Observant World of Beer readers will have noticed that November was a slow month at the site, with no Bright Beers, KTTs or Critic's Corner reviews added during the month. The reason for this was that I was on the road in Belgium and Bavaria for most of the month, and racing to catch up on all the work I missed once I returned home. On the plus side, I have much to report, most of which will appear in the coming weeks and months in magazines like Saveur, Wine Enthusiast, the Celebrator and, of course, World of Beer. Here are a few random notes from the first half of the trip to start:
The 24 Hours of Beer, held annually in Antwerp, remains one of my favourite tasting events. Held over one weekend, with 12 hours of sampling on each day and no admission charge, it presents an unparalleled opportunity to taste the fruits of the diverse Belgian brewing community, including many beers from small, low profile, regional breweries like Ter Doolen, Paeleman and Boelens. My favourites from this year included the roasty, whisky-ish Ter Doolen Double Dark, first tried last year and even more impressive this time out; 't Smisje Honingbier, a fruity and honestly honey-ish honey beer from De Regenboog; the plummy, raisiny Novicius Vertus from De Leyerth; and the spicy and warming, 9% alcohol Kerstbier from Boelens.
The year-old brewpub on the Grand'Place in Brussels, Les Brasseurs de la Grand'Place, offers a mixed bag of top- and bottom-fermented beers. I thought the 8% Brune des Brasseurs was the stand-out, with a fruity-chocolaty nose and clovey body carrying red apple notes, while the Grand Place Ale fell short with a thinnish character and none of the British Mild style attributes it is reputed to possess. In the middle is the bottom-fermented Speciale Grand Place, which reminded me a bit of a U.S. Imperial pilsner.
On a non-beer note, while I stayed in many wonderful lodgings across the country, the most delightful was the Hostellerie St-Roch in the modest Wallonian town of Comblain-La-Tour. A 15-room inn, family-owned and operated, it offers the kind of comforts that made a dreary day seem considerably brighter. It was also there that I sampled my first Belgian wine, a more than competent and, in fact, quite enjoyable pinot gris from Wijnkasteel Genoels-Elderen. Who knew that the Belgians made wine?!
I paid a visit to Brasserie Fantôme in Soy, run almost single-handedly by Dany Prignon, and found a fabulously disorganized brewery producing eclectic, eccentric and highly flavourful ales. Dany can barely keep his recipes straight, but what he does manage to craft is uniformly impressive. I'd offer tasting notes, but it wouldn't matter much since the seasonal beers I sampled are unlikely to be the ones you might taste in the future. Suffice to say that the name Fantôme on the label should be enough to convince you to try whatever is in the bottle.
I ate once again at La Villette in Brussels, and was once again blown away by the cuisine à la bière offered at this tiny restaurant on the Place Ste-Catherine. Int' Spinnekopke may have the bigger name, but for my money, La Villette has the better food. It's at Rue du Vieux Marché aux Grains 3, phone 02/512.75.50, but keep it to yourself, okay?
In Antwerp, I was impressed by Het Pomphuis, a massive restaurant built in an old pumping station on the docklands. It's a hugely ambitious undertaking, with an enormous number of seats and no way to get there except by car, but its impressive cuisine gives one reason to hope that the owners are able to make a go of it.
Also in Antwerp, thank goodness for the Oud Arsenaal (Maria-Pijpelincxstraat 4; 03/232.97.54). The Kulminator is great for vintage beers, and Afspanning 't Waagstuk for selection, but give me the Arsenaal for tremendous beer and atmosphere any day..
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