for another year of drinking their beer. I, for one, do not miss the incense and myrrh. A merry, beery Christmas to all!

Labels: Belgium, Binche, Christmas beers, La Binchoise, Mardi Gras

The glasses proudly pronounce "Essen 150 jaar spoorgemeente"- 150 years of train connection from Roosendaal in the Netherlands to Antwerpen via Essen.

The slogan is dated for several reasons. Not only did the celebration actually take place three years ago - glasses are reused so you get your 3 euro deposit back if you hand in a clean glass upon leaving the festival. You may also opt to keep it as an inexpensive souvenir, but appearantly few do so.

Second, it is my prediction that this particular railway line (line no 12) is likely to be less important in the near future. A new high-speed line has been built east of the line 12 connecting Antwerpen and Brussels with Amsterdam via the barony city of Breda. (In an endless series of delays, it now seems scheduled to open in October 2008). It will reduce travel time from Amsterdam to Antwerpen to just one hour!

Unfortunately, the first day of this year's festival was struck by one of several one-day strikes by the Belgian train personnel. Some trains were still running since not all trade unions participated in the strike, but the train company seemed unable to predict which would still leave (even if with a delay). There is an air of helplessness descending upon many Belgian companies and employees when the unexpected strikes, which is so contrary to the originality and creativity shown in Belgian beer brewing. As a result, getting to the festival from inside Belgium was very difficult that day (but manageable from Roosendaal due to some good piece of advice on the festival web site).

The festival itself was on track as always with 126 different beers on offer. As such, it has rightly become one of the biggest annual beer events in Belgium, attracting craft beer enthusiasts from all over the world. In fact, international visitors may well outnumber the Belgians, and the Nordic countries are well represented, especially Denmark.

It was organised for the 13th time, and was subject to some unlucky circumstances this year. However, with the skills and dedication of the organisers, Objectieve Bierproevers Essense Regio, the local branch of Zythos, there was no way the festival could possibly derail. Trains may come and go (or rather not, as the case was), but I am pretty sure that beer tourists will continue to make their annual call at Essen for years to come.

Labels: Antwerpen, Essen, Kerstbierfestival

It has been a busy autumn and as a result a dark period for my beer blogging. I found myself back in London a couple of times during this period, mainly for business. Though a great variety of beers are available in the city, it still requires more time and effort than in the beery paradises of Copenhagen, Brussels and Amsterdam. The Cobra cities have bars ensuring that a selection of hundreds, if not thousands of beers are within walking distance of each other.

In the British capital, due to the tradition of cask beers, the selection is often limited to less than ten craft beers even in the most dedicated beer bars. The Tube comes in handy, and a great number of beer bars, luckily away from the bustling tourist centre, can be found along one tube line, namely the Northern Line (Bank branch). It may be black on the map, but is the vehicle to bright drinking moments.

A top-down approach, mapwise and on the social ladder, involves snaking down the Northern Line from the north, starting at the posh Hampstead Heath and finishing near the plainer Clapham Commons. Hampstead is home to one of the very few brewpubs in the city, and The McLaughlins Horseshoe is an easy walk from the Hampstead tube station. There may only be one or two brews available from the brewpub, but there is a decent bottle selection as well. Emphasis seems to be more on food, though, especially in the evening.

The are Belgo treats to be had at the Chalk Farm tube, but quirkier bar experiences await at Camden. Quinn's is almost an institution around here, run by the Quinn family for a generation. The rule of thumb here is that you may get what you see. Never mind the bar list, it is not likely to be updated. Checking that old Mr Quinn picks up and opens the right bottle is suggested. The good thing is that the beer fridge, on display at the one end of the bar, is most likely to include some rare, imported bottles that you have never tried before.

There is nothing beery about the brand new St Pancras International station, where the Eurostars trains now bring you to Paris and Brussels in around 2 hours. There is a long champagne bar and a crêperie- it feels more like a gateway to Europe (read: France) than a welcome to old England. So next stop on the Northern Line for a beer tourist on a mission should be Old Street for a good old cockney pub experience. The Wenlock Arms more than defends the half a kilometer walk from the station- recently polled the favourite London pub by beer blogger Stonch. No further comments needed!

I still have not made it to The Crosse Keys, a Wetherspoons pub with a good cask ale selection not far from the Bank station. I guess it is good to leave some treats for later. However, a must-see is always London Bridge, especially on market days, Thursdays through Saturdays. Picking up some bottles at the Utobeer stall is inevitable. With great pubs like The Rake, The Market Porter and Brew Wharf all close by, it is easy to spend all day here.

Moving south Borough station is only one stop away and the place to go for Harveys ale in London. The Royal Oak is a pleasant neighbourhood pub that serves up the best from the Sussex brewer. According to an ad in the London Drinker magazine they are now also open in the weekends.

All good things have to come to an end. You could continue further down to Clapham North for one Bierodrome experience or make a good 15 minutes walk from Clapham Common to the Microbar with its splendid bottled beer selection. Stopping short of Clapham, in Stockwell, is also warmly recommended. Seemingly forgotten by Ratebeerians The Priory Arms could offer 5 cask ales and some quite rare German bottles on my latest visit. Indeed, I would rank this as one of the top pubs in the capital and definitely one of the most undersung.

In my opinion, for a pub walk to really take off in London you have head underground. There, the deepest and blackest of all lines will bring you to the heights of beery London.

Labels: London, Microbar, Northern Line, Quinn's, The Horseshoe, The Priory Arms, The Royal Oak, The Wenlock Arms

When old attraction pales, new approaches are needed. Some Belgian pale ales have seen their volumes dropping as post-industrial Belgium is consuming less beer and more wine. The thirst for Belgian craft beer from the rest of the world has been more important to the smaller breweries, often with more assertive beers.

Assertive the pale ales may not be- their beauty lies in their drinkability and balance. Not least so for De Koninck, which is still the reigning beer in its home city, Antwerpen. As indicated by the beer coaster, all you have to say is bolleke- literally a small ball- to get served their refreshing amber ale in its famous bowl-shaped glass.

It comes copper-coloured, usually with a decent head. Yeasty aroma combines with hay hoppiness. Good toffee caramel are married with spicy fruit flavours. With a clean dry finish it is a characterful thirst-quencher.

Thirst-quenching has always been possible around the brewery, located along the old (stone) road to Mechelen, the Mechelsesteenweg. The most famous café was probably Café Pelgrim, where the surplus yeast from the brewery across the road was served in shot-glasses as a tonic. For years it functioned as the unofficial brewery tap, but appearantly that did not pull enough pilgrims, so since March the doors have been closed for good.

The doors will open again next year. Café Pelgrim and its neighbouring café, also bankrupt, will be converted into one big beer café, and there will be a new brewery museum in the adjoining building, marking the 175th anniversary of Brouwerij De Koninck. When Joseph De Koninck started up his brewery in 1833, it was originally called Brouwerij De Hand, from the signpost marking the city limits of Antwerpen. The symbol of Antwerpen and De Koninck has always been the cut-off hand . In what is essentially a rebranding of the old port city on the Schelde, the hand is increasingly rarely seen, replaced by a cool, capital A.

The hand lives on, however, in the name of what is essentially the new, unofficial brewery tap, Afspanning De Hand. Afspanning is another Flemish word for café, literally meaning relaxation (where you can get restored as in a restaurant). The focus is indeed on food. All the De Koninck brews and no others are available- which makes a selection of five beers, including the seasonal Winterkoninck.

To compensate the beers are available in as many as six different glasses: in addition to Bolleke, there is a choice of a Bol, a Prinske, a Prinses, a Fluit and a Handje. Given a choice, I would rather see more brews and fewer glasses.

I shall not complain, however, if the flirt with a new generation of beer drinkers is necessary to keep up the commitment to quality brews. Commitment usually begins with a flirt

Labels: Antwerpen, De Hand, De Koninck

The world has lost its greatest beer writer. Michael Jackson passed away this morning, aged 65. Michael became world-famous in the late 80s with his television series "The Beer Hunter" on Discovery Channel.

He discovered beers and beer styles that few people had heard of, and his well-written books on beer are all seen as the authoritative guides on the topic. His books - starting out with the "World Guide to Beer" as early as 1977 - provided the ultimate inspiration for the craft beer movement.

The picture is taken at the Dolle Brouwers - the crazy brewers-stand at the Zythos beer festival 18 months ago. Michael Jackson was a regular at Zythos as well as at the smaller Bier Passion festival in Antwerpen.

Passionate about beer he certainly was, at the time probably seen as "doll", (but never dull). In the end his beer knowledge was unrivaled.

Labels: Michael Jackson, The Beer Hunter