Belgian Beer no.145: Paasbier

This is a very confusing beer so to speak. Why? Well, we went to Helsinki on holiday. Which is where I saw the beer. Have never seen it in Belgium. The label says it's a Belgian beer brewed after a Finnish recipe!

The beer seems to be brewed in Belgium, by De Proefbrouwerij, so the mystery continues. We didn't actually buy one to taste it as the prices in Helsinki are just a little bit over the price I'll pay for a beer (a Leffe is 6euro!!!). The beer is a dark ale, which reading the reviews seems to score 'average'.

Has anyone tried this beer / or even seen this beer in Belgium?

Please note the new url www.belgian-beers.eu

Bier - Mania and Beer Tours

Holidays are approaching fast. I should know, as I have just returned from a short and well deserved break. As beer drinkers (lovers?) what have you planned this holiday? If you are still considering, here a very good tip: Bier Mania.

I first met the Bier Mania dream team (Evi and Andy) at the last Bruxellensis beer festival. Since then we regularly get information and meet them when they are on one of their fantastic beer tours. The concept? Easy: they set up tailor made beer tours in and around Belgium where you get to visit the breweries, taste the beer and most of all have a lot of fun. And more beer.

What I like about Bier Mania is not that much the actual concept - you'll say beer tasting can be done alone! - but the fact they take the time to put together brewery visits, beers tastings and food tastings to suit your wishes. A lot of their beer information comes from insiders (ahem ... like me!) so you will get to visit breweries, taste beers, but also go to that one beer shop, that one pub that will make your experience just that little bit different.

And if you don't believe me then just take a look at the photo: don't they look Chouffes-happy? :)

Please note the new url www.belgian-beers.eu

Belgian Beer no.144: Abbaye de Forest

I kept being asked about this (very!) new beer on the market the Abbaye de Forest. I'm not kidding when I am saying new beer, as it has just been launched and we went then and there to taste it.

The beer is brewed by the Brasserie de Silly but it is attributed to the Abbaye de Forest. (A nice place to visit btw.)

First impressions? Well I'm not lying if I tell you it just knocked me out. Two sips and I was gone. Might have been the heat of the day, but I was way gone. Before even finishing the beer.

Funny enough the beer is not that strong by Belgian standard, 6.5%, but it hit right in the middle of my head. The website describes the beer as triple style top fermentation beer, fermented again in the bottle. The closest I came to compare it to is a Leffe (same strength) but somehow a lot stronger.

Abbaye de Forest, welcome to the beer scene. A very nice beer.

Please note the new url www.belgian-beers.eu

Belgian Beer no.143: Forestine

Ah the joy of Belgian Beers. Every time we even attempt going to a new fair there it is - that one new Belgian Beer we don't know.

Here the Forestine. Brewed by the Brasserie Caracole, the Forestine was a light, normal blonde beer, so to speak. Light and not very memorable as such, but a very pleasant sunny beer.

Please note the new url www.belgian-beers.eu

www.belgian-beers.eu

A little more Beer News. First of all you can now find this blog under www.belgian-beers.eu as well!

Now, more a guideline to this blog. On your right hand column you will see:

- 101 categories. These are posts related to food, wine, and restaurants in Brussels and beyond.

- beer bars in Brussels ... well a little obvious, no?

- Belgian beer festivals and open brewery (door) days. This is a new addition to my blog, so please check it out and let me know of any beer festivals I should add. So far I added the obvious and not so obvious ones, but I am sure there are plenty more beer festivals in Belgium I don't know about. I will try to keep the beer festivals as updated as possible. Promise!

- beer resources, other blogs and links related to beer.

- and the last section, the longest one as well, listing all the different breweries/ brasseries/ brouwerijen I come across when posting on Belgian beer(s).

Enjoy, and any comments, feedback or suggestions are more than welcome. Cheers.

Belgian Beer no.142: Li Pri’Reye di Licint

Now this is probably a beer very few come across - if they don't look really (really!) hard.

Lincent, where the beer comes from, is a village close to Liege. A certain brotherhood Li Pîr’rêye Di Lîcint was born there.

And what did the brotherhood do? Brew beer. To be exact two beers, the blonde and the brune. Pure malt and hops, the beers are at 6.8% and 8.7% respectively. We shared a bottle of the blonde one.

Very interesting indeed...

Tagged with:Beer Belgian Beer Bier Biere Belgium

Belgian Beer no.141: Gribousine Mallone Brune

After the Blonde, here comes the Brune. Gribousine - Brune de Mallone. Same story with regards to the brewery, so I won't go into that (again).

A dark, hazy beer at 8%. A hint of sweetness, malt and caramel. Nice long finish. The slight sweetness hides the 8%, giving the impression the beer is actually very easily drinkable (danger, danger!).

Tagged with:Beer Belgian Beer Bier Biere Belgium

Belgian Beer no.140: Gribousine Mallone Blonde

What would one do without the Medieval Festival? Or any other festival for that matter.

The next beers tried were the Gribousine beers. Here the Blonde de Malonne. A high fermentation beer, a nice balance between a soft and a bitter beer, at 6.3%.

The beer is distributed by the Brasserie de L'Abbaye de Malonne, however it is brewed by Brasserie La Binchoise.

Tagged with:Beer Belgian Beer Bier Biere Belgium

Belgian Beer no.138 & no.139: Malmedy Blanche & Blonde

These beers were tried during the Medieval Festival in Brussels. The actual brewers came all the way from Malmedy with their beers, for us (city people!) to try out.

The Brasserie de Bellevaux (again, did anyone hear about this one?) are only brewing B beers - Blonde, Blanche, Brune and Black. We tried the Blonde and the Blanche. I absolutely loved the Blanche, a very light 4.8% beer. Very much a summer beer which explains why production of this beer stops towards autumn, when the brewery starts producing the Black. Something else to look forward to.

Tagged with:Beer Belgian Beer Bier Biere Belgium

Belgian Beer no.137: Kossaat

Another newby: the Kossaat beer. Same beer bar as in the previous post, same afternoon. (Did I mention before how easy it is to be overwhelmed by the number of beers in Belgium?).

So the Kossaat. Another beer we knew nothing of, another brewery I didn't know existed - the Brasserie Vercauteren. However it seems the beer is brewed today by Brasserie Lefebvre for smaller breweries, like the Vercauteren.

The name Kossaat goes back to the initial owner/ brewer Cornelius Cuyckens who was a farmer/ land worker - otherwise known as a kossaat.

A typical Belgian beer, at 6.7%, Kossaat is a golden blond beer, with a very lasting taste of fruit and hop. The second fermentation takes place in the bottle.

(Other beers brewed by Brasserie Lefebvre were the Barbar, the Durboyse, the Saison 1900).