Beer Tour of Belgium – Day 5: Tournai and Namur November 1, 2009
Posted by pinchaque in 101 Things, Adventures in Beer, Beer Tour of Belgium.Tags: beer, belgium, beloeil, tournai, namur
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Tuesday, September 15, 2009
After another delicious breakfast at Hotel Salvators, we departed Brugge on an inauspiciously rainy day. This was going to be another big travel day, with some interesting stops along the way, as we made our way to the Southern part of Belgium.
Tournai
As we headed south on the freeway we kept seeing signs for “Dornik”, which we couldn’t find on our map. It wasn’t until we crossed over from the Flanders to the Walloon province that we realized this was just the Dutch translation of our first destination that day: Tournai.
Cathedral in Tournai
Statue on the outside of cathedral in Tournai
The cathedral there is supposed to be one of the more impressive we could see. Unfortunately it was closed for an extended renovation. The outside was covered in scaffolding and the inside had sheetrock up. I don’t know if it was bad luck or what, but it was starting to seem that every old building was undergoing renovation this year.
Water fountains in central Tournai
The central city area didn’t seem to have too much going on, so we bought some ham sandwiches for a picnic at our next destination.
Bell tower in Tournai
Raised drawbridge while leaving Tournai
Beloeil Castle
After a short drive through beautiful country roads we arrived at Beloeil Castle, also known as “the Versailles of Belgium” (although I’m not sure the castle owners would have appreciated that backhanded compliment).
Beloeil castle
We ate our sandwiches in the car while waiting for the castle to open. Then when we get we realized that we would need more than a sandwich: the castle wouldn’t open again until the weekend. Our tour book had conspired against us and said the castle was open daily through the end of September. We were able to walk around the grounds some and take pictures.
Water features of Beloeil Castle
Le Moulin d’Arenberg
After a couple disappointing stops we were ready for a beer! Like most Belgian breweries, Lefebvre brewery doesn’t offer its beers directly to the public. However, they suggest you can try a great selection of their brews at the nearby Moulin d’Arenberge tavern in Rebecq. We were especially looking forward to the Floreffe Abbey ales that they produce.
Footbridge in Rebecq
Unfortunately we were destined for disappointment yet again. The sign said the bar opened at 3pm until the end of September so we had about an hour to kill. We tried following a walking path (“the path of the 7 arches”) but failed to find more than 2 arches.
Waterway in Rebecq
Butcher in Rebecq - the animals are so happy they can fulfill their destinies!
There were some interesting buildings nearby so we snapped some pictures. But when it got to be 3:20 we decided that the Moulin would not, in fact, be opening that day. We still had a ways to drive so we left, beerless and dejected.
Mini waterfall in Rebecq
Burned-out building in Rebecq
Namur
Our first impression of Namur was the nightmarish snarl of traffic that clogged the limited number of roads through the city. It was rush hour, and apparently everyone lives outside of the city. Once we made it through we understood why: running South from the city is the beautiful Meuse River. It winds its way through a verdant valley, hillsides dotted with castles. Our bed & breakfast, La Mosane, had a great view of the valley and was well-appointed with an enormous bathroom and comfortable bed.
Amanda made me eat an olive
We headed back into Namur to find some dinner. Traffic was still packed getting into the city, but we found some parking near the city center and set out on foot. In one block they were starting to set up a stage for the Wallonie Festival. We would miss the fun here by just a day, but would run into a real party a few days later in Liege.
For dinner we ended up at a pizza place with a decent beer list. Of course pizza isn’t Belgian, but you’d think that since they are closer to Italy than the U.S. is then it should be better! Right?
Ciney Brune and Blonde
It actually was fairly good and definitely satisfied the cravings I get whenever I go more than a week without pizza. We tried a couple of Ciney beers (blonde and brune) and followed that with some old favorites: Duvel and Chimay Blue.
Perfect pizza beers!
There was nothing really remarkable about Namur as a city. It is known for its citadel, which we didn’t take time to visit. It had the normal shops, restaurants, churches, etc. but not as much of the touristy things. It would probably be a decent place to live if you didn’t have to drive around much.
Back at our B&B we capped off the night with another of the beers we had bought at the Be2 store: Kapittel Prior. It was a tasty brown abbey ale, and a delightful way to end an otherwise frustrating day.
Kapittel Prior
Beers Tasted
Today I tasted:
- Ciney Blonde
- Ciney Brune
- Duvel
- Chimay Bleu
- Kapittel Prior
Total to date for the trip: 28 beers
Brewing Chocolate Porter with Northern Nutwood October 24, 2009
Posted by pinchaque in Adventures in Beer, Homebrewing.Tags: beer, chocolate, chocolate porter, Homebrewing
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Steeping the specialty grains for Chocolate Porter
It took a while, but Amanda and I finally drank enough of the homebrew that’s been aging in my closet that I have bottling capacity to make another batch. It’s also (hopefully) beyond the warm summer temperatures for San Diego and the beer can bubble happily away.
Chocolate Beer
This batch had a couple of goals: use chocolate, and try a new style of beer. I’d brewed a robust American-style porter before, and wanted to go with something more traditionally British, so I dug up a recipe for brown porter.
Using chocolate in a beer is nothing revolutionary. There are good commercial examples such as Young’s Double Chocolate Stout. It was new for me though and something that sounded delicious. Following advice online, I went with 6oz of dark chocolate and had it in the boil for 45 minutes. This allegedly helps dissipate the oil and therefore gives better head retention on the final beer. The chocolate smell really came through for the first few minutes after adding it to the boil. Tasting the unfermented malt drink (from the hydrometer tube) it didn’t come through as strong though. We’ll see how it ends up in the final product.
Beer additives ready for the kettle
Wood Chips
This beer also gives me the opportunity to try out some brewing with exotic woods. I did a test earlier this year and came up with several good candidates from my Maine Grilling Woods source. For this porter I chose to go with the Northern Nutwood, which had sweetness, caramel notes, and smokiness.
Untoasted and toasted wood chips
To prepare the 2oz of wood chips I put them in the toaster oven and toasted them about 5 times until they reached a medium brown. Unlike the bourbon taste test I decided to add them right to the primary fermenter. This will let them sit for 5 days with the beer while it’s at its most active state.
Athena helping by sitting on the beer recipe book
Recipe
Parameters
- Batch size: 5.5 gal
- Boil: 3.0 gal
- Starting gravity: 1.058
Specialty Grains
- 8 oz Crystal 60L
- 6 oz Crystal 120L
- 8 oz British Chocolate Malt
- 2 oz Black Malt
- 4 oz Carapils Malt
Fermentables
- 6.5 lb light malt extract
- 0.5 lb brown sugar
Hops
- 1.5 oz Cascade 7.5% AA for 60 min
- 0.5 oz Cascade 7.5% AA for 15 min
Other
- 6 oz 72% chocolate (Trader Joe’s Dark) for 45 mins
- 1 tsp Irish moss for 10 mins
- White Labs London Ale Yeast WLP013
- 2 oz Northern Nutwood chips, medium toast (added to primary fermenter)
Beer with Nutwood chips
The Waiting Game
I just finished the batch this afternoon so it will be a couple weeks until bottling, and another couple weeks after that until tasting. I’ll post again when I have some tasting notes!
Ale Pail sealed and ready to ferment
Beer Tour of Belgium – Day 4: Gent and Brugge October 19, 2009
Posted by pinchaque in Adventures in Beer, Beer Tour of Belgium.Tags: beer, belgium, brugge, castle, ghent
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Morning in Brugge
Clock tower in Brugge
Our fourth day in Belgium began with a delicious continental breakfast at Hotel Salvators. Our kitty-friend decided to drop by our table and beg for food while we scarfed down freshly prepared eggs and (Belgian) waffles. I started to appreciate how even your average hotel in Belgium has superior breakfast to that which you’d find in the US.
From there we set off into the brisk Brugge morning to explore the city some more. The buildings, streets, and canals were beautiful in the bright morning light. Most shops were still closed at that hour so we had the streets to ourselves.
One goal was to scope out where we could eat dinner. We walked down one alley that had two hobbit-related restaurants across from each other. Who thought that Lord of the Rings would become a dining empire? The menus looked good, but thoughts of middle earth dining were quickly erased when we spotted Gambrinus’ Pub just off the Grote Markt. Gambrinus is, of course, the unofficial patron saint of beer. And, the pub advertised 400+ beers available.
Canals on beautiful Brugge morning
Amanda and Pandora near a Brugge canal
Brugge clocktower and canal
Me by a Brugge canal
Ooidonk Castle
Our plan for the day was to backtrack a bit eastward and hit some places we missed on our scamper to Westvleteren. Ooidonk Castle was only supposed to be open on weekends and it was Monday, but we decided to drive past it to at least take some pictures from the outside.
Ooidonk castle being prepared for a party
Grounds of castle Ooidonk
It was a beautiful arabesque-style castle with bulbous spires; the overcast day with grey clouds helped out the pictures. As expected, the castle was closed to visitors that day and it looked like they were preparing for a special event. Company party? Wedding? Bar Mitzvah? I was jealous no matter what.
Gent
After visiting the castle we headed in to Gent’s city center and quickly found our lunch destination: a sandwich shop in the city center.
Pandora loves Orangina!
Simple but tasty sandwiches in Gent
Our lackluster Dutch kept us on the safe side of the menu, ordering tasty ham sandwiches and that drink of indomitable Europe-ness: Orangina! Of course you can find Orangina here in the U.S., but it’s more fun in Europe.
Belfort tower in Gent
Our first destination in Gent was the Belfort bell/clock tower. For a nominal entrance charge you can climb 300 feet on a circular stone stairway to the top. There was only once dicey moment on the way up: having to pass another couple who were on their way down.
The tower itself was broken into several floors, allowing you a break to look at ancient artifacts on the way up.
Gargoyle and Chuck in Belfort
The gargoyle with whom I’m pictured above was part of the original tower. It’s in rough shape nowadays because way-back-when they used to pour flaming oil out of it to scare the locals.
The view from the top of the tower was scary and amazing at the same time, and made me appreciate that they do not have (many) earthquakes in Belgium. I got a great view of the central city area and nearby landmarks, including an archeological dig happening next door.
St. Baaf's cathedral from Belfort
Archeological dig in central Gent
Gent rooftops from the Belfort
At the top of the tower was also the mechanism responsible for sounding the clocktower bells. Every 15 minutes it would play a song that was programmed into a large (~4-ft diameter) metallic barrel, much like a giant music box.
Bell tower song drum
If we thought the trip up the circular stairs was scary, we should have waited until we descended in the glass elevator built inside of this ancient stone building. Once that harrowing time had passed, we set out exploring the area some more. St. Baaf’s cathedral had an extensive basement area with many old artifacts. We also passed by the archeological dig site and walked towards Gravensteen castle, perched on the river’s edge.
Archeological dig site from ground level
Side of Gravensteen castle
Flanders flag above Gravensteen castle
The castle was really a fun stop because it was in excellent shape and they let you explore a large portion of the structure. A numbered course walked you through highlights such as the grand hall, armory, stables, bedrooms, cisterns, and toilets. Inside the castle were various exhibits such as a weaponry museum and a museum of torture instruments.
Surprise! It's a guillotine...
Hall in Castle Gravensteen
Old farm gear outside Gravensteen
Hallway in Gravensteen
Me outside of Gravensteen
We ended our visit to Gent on that high note and headed back to Brugge. Van Steenberge brewery was on the way, so we stopped by to see if we could do a tasting. Unfortunately this maker of Gulden Drak and Piraat is closed to individuals; group tours only! A lot of the Belgian breweries that we know in the U.S. fall into this camp, but I was hoping this would be different.
Evening in Brugge
Alas, we hustled back to Brugge to hit the De Halve Maan brewery before closing time.
De Halve Maan brewery
This is one of those beers you don’t see in the U.S. but it had a strong following with the locals. It’s a great location right in the old section of Brugge among the canals and restaurants. The tasting room also served simple appetizers and was quite busy. We ordered one each of the two beers they brewed and served: brune and blonde.
Brugse Zot brune and blonde
Our appetite whetted, we made our way to our dinner destination: Gambrinus. It was everything we had hoped and more. Even though the Delirium Cafe in Brussels had more beer, this was such an awesome experience that I would recommend it first any day.
Gambrinus beer menu bound in wood
The menu was clean, descriptive, and even bound in wood. It grouped the beers by style for easy selection.
Bar and beer fridges at Gambrinus
Our first round: La Floreffe brune (dubbel) and Delirium “La Guillotine”, keeping with the theme of the day.
La Floreffe Brune and La Guillotine
The food was excellent as well although I’m having trouble recalling what we ate. For our second round of beer we wanted to strike out in a new direction: sour beers. I’ve been lukewarm on them ever since I first tasted them a few years ago, but I feel that I can’t be a real beer lover if I don’t like them so I will keep trying. Belgium is where the styles got started, so this was my best chance of liking them! We selected a couple of likely candidates from the appropriate sections of the beer menu.
Faro Girardin 1882 at Gambrinus
Oudbeitje lambic at Gambrinus
I ordered a geuze: Faro Girardin, or a blend of aged and fresh sour beers. Amanda got Oudbeitje, a lambic brewed with strawberries. Both were incredibly unique and complex, tasting of fruit and beer with only a mild sourness. Either these were significantly different than anything I’d ever tried, or my palette is softening to the sour beers.
Brugge clocktower at sunset
Brugge buildings at sunset
Having eaten at old-people’s time, we left Gambrinus just as the sun was setting and made our way back to Hotel Salvators. Pandora had been guarding the package of chocolates we had purchased earlier, so we pulled out a couple to sample.
Dumon chocolates from Brugge
And what better way to enjoy chocolates than with a rich dark beer?
Adriaen Brouwer dark beer in plastic cups
This particular specimen we had purchased the day before at the Be2 store. A word of advice: when travelling make sure you bring a bottle opener since trying to wedge open a bottle with a keyring is liable to spray beer throughout the hotel room.
Our marathon day of stairclimbing, castles, guillotines, beer, and food complete, we drifted off to sleep.
Beers Tasted
Today I tasted:
- Brugse Zot Blonde
- Brugse Zot Brune
- La Floreffe Brune
- Delirium La Guillotine
- Faro Girardin 1882
- Oudbeitje
- Adriaen Brouwer dark
Total to date: 23 beers
