Intro to Belgium

As usual, we set off later in the day than expected and breezed into Liege just long enough to pick up a car and head for Ghent.  It ended up being a long travel day but luckily we decided to stop into a neighborhood bar in Aalst mentioned in our trusty Good Beer Guide to Belgium. It was so packed we could barely get into the door but we did manage to squeeze into a tiny table and sip our first beers in Belgium.  And what a great choice! The de Glazen Toren brewery is nearby and we chose the Saison wrapped in its signature paper.  Freshly bottled and popping with spicy character, it was perfect to brighten up the rainy day outside.  I also ordered what I deciphered to be a chicken and mushroom stew with Orval in the broth. I was right! Trust me, this is a satisfying result when considering Flemish menu items. The stew was great, simple and flavorful; comfort food without being heavy.

We arrived in Ghent in a drizzling rain after dark and tried in vain to decipher which streets were one way, pedestrian only, and endless mystifying variations of both. In search of a late dinner, our B&B recommended a nearby café that actually turned out to be in the aforementioned trusty guidebook. However, sometime since the last edition they seem to have decided that the whole 100+ beer list trend was passé and pared it down to five or six. But it was quiet and relaxing and made a yummy shrimp diavolo. Of course, this being the beer portion of the vacation we made a point of hunting out an extensive beer list after dinner. By now we are learning that Belgian beer bars are always crowded, lively, and smoky. The menus are not skimpy folios but serious inch think books. The choices are overwhelming. Helpfully, all of the beer menus in Belgium include the ABV percentage, which starts to become an important decision factor when beer traveling. I’m torn between choosing favorites to see how different they taste and trying beer I’ve never heard of that we can’t get in the States. So I alternate. The Poperings Hommel Ale is fantastic, with a light dry body and just the right amount of citrusy kick from the hops. My second never-heard-of-it choice was less memorable. I guess there’s a reason the famous beers are famous, huh?

Our first stop in the morning is Cantillon in Brussels, famous for traditional lambics and gueze. The brewery is family owned and very focused on preserving traditional methods and quality. It’s a fascinating place to explore, with stacks and stack of bottles aging, a huge shallow copper tank for fermenting in its own room (their beer is fermented with wild yeast so it’s left exposed to the air overnight after brewing), and, of course, a brewery cat. The day after brewing, the brew is put right into casks (with the bunghole left open) and once fermentation starts the excess foam simply bubbles out the opening. What a sight! After poking around the brewery, the tour finishes with a tasting of gueze and kriek. I learn that the proper way to serve is to lay the bottle in a specially made basket that lets the  bottle rest at about a 35 degree angle. I assume that this keeps the yeast from being disturbed as much with so many small pours. I don’t know how many of you are fans of lambic, but these are both great examples – sour and dry but not overbearing with complex yeasty, oaky and citrusy aromatics. The Kriek smells just like pie cherries straight off a tree, ripe, tart and fresh. The amount of fruit is very skillfully balanced as well. You get the full aroma and flavor of the fruit without the sweet aftertaste common in other fruit beers. Their Frambois had the most enticing aroma too, it took me right back to my childhood picking raspberries off the vine from our garden.  After the tastings we each order a glass, not realizing exactly how big the servings are. Have you ever drank a pint of traditional still lambic? It is not an easy task and I’m afraid I wasn’t up to it. Or rather my stomach wasn’t.