Dupont Saison

I have not got much time today due to an all day departmental meeting, but I thought it was worth pointing out that I think Dupont Saison is highly overrated. After hearing so many people rave over this style, I bought a bottle whilst in Brugge in January.

Anyhow, I didn't think it was much chop. I think I would get a similar result if I mixed half a pint of Hoegaarden with a half of Leffe blonde.

Over-rated.

Kwak! Kwak!

Ok, I think I may have given away a few clues as to what this post may be about. As much as I want to talk about the delicious amber nectar that is Kwak, this post is going to be dominated by Brown ales - or more correctly Bruin ales!
After leaving Amsterdam, we headed south into Belgium with a pit-stop in Antwerp before heading onto Brugge. I have stated many times that Brugge is my favourite European city and my faith was restored yet again upon arriving in the town square. I have yet to watch the Virgin media release, In Bruges, but it is high on my list of movies to see after what must be my fifth or sixth visit to the city. Brugge is a great place to go drinking, with more than enough bars, café's and pubs serving up Belgium's finest to satisfy your beverage needs. My favourite place to grab a beer is 't Hof Van Rembrandt a smallish café that has a modest beer selection and a nice outlook over a small square. In Summer it is an amazing place to sit, people watch and enjoy a beer during the long sun lit evenings. Some may argue that there are a lot better pubs such as De Garre and 't Brugs Beertje, but as I have been with my wife on every occasion, I simply have not been able to trounce around looking for these gems.
Anyhow, over the new year period when I was there I had a little bit of a fetish for Bruin ales. Some that spring to mind are, Grimburgen bruin, St Feuillien bruin and Kasteel bruin, with the latter being 11% abv and tasting sickly sweet. It poured almost like maple syrup! I also ordered a Brugge triple which I don't think I was served. The beer tasted a lot like Leffe bruin to me and I feel I may have been swindled, but then I didn't mind too much as I was in a bruin ale mood. Other highlights included Primus Haacht witbier which my mother-in-law bought me whilst my wife and father-in-law went climbing up the tower in the main square as well as a nice pint of unpasteurized Bruges Zot. I must say that I am not really a fan of this beer normally and find it a little bit rough, but I think I have been put off by an obnoxious lady from the USA who ruined the brewery tour for me a couple of years ago. The murky beer I had recently was a top spec pint, over-sized wine glass. This leads me to Kwak, a favourite of mine just because of the novel glass and stand. I really appreciate the inventiveness involved. An over-sized wine glass in this instance would have been the easy option to take - full marks for effort and it does make the beer taste better.

In other exciting news: Did you know that you can die in North Korea by sleeping in a room with the fan on? Linky.

Rochefort 10

The 'other' beer I had while dining in the Brouge bar last Saturday night. It's strong (11.3% abv), tastes like plums and raisons and gets served in an oversized wine glass. I had some cheese with it which was nice, but not spectacular. I can't remember what kind of cheese it was.

A tickers description;

"Reddish-brown colour, with a very compact head and an aroma of figs, feels like honey in the mouth. The alcohol profile is a major component in the flavour of this rich ale. It is very similar to 6 and 8, but has much more of everything. Some may find the high alcohol content to be disagreeable"

Geeky Stuff:
The brewery is located inside the Abbey of Notre-Dame de Saint-Rémy, near the town of Rochefort, and has been brewing beer since 1595. There are approximately 15 monks resident at the monastery. The monks are very secretive about the brewing process, and the brewery is not open to the public, therefore much of the information publicly known about the brewery comes from only a few sources.
Like many strong Belgian beers, those produced at Rochefort age well and can be cellared for at least five years whilst maintaining quality. Each of these beers is brewed to the same recipe, with the only difference being the alcoholic content. The water for the beers is drawn from a well located inside the monastery walls.
As with all other trappist breweries, the beer is only sold in order to financially support the monastery and some other good causes. The monks will not increase production based on demand or profit motives, but only enough to support themselves, resulting in a fairly limited supply of beer availability. In practice, there is currently no shortage through regular channels. Also worthy of note is that these god botherers have not sold out to a larger brewery yet.

Website

Grimbergen Blonde

Grimbergen is the brand of a number of Beligian abbey beers.The brand stems back to the town of Grimbergen where beer was first brewed in 1128 at the abbey built for St Norbert of Xanten.
I stumbled upon Grimbergen Blonde (6.7% abv) in a sidewalk cafe on the Boulevade Grenelle, Paris not far from the Eiffel tower.
The beer is similar to other mass produced abbey beers such as Leffe blonde although it contains more of a burnt sugar element and is slightly darker in colour. The usual taste of coriander is present in abundance and works well with the lingering bitter aftertaste. More concerning though is that it was served up in a pint glass! Luckily I had not had anything else to drink, as pints of double strengh Belgian beer is usually a recipe for me to fall asleep. I have seen the rest of the range in Tesco, so I may pick up a few bottles for comparison in the future. Website: www.grimbergenbier.be

Brugse Zot

After a rather satisfying pint from The Jeruselum we headed across Clerkenwell Road and nipped into The Dovetail Belgian Cafe where after giving the bar guy a lesson in how to subtract £5.60 from £20 to give us £14.40 change (seriously this guy couldn't count) we settled with two half pints of Brugse Zot ale from De Halve Maan Brewery. Now I profess that I really like this beer. I have been to the brewery in downtown Brugge a couple of times and after listening to annoying USA types asking really stupid and inappropriate questions savoured the deliciousness that is the unfiltered product. The filtered product I had at the dovetaillast night, while not as nice as the fresh unfiltered brew from the brewery was still pretty good. The abv comes in at a smashing 6.1% abv and the taste is bitter with hints of spice (I think its corriander?) and the taste of burnt candy sugar which rather stangely goes well in this beer. The bar itself is not that much to rave about except that it has an extensive beer menu, but the offerings on tap were limited to the Artois family along with Leffe, Hoegaarden and the Zot. One thing that I will be going back to The Dovetail for though is the food. Whilst i didn't eat, everyone else seemed to have a plate food and it looked good with generous portions and garlic mayo for the fries, I mean frittes! Overall: Expensive but worth ticking the box!