Belgian Beer no.179: Montagnard

Still in the Delirium.

The Montagnard, a 9% beer from the Abbaye des Rocs. Quite a spicy beer, with hints of pepper. There is no added sugar to the beer. An interesting beer, much praised in the region it comes from.

Belgian Beer no.178: Betchard

The Betchard. A little difficult to place this one in the www, so good thing we take notes. The beer is brewed by the Brasserie de Tubize, and as far as I can tell is the only beer brewed by them.

A 5.5% blond, which apparently is brewed specifically for the In't Spinnekopke. Can anyone confirm this?

Belgian Beer no.177: St-Paul Blond

Return to Delirium Cafe (obviously!). Four new beers tasted and reviewed.

St-Paul Blond. Brewed by the Brasserie Sterkens. We still need to figure out why this beer was so expensive (10euro!) so if you have any ideas ... keep them coming.

An unfiltered, top-fermented beer, which I remember as being a little sour. 5.3%. Very unremarkable ... no oomph to it, so again, why so expensive? In any case the Delirium Cafe bartender was raving about it, so maybe I am missing something.

Beer Bar in Brussels - Poechenellekelder

Try saying this after a few beers :)

(Thank you to Keith, a reader of this blog for reminding me to write about this bar.)

Anyway, beside the unpronounceable name this is a great beer bar in Brussels. Although on a very touristic path (literally opposite the Mannekin Pis) this bar is a great stop. The beer list is extensive, the bartenders are more than enthusiastic about Belgian beers and the specials never disappoint.

We always include the Poechenellekelder on our 'visitors' must see tour but occasionally stop there off-visit, for a drink as well. They also serve some food and word of wisdom: if you do order the cheese, understand they actually refer to a whole chunk of cheese as sold in supermarkets / shops. So if inclined combine a cheese platter with a meat one. Trust me! I am a devoted cheese lover and yet, I always think they serve too much cheese ...

Poechenellekelder: Rue du Chene 5, 1000 Brussels, Tel: +32/2/511 92 62

Belgian Beer no.176: La Myrtille d'Amelie

Tasted by friends of mine who were kind enough to take a photo and share their experience. The Myrtille d'Amelie. A little confused on the who and what of this beer. Brewed by the Brasserie Val-Dieu, at 6%, with hints of berries. Strongly hoppy.

Belgian Beer no.175: Procureur

Another beer in the Skieven Architek bar. This time the Procureur. Again little to none information on the back of the bottle, just that at 9% maybe a little bit too strong for an afternoon...

Belgian Beer no.174: Premium Kriek

Because a girl sometimes likes her cherry beer. (No idea why the photo came out fuzzy...)

Brewed by the brewery Vanhonsebrouck, Premium Kriek is a beer brewed following a traditional gueze technique, then adding 25% pure cherry juice. A very light beer at 3.5% which I thoroughly enjoyed.

Having a love/ hate relationship with Krieks I particularly liked this one, as it keeps the sharpness of the cherries intact. And not too sweet.

And because I am in a generous mood, a Belgian recipe using the Premium Kriek:

Sabayon with Premium Kriek

3 egg yolks

3 half egg shell (?) sugar

3 half egg shell (?) Premium Kriek

vanilla ice cream

red berries

Beat the egg yolks, sugar and Kriek together. Continue beating the egg mixture over low heat, till you get a smooth texture. Avoid cooking it over high heat as the eggs will scramble.

Fill a glass with vanilla ice cream, fruits and then pour the sabayon over. Add more fruit on top.

Beer Bar in Brussels - Toone VII

And another bar worth a try - the Toone VII. I completely ignored it even exists but a great find. An odd combination of puppet theater and great beer.

Belgian Beer no.173: Saison d'Epeautre

I can easily say this is now amongst my favorites. Tried again at the Bruxellensis, from the Brasserie de Blaugies, the Saison d'Epeautre. It is a special lager blond, although I did not feel that much of the lager taste. At 6% a decent beer, and really very nice. I was both surprised and keen to drink more.

Belgian Beer no.172: La Moneuse

Moving on ...

Have been a little busy on the work / real life side, so despite (still) drinking beer I didn't get the chance to blog about it.

Back to another beer festival, the Bruxellensis. We tried some new beers, amongst which La Moneuse.

Brewed by the Brasserie de Blaugies, this is a 8%, clear amber beer, very nice and very pleasant. I think I would like to visit this brewery to see what else they have on offer.