Combing the Belgian Countryside

Onward to the southern part of Belgium, we are in search of Dupont brewery, which our trusty guide assures us has a café across the street where we can have a leisurely lunch even though the brewery itself won’t be open. No such luck. In fact, this was perhaps the smallest, quietest village we have encountered. No one speaks English and it seems there is not a single eating establishment open on a Saturday afternoon. Ah well. We did get a few rounds of Saison Dupont and Dupont’s pilsner which were rather satisfying on their own. The most fascinating part is that we had the beer at two different bars both within sight of the brewery and they tasted completely different! Mysterious to say the least.

I’ll spare the details of the wild goose chase for lunch, except to say that there are an astounding number of cobblestone roads through corn fields in this area. At any rate, by 5:00 we managed to locate Binchoise brewing and their charming café. Food at last! And really good food at that. Although we probably did some damage to our arteries with the fried brie croquettes dipped in cheese fondue…c’est la vie!

The next morning we finally get a chance to walk around Ghent. It’s a lovely small city, full of canals and interesting architecture. Our walking tour includes a stroll in the sun along the main canal, an alleyway completely given over to graffiti artists, and a stop for lunch at a café on a houseboat. I’m so glad it’s such a beautiful day after 3 days of rain. It’s an entirely different experience.

Out on a new brewery trek, we head for de Dolle brewery for their weekly tour. This was great fun. The brewer’s mom conducts the tour and she is a character. There are stories to tell at every stop, especially regarding evidence of the health benefits of beer and the fact that all the tasting room furniture is rescued from curbs.  I am amazed to learn that they only brew two days a week here, makes one appreciate the fact that we can get their beer in North Carolina at all. In the tasting room we get to meet the brewer and he and Alex geek out about brewing for a while. Which is awesome because, as many of you well know, that means that new and special beers keep appearing. He took Alex down to take a look at the cellar and sent us home with a 2007 Still Nacht that I was really excited about – except that it all leaked into my suitcase on the plane home. I think that the de Dolle beers are really original. They definitely have distinct house flavors from the brewery and equipment (there’s been a brewery on the site since 1835), but the main thing is that they make the beer they like without slavishly sticking to traditional styles. Their beers are hoppier than typical Belgian ales yet finish off very balanced.  The brewery is a labor of love for the family, and the brewer does all of the artwork for the packaging himself. It’s the way brewing should be.