Years Back - Luxembourg

Wiltz, in northern Luxembourg, has the National Beer Museum. Maybe every country should have one. It's owned by the Simon brewery and most of the display is beeriana of Simon and other brewers.

An old wort chiller. This one in the best condition of any I've ever seen.

An old drum filter and a suit of armor. Don't ask why. Don't ask why his left arm is laying at his feet either.

 The real jewel of the National Beer Museum is the micro-brewery built in 2001. And I mean Micro. Unfortunately there was no solid information about this system nor anyone to ask. It's just dirt cute. The perfect homebrewer's setup. The coppers have little opening doors and stainless steel tanks inside. It's computer controlled by a Siemens unit. A wort chiller. Two fermenters, complete with chilling systems, were bubbling away with condensation on the outside. I want one (and so do you).
Two serving tanks in back were full. But there weren't any glasses or anyone to pour us a beer. The high-school girl at the ticket counter didn't know a thing but she seemed to agree when I suggested they make beer for festivals. Maybe they do; maybe she just agreed.

Mad Anthony's 17th Annual OktoBEERfest

Mad Anthony Brewing Company

Join Us for the 17th Annual OktoBEERfest
Fort Wayne, IN, September 12th

It’s time to say “OK… to OktoBEERfest” and make plans now to join over 40 Indiana breweries
for the 17th Annual Mad Anthony Brewing OktoBEERfest occurring Saturday, September 12th at
Headwaters Park West.

MABC OktoBEERfest is dedicated to promoting and celebrating locally crafted products: from
Indiana beers and ciders to Fort Wayne food and entertainment. At Mad Anthony Brewing
Company, we believe that there are a lot of great things going on in our own backyard and
want to use this festival as an opportunity to showcase them.

Our distributor-free event also gives one lucky attendee the chance to win a trip for two to the
Great American Beer Festival; provided through a partnership with 96.3 XKE and Travel Leaders.

This year marks the second year for our Mad Brewers Challenge, hosted in conjunction with Fort
Wayne’s very own Brewer’s Art Supply. This Challenge allows one homebrewer the chance of
having their beer recipe commercially brewed and served within all MABC brewpubs. The top
entries will be served at the festival and voted upon by attendees. Join MABC and Brewers Art
Supply in making a homebrewer’s dream come true. Full contest details are available online
at madbrew.com.

Another delicious festival attribute is the OktoBEERfest Food Truck Alley, established to
showcase Fort Wayne’s growing food truck culture. This year’s trucks will include: Who Cut the
Cheese?, Bravas and Ragin’ Cajun. We are also fortunate to be joined by three great local
bands: Rogues & Bandits, Trichotomous Hippopotamus and Desert Train.

Looking for some great craft beer fun before the festival? Check out these fun
OktoBEERfest festivities:
• September 10th: Craft Beer Dinner at JK O‘Donnell’s
• September 11th: Oktobeerfest Golf Outing at Bridgewater West Golf Course, Auburn
• September 11th: Gears & Beers - Pub Pedal & Crawl starting at Fort Wayne Outfitters

Make plans to attend OktoBEERfest and enjoy all the flavors our amazing state has to offer.
Tickets for Mad Anthony Brewing Company’s 17th Annual Oktobeerfest are available online
at etix.com. Physical tickets are available at all Mad Anthony Brewpubs and Rudy’s Shop in
Fort Wayne.

For more information on OktoBEERfest and all its events visit www.madbrew.com or
facebook.com/MadAnthonyBrewing.

Dribs and Drams

Rick Burkhardt suggests a Bicentennial Collaboration for next year. info

A State Court has upheld the cold-beer-only-in-liquor-stores law. info

Josh Hill has come back to New Albanian. link

Eric Strader has fresh info about the Goshen Brewing Company. blog

Three Pints is looking to move from Plainfield to downtown Indy. The Tap Room in Martinsville will continue. press release

If you haven't noticed, the Indiana Craft Beer Blog has been putting up old patents and nostalgic (to my father) Beer in Ads. link

Beer at Colts games will be $7 (16oz). Yike. But Oakland charges $10.75 (20oz). DoubleYike.


Roger talks about Lou's Brew here.

Indiana On Tap posts their trip to the Great Taste of the Midwest.

The American Beverage Licensees honors 21 retailers at the 2015 Annual Conference. Including Nancy and Charley Brock's Northside Liquors in Seymour. info

General

Google's App store has a sell-by date decipherer. $1.32. for instance "Half Acre uses a packaging dae on their cases. The code on the cans is the manufacturer's code, not Half Acre's" test it out

Another app: Next Glass Knows If You'll Love a Beer or Wine By Scanning the Label


Good explanation. Why a 5% Beer Gets You Drunk So Much Faster than a 4% Beer

Saccharromyces eubayanus led the UofW to figure that lager yeast evolved at least twice. article 

Here's a printable Beer & Food Pairing chart.

Beer And Breakfast Go Together Like Pop Tarts And India Pale Ale. Wait, What?

Your New Morning Brew: Beer Jelly 

Who made that boutique beer? I, for one, didn't know Founders sold 30% to a Spanish company.

A maybe current list of the strongest beers. With sometimes disparaging tasting noted. link

Huh? Get your box of wine. For the Football Season? link 

Menus: Whiskey Sour 

Burglars Open 1,200 Bottles of Koenig Pilsener Beer, Steal Bottle Caps. An idea that won't win many prizes.

Beer Fests continue.... Daredevil Hops and Flip Flops + Beers Across the Wabash AUG. 29

The Hops and Flips Flops Festival in Speedway, IN, sponsored by Daredevil Brewing and Do317.com features beer from about 25 local, regional, and national breweries with live music and the first Hops & Flip Flops 5k run/walk co-sponsored by the Speedway Running Club, Speedway Trails and Racemaker Productions. There is also a BLOCK PARTY from 6-10PM after all other events! The Indianapolis area beers will be from Daredevil, Black Acre, Central State, MashCraft, and Triton along with New Day Craft Meadery. Bare Hands and 3 Floyds from northern Indiana will be on hand. Look for regional and national beers from Bell's Country Boy, Ommegang, Vivant, Dogfish Head, Fat Head, Founders, Green Flash, Jolly Pumpkin, North Peak, Oskar Blues, Shmaltz, Sierra Nevada, Stone, St Louis Brewery, and Victory.

This years fest builds upon a highly successful fest last year but with the opening of Daredevil's Brewery with tasting room the event is now held on their grounds and surrounding area.
Where: Daredevil Brewing, 1151 Main Street in Speedway , IN,
Time: 5K Run 8AM Start; Beer Fest 1-5PM; Block Party 6-10PM;
Price: 5k=$40; Beer Fest VIP area=$65; General Admission= $45; Block Party= no charge to beer fest attendees; $10 advance for others; $15 day of event
More information & tickets: Daredevil Hopfest Click HERE

Beers Across the Wabash, Lafayette, IN, is also Aug. 29, and is at least near the Wabash River. Due to local construction the festival will be held at Reihle Plaza and on 2nd Street with an entrance off the brick sidewalk on the south end of the Plaza. Parking is available in the 2nd & South parking garage and on-street. This fest features beer from Chapman’s, Flat 12, Half Moon, Mad Anthony, Sun King, Scarlet Lane, Taxman, Broad Ripple, Black Swan, Brugge, Outliers, Crown, Tin Man, New Albanian, Books N Brews, St John Malt Brothers, Ironwood, TwoDeep, Barley Island, Triton, Powerhouse, Four Fathers, Figure 8, Shoreline, Three Wisemen, People’s and Lafayette Brewing.
Where: Reihle Plaza, Lafayette, IN
Time: Beer Geeks 1-6PM, General Admission 2-6PM
Price: Beer Geek Package=$60; General Admission= $40;
More information & tickets: Beers Across The Wabash Click HERE

Years Back - Review of the Continent

Terry and I spent from May through September driving around the Continent and now it was time to head for warm ol' Enlgand for the winter. Had to decide what were our favorite sights, museums, food, etc. Here's an attempt. Yah, sorta boring but we'll get back to beer news RSN.

Favorite Big Cities 1 - Bob) Berlin 1 - Terry) Paris Antwerp Munich Salzburg Dresden Lyon Vienna Amsterdam (Also) Barcelona

Favorite Smaller Towns 1) Brugge, Belgium Annecy, France Bamberg, Germany Ghent, Belgium Strasbourg, France (Also) Edam, Netherlands (Also) Gibraltar (Also) Hamlin, Germany (Also) Heilbronn, Germany (Also) Leiden, Netherlands

Favorite Museums

1) House at Checkpoint Charlie - Berlin 2) Red Cross Museum - Geneva Decorative Arts Museum - Budapest Forum of Contemporary History - Leipzig House of Terror - Budapest Haus der Geschichte der Bundesrepublik Deutschland - Bonn Musikinstrumenten Museum - Berlin Zepplin Museum - Friedrichshafen, Germany

Favorite Attractions
1) Peace Palace - Den Haag 1) Eiffel Tower - especially at night when the whole thing flashes Le Linge (WWI Trenches) Notre Dame Cathedral Pont de Gard Rosarium - Gangerhausen, Germany
Bob's Picks	Terry's Picks
Eagle's Nest - Berchtesgaden Dachau East Side Gallery - Berlin Thomaskirche - Leipzig	1) Mt. Blanc and the Ice Cave BUGA 05 (flower show) Boat trip down the Danube Falls of the Rhine - Neuhasen, Germany

Favorite Chateaus

1) Versailles 2) Chateau Chambord - Blois Imperial Apartments - Vienna Residence / The Treasury - Munich Rosenau Palace - Rodental Amsterdam Royal Palace Salzburg Residenz

Favorite Auto Museums

1) Schlumpf Collection - Mulhouse, France EFA Auto Museum - Amerang, Germany Musee Automobile de la Sarthe - LeMans, France

Favorite Small or Unusual Museums/Attractions

1) Polder Windmill - The Netherlands 2) Museum of the Culture of the Hand - Wolnzach, Germany Les Gorges du Pont du Diable - Evian, France Jardins de Papillons - Hunawir, France Musee de la Cloche - Annecy, France Salz Werks - Neckarsulm, Germany Schweine Museum - Bad Wimpfen, Germany The Sewers - Paris Volkskundemuseum - Antwerp

Strangest Strange Attractions/Sights/Happenings

1) The Catacombes - Paris 2) Labyrinth - Budapest Kloister Au Braustuberl - Au am Inn, Germany Mannekin Pis / Jannekin Pis - Brussels Museum in a Stasi Bunker - Leipzig Third Reich amphitheater near Heidelberg A guy we were with at lunch eating "lardmeat" at Der Weiss in Munich 4 different red light districts (Barcelona, Budapest, Amsterdam, Brussels) 4 nude beaches (Nice, Munich, Brataslava, Netherlands)

Favorite Unexpected Delights

1) Landshut wedding festival. 2) Eiffel Tower at night. 2) A massive rainbow in Lichtenstein (and another in Calais). 3) Mount Blanc at sunset. 3) Schloss Frankenburg Wine Festival. Bridge in Lisbon at dawn from our porthole. Driving from Monaco to the Haute de Europe and beyond. European Senior Table Tennis Championship. Liquoristerie De Provence Versinth distiller. Organ concerts in Antwerp and Heidelberg. Spectating the Rallye Coeur de France. Stuibenfall - Umhausen, Austria. Surfing in Englishcher Garten. Train/Tram/Bus 1-rate ticket in Berlin, Paris, Munich, etc. The view of Gordes, France. Watching Parasailers.

Most Disappointing Attractions

1) Packaging Museum - Heidelberg 1) Simserhof (Maginot Line) 2) D-Day Beaches 2) Chateau de Champchevrier - Luynes, France Diksmuide (Belgium) beer festival Schloss Schonbrunn - Vienna - No tickets available. The Sewers - Cologne St. Thomas cruise stop Glockenspeil - Munich Rathaus (but we knew that going in)

Favorite European Foods

1 - Terry) 3 Fonteinen's fish soup 1 - Bob) Pork cutlet Szentendre covered in grated potatoes and deep fried 2) Pork roll at Kloister Andechs Chinese Lemon Chicken in a strawberry sauce in Bettembourg, Luxembourg French bread picnics with sausage and brie German pickles - dill, marinated with onion, spices, garlic, etc. Haxe  - pig knuckle Maultaschen - meat ravioli, Bavarian style Moravian onion soup Mussels in cream sauce Pfefferlinge mushrooms Schnitzel stuffed with mushrooms, cheese, ham, and pepper Strammer Max - ham and potatoes on toast with an egg on top Venison goulash Plus) At the Schweiger Brau Haus in Markt Schwabing, Germany, Staciatella Creme auf Walbeerog Hurtsauce. Not exactly a raspberry sherbert with a red sauce that isn't exactly raspberry, cherry, cranberry, or strawberry. Served with pineapple slices under powdered sugar and cinnamon with little red Johnannesberrys.

Favorite Beer Museum/Attractions

1) Internationales Berliner Bierfestival 2) Brasserie Cantillon - Brussels Brewery Museum - Bamberg Brouwershof - Fortem (Alveringem), Belgium Fete de la Biere - Lusanne, Switzerland Also) Brau Welt - Salzburg Also) Luxembourg National Beer Museum - Wiltz, Luxembourg Also) Confederation of Belgian Brewers Guildhouse - Brussels

Favorite Bars

1) Kulminator - Antwerp 2) 't Brugs Beertje - Brugge 2) Kafee Hop Duvel - Ghent 2) Gollem - Amsterdam Antigua Casa De Guardia - Malaga Delirium Cafe - Brussels DePaas - Den Haag Cervaceria Inter Tapa - Barcelona Paters Vaetje - Antwerp

Favorite  Brewpubs / Brewery Taps

1) Schlenkeria - Bamberg 2) Die Weise - Salzburg 2) Kloster Andechs - Andechs, Germany 3) Weiss Brau - Cologne 3) Ninkasi - Lyon 3) Augustiner - Salzburg Brauerie Frohsinn - Arbon, Switzerland Vetter's Alt Heidelberg Brauhaus Kaltenberg Etterem - Budapest Klosterbrau - Bamberg t' Pakhuis - Antwerp Zum Schad - Halle

Favorite Beers
Bob's Picks	Terry's Picks
1) Schlenkeria Rauchbier Marzen 2) Barbar Winter 2) Barbar Winterbok 2) Gordon Highland Scotch 2) Kwelcouffe Special Blonde 2) Leffe Radieuse 10° 2) Troubadour Obscura Andecher Dunkel Aventinus WeizenStarkbier Beiaards Witte Ros - Amsterdam Brauhaus Hausham 1935 Dunkel Gordon Xmas Schwabenbrau Das Schwarze Seven Stern Chili Wurzburger Hofbrau Schwarzbier Bass King's Ale 1981 Courage Russian Imperial Stout 1983	1) 3 Fonteinen Oude Kriek - Beersel 2) Wochinger Brau Weissbier Hefe - Traunstein 3) Die Weise Weiss Rot - Salzburg Ambrosarium Dunkel - Bamberg Brewery on the Grand Place Cherry - Brussels Wittekerke Rose Leffe Plus) Hoegaarden Kriek - a blend of Hoegaarden and Lindemans Kriek (both on tap) with a dash of raspberry syrup.

Favorite Town Names

Poppinwind, Germany Titisee, Germany Belchenland, Germany

Pictures, sure.

Lisbon	Barcelona
Andorra	Andorra
France	Gourdes, France
Mont Blanc	Lithuania
Eagles Nest	Gazebo from Sound of Music
Brataslava	Town party in backwoods Hungary

That's just the first half of the pictures. You'll need to send in comments if you want to see the rest.

Dribs and Drams

Tom Brady Sux - Drink a Sun King before this expires. link link link link link link link link link link

Rita's Beer Buzz talks about the upcoming Deviate Brewery and the State Fair presence. Plus Salt Creek.

Coming to the back stage at the fair:
Sun, Aug 16 - Thr3e Wisemen, Upland, Bloomington, TwoDEEP
Mon, Aug 17 - Chilly Water, Upland, Triton, TwoDEEP
Tues, Aug 18 - Tow Yard, Rock Bottom, People’s, Chilly Water 
Wed, Aug 19 - Tow Yard, Rock Bottom, People’s, Chilly Water, Shoreline
Thurs, Aug 20 - Tow Yard, Broad Ripple Brewpub, 450 North, Sun King
Fri, Aug 21 - Tin Man, Brugge, Outliers, 450 North, Sun King
Sat, Aug 22 - Tin Man, Salt Creek, 18th Street, Sun King
Sun, Aug 23 - New Albanian, Salt Creek, 18th Street, Sun King

Considering a group pub crawl. Indy has two services now:
Indy Brew Bus - Indianapolis brewery tours

 

Indy JoyRides - Indianapolis brewery tours

 


Have you heard yet about the  Indiana Hop Growers Association?

For the September 20th CANvitational, Hoosier Beer Geeks are coordinating volunteers.
 
PLUS

Cucumber Beers: Stars Of The Summer?

Tracking the Evolution of Beer

Maine brewery uses live lobsters and sea salt to make beer

How to be a better beer snob

Your favorite beer might cost more soon

Beer shortages loom in Venezuela as troops occupy Caracas warehouse

Why Is American Beer So Bland?

No, Sam Adams didn't make Helium Beer link


Tiny Rebel's Cwtch is the Champion Beer of Britain.

Yep, you got that Hefe-right. Wheaties Beer.   
 
The most expensive alcohol people actually spend their money on
 
8 Secrets of a Sommelier



Bud Light Truck Overturns, Spilling Cans Of Natural Light Beer Everywhere .
No beer was injured in the making of this post.

Years Back - More of Belgium - A long post

Here's some of our favorite (and less favorite) bars.

Hotel Le Limbourg - Rochefort. Good quiet big rooms with soft beds.
A good beer menu including all the Rocheforts. Emphasis is on regional beers.
Good food. An interesting street to sit and people-watch.
And the run of the place at night with our own key to the front door.

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Le Bier Circus - Brussels.
A big, bright restaurant on a side street in northeast area inside the inner ring.
Fancy food. Lots of beers. Nuff said.
We passed on the "Beef Stewed in Gueuze, Mustard and Chocolate".

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3 Fonteinen's home tap - Beersel. Bright family restaurant.
Crowded with Sunday apres-church diners. Get the fish soup.
They serve their Lambik, Kriek, and Faro from a traditional handpump.
Can't recommend the Lambik or Faro though the Kriek is exceptional.

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Just a beautiful front of the bar across the street from the Leffe Abbey.
The inscription above the door reads "l' historie de la Leffe". Sadly it was closed.

So we went to this seedy little bar directly next to the Leffe Abbey.
Had to stop in for a Leffe or two of course (actually 4).
Friendly enough but we split when an argument escalated after one patron
kissed his middle finger before showing it to the woman he had a disagreement with.

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Kafee de Hop Duvel - Ghent. Quiet college crowd. 8 creaky rambling rooms, a garden, and an upstairs room up a narrow creaky stair. Has expanded over the years by buying attached houses. Obsolete beer signs for wall decorations; Christiaen, Horse Ale, Hoboken. The 250+ beers available are all Belgian. There are so many possible because the founder also owns a beer distributorship. The bar is now 25 years old and owned by the founder's brother, Jaak Dencoze. The menu is separated by 1) Van 't vat. 2) Trappisten.
3) Abdijbieren. 4) By Belgian region. 5) Lambik
There are more beers here I haven't heard of than I could possibly drink in the time available. Note that all beers are served quite cold but that's better than all of them served too warm. Our hint: go to the bar to order - table service, especially in the back, is spotty.

Too bad you can't hear the creaky floors in this photo.

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't Galgenhuisje - Ghent. Attached to the old jailhouse.
The building (white in the front) was built "at the pillory in 1579" as a fishmonger.
In 1748 they had a license as a "public beer cellar".
The front was widened and the 2nd story added in 1783. And it hasn't changed much since.
Supposedly prisoners were brought next door to drink the night away before being hung at dawn.

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In typical Belgian humor, it's named "The Water House on the Beerside".
Just across from 't Galganjuisje, it's an equally rustic beer bar with a nice canalside terrace.
The menu of 150 runs Tap, Trappist, Abbey, Strong (Bush, Piraat, DT, DN, etc),
East Flanders, Lamics from 10 brewerys, Oud Bruins, (Rodenbach, Liefmans, etc),
Other fruit beers, Bottle Fermented (Duvel, etc.), Honey beer (8), Jeneverbieren, and 750mls.
They also have a house beer, Gandavum. And steins filled with concrete as lamps on the tables.
On the terrace is Dreupelkot, a jenever-only bar.

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't Brugs Beertje - Brugge.
A classical brown cafe popular with tourists since it's in every tourist guide.
There are only 2 small rooms and it's crowded at night.
I've never seen a barman asked so often for his recommendation.\
One of the great places and well worth the visit.

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In 't Nieuw Museum - Brugge.
Down a backstreet in a residential area.
Mainly an impressive restaurant with open-hearth grilling but has a 25+ beer menu with
few surprises (except for the plate of escargot that comes as snacks with your beer).
They have, of course, their own beer commissioned.

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De Garre in Brugge is a challenge to find. Opened in 1984. The door is mostly unmarked and you have to find your way through a gated doorway down a dead-end alley (below) to get there in the first place. Good luck.
Once there, you'll enter a genteel beer bar with only 3 beers on tap - Their Tripel Van de Garre, DeWitte Van Celis, and Gulden Draak. They also have about 50 bottles available.
2 floors. 6 tables downstairs and 9 up. It could be a tea room except everyone is drinking beer served on trays with paper doilies. Music tends toward power classics like Finlandia.

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Brouwershof - Fortem (Alveringem).
Cheery, friendly bar in a very small town.
Cheery, friendly bar manager, Liselotte Vangampelaere will make you glad you came.
About 30 beers on the list and Westy 12 is 3€. Beat that!
Plus, there's a brewery museum around back (see below).

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In De Vrede - West Vleteren - Actually 4 miles outside of West Vleteren
down 1-lane tractor paths following obscure signage.
In De Vrede means "In the Shadow" which is appropriate since it's immediately
across the street from the St. Sixtus Abbey brewery and sells only their products.
Starkly modern cavernous place with most of the charm of an airport waiting room.
Complete with gift shop and carryout counter (note wooden case holders above).
Despite the size and large staff, only soup and sandwiches are available for food.
Oh, and a plate of cheeses made at the Abbey.

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Also.

• Brasserie Prelude - Ghent. Nice shaded sycamore sidewalk seating in an unbusy area of town. Little food. An OK list of standard Belgian beers.
• L'Ultime Atome - Brussels. Busy corner cafe in a neighborhood just southeast of the inner ring road. It just happens to have 70+ beers on their menu but otherwise it could be a Parisian cafe. Big portions of food. Worth finding.

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Beers we tried.

3 Fonteinen Oude Kriek - From the handpump. "Minimum 35% krieken". Pitch black with a bright pink foam. Tart, strong. An espresso of kriek. Both an aperitif and a desert beer in one. 3 Fonteinen Oude Kriek - From the bottle in Brugge. Even tarter than from the keg. Seemingly less black but it was dark that night. 3 Fonteinen Lambik - From the handpump. One year in the vat. Plain brown and cloudy. Completely flat. Vinegary sour lambic brown ale. I would have returned this had it been at an American brewpub. No doubt it's that sour in order to produce such a good kriek. 3 Fonteinen Faro - From the handpump. Same brown but brighter and with a foamy head. Sourest faro in my experience. Pulls at the back of the throat. The Lambik base is identifiable and it doesn't seem as much candy sugar was used. An acquired taste, evidently. Augustijn - Light amber. Smooth and understated. A sneaker-up-on. Brother to Piraat from Van Steenberge. 8%. Barbar Winterbok - Just out. On tap. Creamy ivory head on a dark brown. Dark honey comes through strong in taste as though it were a fruit in a lambic. Not sweet though. Very drinkable. Close to a Top 10. Bink Donkel - Dark brown. Not notable. From Brouwerij Kerkom. Bourgogne Des Flanders - On tap. Simple dark brown bruin. Plum notes. Brugse Tripel - Dark, dull blond. Appealing ice cream soda head. From Gouden Boom. A typical triple but at 9.5%. Brugse Zot - From Halve Maan. Darkish blond. Their summer seasonal. Light ale. A bit grainy. Shape on the tongue but not pleasant. De Witte Van Celis - Yep, Pierre Celis's latest. A wit, surprise. On tap at DeGarre and bottled at Beertje in Brugge. Both served in an Austin glass. Thin. Something just slightly unusual about it but hard to place at this time of day. "The wheat beer, developed by the Celis Brewery (Austin, Texas) with the 500 year old brewing art of Hoegaarden (Belgium) with the modern brewing techniques." Chapeau Exotic - Lambic by De Troch. Pineapple and juicy fruit. Unsweet but not tart. Iron notes. Cuvee des Trolls - Fat side of tripel. Silly side of name and logo (right). Alcohol comes through as well as the aging. 7%. Dentengem Wit - On tap. Crisp but very light. Dikke Mathile - Fat Matilda named for a statue in Oostende. From Strubbete Ichtegm. Crisp and sharp with a sweet peach edge. Brown amber. Nice foamy head. Half hallertauer hops. Munich malt. Du Bocq Triple Moin - Orange juice blonde. Right to style. Lots of barley nose. A touch of orange/tangerine taste. Duchesse de Bourgoene - Dark "donker" beer with lots of sourness now. It's been altered a bit from the apple tartness of last year but that's still present. Quite fizzy. Ename Blond - Abbey ale. From the tap. Eh. A basic blond. Hoppy enough but not at all distinctive. John Martin's Pale Ale - Not bad. Not a British bitter. Not Belgian. But a decent pale ale. 5.8%. Galgenbier - From the tap. Special beer for 't Galgenhuisje. Dark ruby with a tan head. Mild amber ale. Slightly fizzy. 7.2%. Gandavum - House beer of Het Waterhuis Aan de Bierkant in Brugge. Brewed by Proffbrouwerij. Blonde. Dry hopped and proud of it although there's a minimal hop aroma. The fruit comes through. Taste is very mild blonde, maybe a saison. Certainly not a tripel even though 7.5%. Tripel Van de Garre - House beer at De Garre brewed to their recipe by a East Flanders brewery (Huyghe?). Floral petals notes and very drying. There's candy sugar evident and plenty of hops. Still, the drying is the most prominent. Gentse Tripel - Very light yellow, verging on green. Poured from the bottle entusiastically, giving a 1/2 glass of head. Light and fruity. Quaffable and dangerous. 8%. Girardin Frambous - Quite tart. Brewed in Dilbeek. 5%. Gordon Highland Scotch - Just because it's so good and the thistle glass fits the hand so well. "Brewed in Benelux for Anthony Martin". 8.6%. Guillotine - Blond tripel. A bit of caramel but not really sweet. A little spice of not-quite-clove in the finish. Hides the alcohol completely. It's suggested that this is a Delirium Tremens with another name and a little stronger. 9.3% Hommelbier - Apricot. Blonde ale. Leffe with twice the bitterness. 7.5%. Leffe Radieuse 10° - Dark amber. Massive malt, massive bitter. Where have you been all my life? Knows its place and doesn't attack the tongue or last too long. Polite. Nice belch though. Top 10. Lindeman's Gueuze - On tap. Subdued tartness and a light taste for the style. 4%. Lindeman's Kriek - On tap. All what we call black cherry. Tart and sweet. Malheur 12° - Big but not as massive as other 12°s. Plenty of malt and matching bitter but just to balance. Museum Bier - On tap at In 't Nieuw Museum (above). Dull gold. Mostly bitter with some Cascades probably. Oud Zottegems - Peach color. Light carbonation. Apple fruitiness. From Crombe brewery just south of Ghent. 6.5%. Petrus Bruin - Dark brown and delicious. Radar Ambree. "Is a traditional beer brewed in an old fashioned way with bottle fermentation flavoured with a subtle malt distillate aged in oak wood casks." By Radermacher Distillerie. Good smooth dark blonde. Not spicy at all. No gin character. A good drink. Reinaert Tripel - Blond with constant bubbles from all parts of a very clean tulip glass. Bold and thick alcohol hit. 9%. Rochefort 8 - Bottled. Same as in the U.S. Delightful brown chewiness. 7.3%. Served with some Rochefort cheese. Rochefort 10 - Served too cold at a singles bar in Rochefort. Saint Idesbald Brune - Cordovan. Strongish brune. Big aroma and long aftertaste of chocolate. Saint Monon Brune - Quite dark brown. Little head but fizzy on the tongue. Scotch ale aroma but a much more bitter taste. Dark toffee and coffee notes. 7.5%. Saison Regal - Dark for this type. Not stronger taste though. Maybe less hoppy than style. 't Smisje - Very red amber beer with sweet honey notes. Pronounced Shmisee. 6%. 't Smisje Halloween - Pompoen bier. Dark dull orange. Is it pie with nutmeg & cinnamon? Nope. They don't know proper pumpkin pie. It's unsweet pumpkin with a slightly burnt taste. Must be pretty strong because Terry tried to rip out her tongue and stomp on it after only one sip. She doesn't appreciate pumpkin very much. 10.5%. Straffe Hendrik Bruin - On tap. "Strong Henry" from De Halve Moon in Brugge. Served in a glass so wide it looks like a stemmed soup bowl. Brown, bold, spicy, citric, hoppy, bitter, raisin.8.5%. Stropken - Brewed by Steenberge for the Hop Duvel to their recipe. Dark blond. Bottle fermented. Served in a proper Hop Duvel glass. Not blown up on the menu as their exclusive beer. Some fruit; tropical and citric. Well balanced. Spicy dry finish that still leaves the palate coated. 7%. Tweespan Liselote - A Snoek Blonde (7.5% brewed by Bavik) with a shooter of hop jenever sitting in the glass. Bracing and quite complementary. (Bottom picture at right). Ultra Des Ecaussinees - From Brouwerij d'Ecaussinnes. Very dark brown with thick ivory foam. Flavor hits the roof of the mouth right behind the front teeth. 10%. Westvleteren 12 - Served warmish from the bottle at In De Verde. Very malty but my gawd it's very bitter. Leviathan strong of both. Wittekerke Rose - Raspberry wit from Bavik. Dark electric cranberry color. Very mild raspberry flavor. 4.3%. Wostyntje Torhouts Mostaard Bier. From Regenboog Brewery in Asse broek. "Mout, hop, kanij, mostardzaan, gistenwater". Your basic mustard beer. Nice but not really much mustard character.

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Breweries.

Lindemans.

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De Troch - Chapeau.

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Huyghe - Delirium Tremens

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Straffe Hendrik - Brugge.

The Halve Maan brewery in Brugge is another of the city's tourist meccas where English families come by the dozen. They have hourly brewery tours which end with a beer in their restaurant. Unfortunately there's only one beer available in their restaurant and they pay very little attention to the place except at the end of tours - it's really tough to buy a beer, actually. Vats in the restaurant are for display only. That's the largest wort chiller we've ever seen.

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The Abbey brewery at St. Sixtus does not allow visitors but they have a carry-out shop.
Since their Westvleteren 12 was named "the best beer in the world" it's been tough to get.
In fact, when we were there, the Twelve, Eight, and Blond were all unavailable at the brewery.
Go to the In De Vrode across the street which did have supplies.

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Brasserie du Bocq - Blanche de Namur, Saison Regal, Tripel Moine. Tours are offered on weekends at 2pm. Unfortunately we showed up on Friday at 1:45. When in Europe, take a calendar. Sigh.
 

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De Gouden Boom, Brugge - Steenbrugge.

Brouwerij de Block - Satan

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A Beer Museum.

At one time there were 7 breweries in the small town of Alveringem (population now 7,000) but none are still around. The Brewery de Snoek, in the outskirts of town (actually in the hamlet of Fortem) brewed beer from 1767 through 1952 when they stopped due to competition and regulatory pressure and continued making sodas until the 1960s. They then cleaned up all the equipment and now it's a unique opportunity to go through a non-working 19th century 4-story tower brewery complete with the small coke-fired floor maltings.
On top of this, it's behind a friendly, cheery bar where Liselotte will serve up a beer or two before and after your visit to the museum. (see Favorite Bars section above). There's even English signs for us Yanks (and more likely Brits).

Gas engine which replaced the steam engine about 1900. The mash tun fed the brewing copper through a hole in the floor which also accepted the hops.

Hot water piped to the mash tun at the malt head. A plaster statue of the Brewer.

Fermenting took place in barrels in the basement. These have iron bungs

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Other stuff.

A display of beers in an almost-typical street quick-stop tobacco shop.
I'd suggest it for inclusion in Indianabeer.com links but it's about 5,000 miles too far east.

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The Bottle Shop in downtown Brugge is much more typical of the probably
20 great stores in that city alone. The picture below shows about
15 feet of the approx. 90 linear feet of 5-high shelving.
Bottles are sold next to their appropriate official glassware.

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Comparatively few non-Belgian beers can be found anywhere in Belgium. Guinness, Stella, and Bass probably make up 80% of these. We did see the lamp above as well as a wall sign for Fat Tire. St. Louis Kriek in a can.

At Het Waterhuis aan de Bierkant in Ghent, the table lamp bases are beer mugs filled with concrete. Mash paddle lampshade.

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In the beer menu at 't Brugs Beertje there's an article entitled "The Definition of Lambic".

On 31 March 1993 a Koninklijk Besluit (Royal Decree) on beer was passed by the Belgian parliament that changed the definition of what constitutes a lambic beer. . . "acid beers where spontaneous fermentation is part of the production process."
"Acid beer" is not a phrase that means an awful lot to a lambic brewer as even the sharpest gueuze should really be looking to be dry and tart rather than acidic. However, this is also helpfully defined thus . . . "beer with a total acidity of at least 30 milli-equivalents of NaOH per litre and a grade of volatile acids of at least 2 milli-equivalents of NaOH per litre. In acid beers of spontaneous fermentation at least 30% of the total weight of the incorporated starch- or sugar-containing ingredients must consist of wheat".
This means that, for example, a beer made from 10% real spontaneously fermented lambic and 90% ultra-dry wheat beer is permitted to be sold as "gueuze-lambic".
You may think that such a dippy definition of this most traditional of craft products came about because politicians have little expertise when it comes to beer. But this is not necessarily true. For example, Jean-Luc Dehaene, who was Prime Minister of Belgium back in 1993, knows enough about it to be appointed to the Board of Interbrew. Interbrew happens to make Belle-Vue "gueuze-lambic", which some cynics claim falls somewhat short of being an oude gueuze.

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Much is made of Belgian Scotch ales. There are only a couple of these available here. Most beer-savvy Belgians drink triples, Leffe-type blonds, and bruins. Some wits also but that's a sideline.

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We stopped in an Odd Bins in Calais to see why CAMRA is so upset about people crossing the channel to buy cheap beer, whisky, wine, and cigarettes. Not all that interesting, really. Moreland's Old Speckled Hen, Green King's Abbot, and Ruddle's County ales were £10 to £12 a case (24x33cl bottles). Talisker for £25 (about $45 which is a bargain but not a steal). Also "Bier de France" and other such abominations which surely is the whole reason for Cailais' reputation.