Ale Street News Online

For a week, beer lovers criss-cross the country seeking out eclectic beers and visiting breweries and beer events. Ale Street News has been in the vanguard of this migration for the past few years. This year a crew of 24 went in search of beer nirvana.The overnight flight deposited us in Brussels soon after dawn. The Moortgat Brewery, home of Duvel, greeted us with the banner on its warehouse. “Psssstt Duvel is sleeping here...” or maturing in the bottles. But despite the early hour, there were other signs of the brewery coming to life. Although our host had not arrived, the bartender in the new visitor center eventually took pity on our obvious thirst and began pouring that Devil of a beer, Duvel, from the bottle of course, never on tap.We shared the spacious area with a high school group — although they were not drinking they were obviously learning — about beer. Soon our host, Carine, arrived and then our tour guide Bridgid. I’ve visited the brewery three times since 1996 and each time Bridgid has been our guide. The tour guides are now independent from the brewery and work on contract.

Last time we visited, it was the packaging room that was new. This time, it was the visitor center and brewhouse. In the taproom, new acquisitions from Chouffe — La Chouffe and McChouffe — were lined up along with the lighter Moortgat beers such as Bel Pils and Vedette as well as the Maredsous line. There’s some talk of Maredsous 6 or 8 coming to the states on tap. There was also some talk about Liefmans — Moortgat has been given permission to reorganize the bankrupt brewery’s affairs, but that has not yet translated into ownership.

A tour followed and a satisfying lunch. Then it was over to Palm, a beer that is new to the States but not Belgium. Palm brews Belgium’s largest selling ale, and also owns Rodenbach and Boon breweries. Importers and distributors were gathered and a rather detailed tasting, schoolroom style, was undertaken with some of the Palm products, quite challenging considering the effects of jet lag. At the brewery bar however, we discovered the Foedor beer from Rodenbach (straight from the barrel) and a special bottled, 10% Vin de Cereale (barleywine).At last, we were installed in our hotel, but little time to rest — Brussels center was waiting for us. We were a varied crew of beer lovers, writers, brewers, tavern owners and managers, and festival organizers with one beautiful liquid link — beer.

ASN’s BeerSensei, Warren Monteiro, veteran of many Belgian trips led the way. Hard behind him was Dave Gilbert, Beer Predator who this year brought along his wife Sandra. We also had the pleasure of the wife of another ASN writer Matt Sciacca who sent Denine along with his sister Robin who had traveled from Phoenix, AZ to join the group. Altruistically Matt had elected to stay behind with the kids while his kin experienced a trip of a lifetime.

ASN tour veterans Willy and Carolyn Blowers blazed their own trail through the bars of Brussels along with their brewing son Ben (Defiant Brewing Co.), John and Maryanne Mullin, and Barbara Moore from Trenton, a repeater from last year. Another repeater was Rob Purcell; ASN associate Karl Mende rejoined the group after a long hiatus; perennial traveler Rich Dorchak from Caldwell, NJ’s Cloverleaf Tavern was joined by fellow publican Dave Urbanos, manager of The Ginger Man in NYC. Newcomers included Bill and Barbara Comella, Mug Club members from Basil T’s in Red Bank, NJ; Phil and Alicia Levesque, map mavens from Albany, NY; and Ken DesMarets, hailing all the way from Skagit Valley Brewing Co. in Washington State. The intrepid Quebec twosome, Jeannine Marois and Mary Jose Lefebvre, seeking out beers for their Mondial de la biere festival rounded out the group.

Day two found us bound for Buggenhout, a little town about 40 minutes outside of Brussels where we were guests of the Bosteels family. Marketing manager Jack Van Antwerpen met us with fresh Kwak and Karmeliet Triple. Antoine, representing the Bosteels’ sixth generation, told us some of the history of the brewery and the beers. It was difficult to see the brewery because here too expansion was underway, including a classy new visitor center in what used to be the family mansion. Kwak is served in a bulb-like glass in a wooden holder, in the tradition of stage coach drivers who used to hang the glass on the side of the coach as they drove. We were surprised to hear that the Karmeliet has only been brewed since 1995, although the history of the Abbey it is named after goes back much further.The third beer made by Bosteels is DeuS, a spicy champagne beer of 10%. In the small town of Buggenhout there is another brewery making champagne beer, Malheur, and there seems to be some bad blood about who was first, or who copied who; being guests, we didn’t bring it up. Jack took us to a beautiful restaurant overlooking the Schelde River, and wined and dined us with the DeuS, tasting brilliantly fresh, with a little ginger spice to my palate. Tender steak and tuna, or eel right out of the Schelde were on the menu.As usual tour operator Greg Dennis was cracking the whip, his job, in order to get us to the tiny Alvinne Brewery where Davy Spiessens was waiting to pour his wares — Podge Imperial Stout, regular or aged in a Calvados barrel and the hoppy, blond Alvinne Extra among them.

On the road again, we arrived at the third annual Nacht Van Grote Dorst — The Night of Great Thirst — where a celebration of Lambic beers was in full sway — literally as the tent poles braced against a howling gale. This event, perhaps in recognition of the wild fermented beers, always seems to attract some wild weather. A wooden floor in the tent was a great improvement over the porous sod of the previous edition. The event is hosted by Yves and Kurt Paneels who run their Lambic shrine/café — In Defense of Great Thirst — in tiny Eizeringen. Beer seekers from America and Europe mingle with the locals as Lambic legends are popped throughout the night.Saturday brings us a free day with choices of day trips to Bruges or Paris, or remaining in Brussels and taking in open brewing day at Cantillon, Brussel’s only remaining Lambic brewery. Somehow everyone seems to end up late at Delirium Cafe to review the day’s activities.Sunday was the day of Zythos Fest. Arriving by noon in the town of St. Niklaas, we got stuck right in — 50 breweries, 250 beers. Increasingly we find the addition of a hoppier beer to a brewery’s portfolio. Even De Dolles Boskeun Easter beer seemed to have taken a hoppier turn. Gouden Carolus Hop Sinjoor, Jessenhofke brewed at De Proef, Rulles Estivale, Slaapmutske Dry Hopped Lager and Lupuline were other examples. Also the number of small contract-brewing outfits making experimental beers seems to be more noticeable: Pirlot  and Dilewyns brewed at de Proef; Lupiline brewed at Alvinne; De Hoevebrouwers brewed at De Graal; Forrestine, brewed at Caracole; and De Zenne brewed at De Ranke.Although the 5 oz. tastes had risen from 1 Euro to 1.20, the festival is still a good value, even for dollar touting tourists.Monday we headed north of the border into Holland, headed for Amsterdam, pausing for some magical moments at Koenigshoven, home of La Trappe. First, the Abbott shook my hand, and then the Friar (second in command) took our group inside the cloisters — both unprecedented events. This Trappist monastery is enjoying its partnership with the brewing firm Bavaria as well as the re-establishment of its official “Trappist” designation. The other Trappist monasteries (all five in Belgium) had voted to exclude La Trappe from the “appellation” when Bavaria took over brewing operations. But then, with the re-involvement of monks in the brewing, they relented and now view the Koenigshoven/Bavaria partnership as something of a model, according to export director Gijs (pronounced Hise) Swinkels.

Beerwise, the monastery is in transition. We sat in a temporary tasting room, as a new visitor construction is under construction. The beers range from the blond to dubbel to tripel and quadruple. We were happy to taste the seasonal bock and an interesting brown ale from Bavaria. Gijs gave us some Hop-It for the bus, one of the Urthel beers which are now brewed at Koenigshoven.

On the grounds we witnessed a mechanical mouth bite into obsolete parts of the brewery, including lagering tanks installed by Inbev in a previous relationship — in marked contrast to the quietness within sanctified walls.

Amsterdam was like a playground for us — although the weather turned from mild to wintry. In de Wildeman was possibly the most popular watering hole although many others were touched upon in between the coffee shops. Peter Van Arend, the authority on Dutch beers, gave us a sampling at his Arendsnest (Eagles Nest) pub, which serves only Dutch beer, an interesting range at that, a full gamut from hoppy to malt, from 5 to 10%.