Belgian Beer List - Part I

Still Under Construction!

This is the first part of our recent Belgian beer tour, taking in everything we sampled in and around Bruges: the various establishments are in bold.

Terrastje, Bruges, August 27

Mark picked out this spot, which faces on to one of Bruges's canals, for our first evening - and our first Belgian beers. They have a tiny interior, which was especially crowded than normal when we visited because of the presence of an excellent band. We sat outside, and enjoyed some of their simple bar fare while starting things off with, among other choices, a number of locally-brewed options. Their beer choice seemed, at the time, only okay, but by the end of our time in Belgium it seemed quite normal for a place that focuses equally on food.

Brugse Zot Dark (Donker) 3
Brugse Zot Blond 2
Lindemans Kriek 2
Watou's Wit 2?
Brugse Straffe Hendrik 2
Watou Tripel 3
Malheur 6 3
Hommelbier Poperings 2

Erasmus Hotel, Bruges, August 27

This is a hotel bar, so it wasn't that atmospheric, but it's close to a beautiful courtyard which faces on to one of the canals. They had very tasty desserts and an excellent beer selection, including some fine options on tap; the service was top notch, and was ultimately one of the friendliest, most helpful welcomes we experienced in Belgium.

Struisse Rosse (Struisse Brouwers) 2
Echte Kriek Verhaeghe 3
Stoute Bie 1-2 (a very unusual beer, with a "malta" quality; hard to compare to anything else and hence hard to assess accurately)
Hercule (Brasserie Ellezelloise) 2

Garre, Bruges, August 28

Tripel van de Garre (House Tripel) 2
Gulden Draak 2
De Witte Van Celis 3
Pêcheresse Lindemans 2 (but admittedly not our favorite style)
Oerbier 3
Arabier 2
De Ranke XX 3
Dulle Teve 2-3

Grand Kaffee de Passage, Bruges, August 28

Brugse Straffe Hendrik (again, by accident) 2
Palm 2 (just about)
Vieux Temps 2
Sixtus 6 3
Westmalle Tripel 2 (low 2)
Martins Pale Ale 2.5
Brigand 2
Kriek Max Jacobins Bocker te Bellegem 1?

't Brugse Beertje, Bruges, August 28

Barbär (Lefebvre te Quenast) 2+
Liefmans Kriek 2
't Smisje Blond (De Regenboog) 2
Witkap Stimulo 3
De Cam Oude Geuze 3
Boon Oude Geuze 3 (a very horsey/agricultural beer!)

Taverne 't Zin, Sluis, Netherlands, August 29

Jupiler 1

Oude Speye, Damme, August 29

Achel Blond 3
La Chouffe 3
MacChouffe 3
St Louis Kriek Premium 2

In 't Nieuw Museum, Bruges, August 29

St Feuillien Blond 2
St Feuillien Bruin 3
Orval 2-3
Grimbergen Bruin 1
Grimbergen Blond 2

Cambrinus, Bruges, August 29

Westvleteren Blond 3
Westvleteren 8 3!
Westvleteren 12 3
Cantillon Kriek 100% Lambiek 2 (challengingly sour; it's far more a Lambiek than a normal Kriek)
Bink Blond Kerkom 2-3
Guido (De Regenboog) 2 (v. fruity, with a raisin aroma)
Saison Regal 2

Belgian "Hopkoning" Pale Ale

Belgian Pale Ale
(5 gallons)

9/16/2007

7 lbs liquid malt extract (John Bull Maris Otter)
1 lb crsytal 20
1/2 lb Belgian bisquit

1 oz Amarillo (60 min)
3/4 oz Centennial (30 min)
1/4 oz Chinook (10 min)

Yeast: WLP550 Belgian Ale

1.040 OG on 9/16

The Maris Otter liquid malt extract is pretty dark stuff - it looked almost like molasses - and so it's a stretch to call this a "pale" anything. I think I may have reversed my intended hop addition order; the above reflects the actual additions rather than the plan. When first kegged, this was extremely bitter - bitter rather than "hoppy" - but after a week or two in the keg it has begun to mellow, and it definitely has a Belgian characteristic, presumably the result of using the Belgian Ale yeast. It's not quite De Ranke XX, though.

Wet Hop Pale Ale

The first annual Beacon Hill Hop Harvest. I'm going to go out on a limb here and venture that this will be the only Wet Hop Ale produced entirely with Beacon Hill hops. Get it while you can.

And the recipe I used with the harvested hops:



1 lb 40L crystal malt
1/2 lb cara pils
7 lbs John Bull Maris Otter LME
7 oz fresh Fuggles (90 min)
4 oz fresh Fuggles (30 min)
3 oz fresh Fuggles (5 min)
3 oz fresh Fuggles (secondary)

yeast:
WLP051 California V Ale

1.044 OG on 9/16
1.015 secondary on 9/22
1.012 keg on 9/30

Saison

Saison v7
(10 gallons)
9/9/2007

18.0 lbs belgian pilsner
2.5 lb munich
1.5 lb malted rye
2 t gypsum
4.7 SRM

4 oz hallertauer (60 min)
1 oz kent golding (15 min)
1 oz styrian (2 min)
34.8 IBU

Infusion mash 150 for 90 min

Yeast:
WLP565 Saison (made starter for 10 gallons)

Batch A
1.050 OG on 9/9
1.022 secondary on 9/16
1.022 keg on 9/22

Batch B
?? OG on 9/9
1.022 secondary on 9/16

Atlas Brewery

http://atlasbrewery.com/

On a recent walking tour of Scotland, our journey brought us to the front door of Atlas Brewing. After finishing our 19 mile day (day5), we were rewarded with a shorter 9 mile walk from Kingshouse over the devils staircase and the highest point on the West Highland Way, to Kinlochleven. The trail ended with a very long descent in dreary wet weather with intermittent views of the Blackwater reservoir into the former aluminum mecca of Kinlochleven. We arrived in town at 2:00. Judy had emailed ahead for our tour and we were ready to take some time off the Way and talk about beer.

Atlas Brewery is located in the former storehouse of the aluminum smelting factory. The brewery was put together and was moved into in October 2001. The first batches of Latitude and Tempest were brewed in February 2002. Norman Sinclair, a highland business man, bought the brewery in August 2006. He has since added Orkney Brewery orkneybrewery.com to form Sinclair Breweries Ltd.

We were met at Atlas by Harry, an assistant brewer, who got his job by home brewing in the right place at the right time. Some administrators of Atlas were having a barbecue next door to Harry's house and the were invited over for a brew. Apparently they liked what they tasted because he was offered a job very shortly thereafter. I was happy to hear that even with his full time job at Atlas, Harry still enjoys the rewards of home brewing. Harry gave us a wonderful, personal, in depth tour of the Brewery.

Atlas brews 36,000 pints per year, an interesting way to quantify output. Their focus is real ale. Utilizing local soft water, the "Atlas" of any beer, and western grown Maris Otter barley, the beer is top fermented 5-7 days at 20* C, cooled and keg conditioned at 9* for 4 weeks and then shipped to the pub, to be tapped as real ale and finished hopefully within one week. The majority of the ale is kegged as real ale, with only a small percent sent out for contract bottling.

After the tour, and an in depth discussion of real ales, we were treated to a glass of Three Sisters from a bottle. A keg had just been set up but not yet settled enough for consumption. Three Sisters, named after the mountain range in Glencoe, is a dark fruity refreshing ale, blended with chocolate and crystal malts as well as whole flower hops; a pleasant end to a delightful and informative tour.

Harry's favorite brew: Wayfarer IPA, a seasonal which we could not find.

Harry's favorite home brew recipe:

12 gal all grain
18 lbs Maris Otter, or Optic
1 lb Crystal
150 gm Fuggles to boil
150 gm Kent Golding to finish
65* C to mash
72* to sparge