Attached below is a slightly edited version of a report on a beer- bike tour of Belgium that I had sent out to some friends. I hope some may find it interesting. Sorry for the length.
This beer report describes my trip to Belgium this past September. Part 1 covers a six day solo beer-bike tour of the Brabant and East Flanders provinces. Part 2 sums up the following five days in Brussels, during which I attended the European Conference on Optical Communications, but still managed to do quite a bit of Beer Research.
At the airport I retrieved my suitcase and boxed bicycle, transported them via train to Brussels Gare Centrale, detrained, and dragged them to the baggage room. There I spread out the tools and parts, reassembled the bike, mounted and loaded the front and aft panniers, and checked the empty box and suitcase. By the time I was ready to hit the road, the rain had stopped, but the temperature was quite cool-- I had landed into full-blown autumn; all pedestrians wearing coats.
Following my compass to the west, I found my way out of the city to the lambic-brewing Payottenland. At Wambeek I stopped at the De Troch brewery, once known for its excellent traditional lambics, now notorious for its astounding assortment of fruit-flavored beers, marketed under the Chapeau brand name. These are the people who brought us banana and pineapple lambics. I was greeted by the brewmaster's wife, Mrs. Raes, who led me through a peremptory tour of the lambic brewing equipment, all very old and traditional, spiderwebs and everything. But out in the courtyard, you can't miss the mountains of fruit juice cases.
In the visitor's tasting room, I was generously served the rarely found, traditional De Troch gueuze. It was abruptly fabulous. While sipping this extraordinary drink, I examined their product line display, whose recent additions include apricot and mirabelle plum beers, both juice-diluted to a paltry 3% ABV. Through the window I saw the crates of juice in the courtyard. All this while enjoying one of the best gueuzes of my life. A David Lynchian moment, I wasn't sure if I was in heaven or hell.
Mrs. Raes explained that there is just not much demand for the "sour" beer, maybe 1%. She suggested that it might be a fashion, implying that if demand for traditional lambics improved, they would distribute it more widely. It's not easy to argue with such cold-blooded business logic, and I didn't try. The masses get what they deserve, right? At any rate, a special batch of the traditional gueuze and kriek will allegedly be shipped to the U.S. this month (November).
The next day, like all to come, were cool and dry. I cycled by workers harvesting hops, past the non-brewing Affligem abbey, and along the occasionally scenic Scheldt River to the city of Gent. There I slept cheaply for two nights-- in a Youth Hostel, the first time since 1982.
The third day I putted around Greater Gent, eventually stopping at the wonderful farmhouse-beer-cafe Schipperhuis before urban re-entry. Attired in lycra, I sat by a window, the evening sun slanting across my table and illuminating my plate of assorted smoked North Sea fish and my glass of the exquisite 9% ABV Het Kapittel Prior Tripel. Satisfaction complete. Then, after additional consumption of equally exquisite Gentse Tripel and Westvletern 8 (both 8% ABV), I remounted my bike, headlamp attached, and carefully rode into the sunset.
Arriving in Gent after dark, I visited some beer cafes, including the Hop Duvel, where instead of running a tab the waitress said that I must "pay instantly". I splurged on the 1973 vintage of the now extinct traditional gueuze from De Keersmaeker (makers of Mort Subite). The oldest beer I have ever tasted, it was good but not remarkable. Serendipitously, in the background, was the equally venerable hit from Mouth & McNeil, "How Do You Do".
On the fourth day I headed south to the "Flemish Ardennes". En route, during a routine beer stop, I discovered the cidery and burnt Pater Lieven ale from the Van Den Bossche brewery in nearby Sint-Lievens-Esse. Intrigued, I rode there and found the >100 year old brewery right on the main square. Without notice, the owner and brewmaster, Mr. Van Den Bossche, gave me a wonderful personal tour, showing me work-in-progress, telling me old stories and future plans. I'm not sure if it is that he is so nice to everyone, or maybe it was the novelty of a bike-helmeted American.
On the penultimate day of my bike tour, I headed back east for the Payottenland, and in the afternoon checked into the Centrum Hotel du Centre in the center of the town of Beersel. I immediately commenced a lambic-cafe walking tour, culminating in dinner at the large and lively Cafe Drie Fonteinen, the lambic blendpub/ restaurant. The gueuze is quite nice and manageably sour, but I still cannot handle the intense acidity of the bottled kriek. Here and now I confess to world: I added one of the sugar cubes that are served with the kriek. In a small way I compensated while ordering dessert, impressing the waitress with the great Dutch word for whipped cream: "slagroom".
The following morning I had an appointment at the small, traditional Hanssens gueuze stekerij (blending and ageing only-- no brewing). I met with Mr. Hanssen and his son-in-law (who also helped as translator). While touring the premises, we tapped some 1 year old lambic from a barrel (flat and sour). Later we drank some gueuze-- Hanssens gueuze is my personal favorite. We talked, and I learned that Hanssen's grandfather started a brewery there about 100 years ago, but during WWII the Germans took away all the copper equipment. After the war, it was decided not to purchase replacements, and brewing was abandoned. Wort, purchased from the outside, is aged and blended here. Today he buys from Van den Stock (Bellevue). The future of the blendery is uncertain. Hanssen advised his son against taking it over, since "not much of a life can be made from the business". In the meantime, the son-in-law expects that Hanssen will stick with it until the end since it is his life's work.
I then biked north to Brussels, my center of gravity closer to the ground with 7.5 liters of Hanssens, Drie Fonteinen, De Koninck, and Oud Beersel gueuze and kriek in my panniers.
During lunch break one day I stopped by the Cantillon brewery to say "hi". I asked Mrs. van Roy how the U.S. export business was doing, and she replied that it was no more, and that they hadn't shipped anything since last year! (Since my return, my brother and I have cleaned out two N.J. retailers of Cantillon, probably enough to last us through 1997.)
Some beer tour statistics: In 11 days, I consumed 65 beers, mostly lambic and Trappist, nearly every one a beer that is not available in the U.S. Lambic highlights include draft lambics: De Neve and Girardin; and artisanal gueuzes: Boon, De Keersmaeker 1973, Cantillon Hop Duvel recipe, De Koninck, 3 Fonteinen, De Troch, Hanssens, Oud Beersel, Vander Linden, Girardin, Cantillon, Wets, Timmermans Caveau, De Neve black label, the original Moriau (8 years old), and the artisanal gueuzes from Bellevue, St. Louis, and Lindemans. I returned to the U.S. with 29 bottles containing 13 liters of beer packed into my checked and carry-on luggage, which must last until the next time.
Ed Harstead
e.e.harstead@att.com
tel: 201 386-4837
fax: 201 386-3083
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Last Updated: 21 February, 1996
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