Belgium
Delirium Cafe in Brussels
Wednesday, February 16th, 2011 | Beer | 3 Comments
Delirium Cafe in Brussels set the record for having the biggest beer menu with a 2004 strong beer list (it was in 2004). While quantity isn’t always indicative of quality, Delirium Cafe didn’t fail to impress in the quality department. We visited shortly after we arrived in Brussels this past boxing day. Our plan was to pop in for a snack and a first taste of Belgian beer on Belgian soil. However, we ended up staying for five or so hours and left rather sozzled. When in Belgium…
Me enjoying Delirium Cafe
The giant beer menu
The cafe itself wasn’t exactly what we were hoping for. It was underground, dark, and smoke filled, but the beer barrel tables and serving trays plastered to the ceiling grew on us quite quickly. And who can turn their nose up at Delirium Nocturnum and Delirium Tremens on tap? The textbook size beer catalogue was daunting, but made for good reading. It was organized by country, so obviously we checked out Canada. What did we find? Molson Canadian for ten euros a can! Seriously? I’d be embarrassed if some non Canadian ordered this thinking it was a shining example of Canadian brewing. At least there were also a few good examples from Quebec to boost our national esteem.
Molson Canadian for 10 euros!
All in all, I’d say Delirium Cafe is a must visit for beer lovers. The atmosphere is a bit off putting at first, but it’s quirkiness becomes enjoyable (the more you drink). The bar staff weren’t particularly kind (actually, I found most servers in Belgium to be a big bunch of jerks) but they knew their stuff and expediently retrieved obscure beers from their massive storage cellar. Who can argue with a 2004 strong beer selection, most with their own serving vessel? Not I. The cheese board was pretty special too, or maybe I was just really hungry. I love cheese.
Cheers,
Chris
Trays on the ceiling
The atmosphere
Erik was also having a good time
Couldn't shake the wives...
Pilgrimage to Westvleteren
Sunday, January 9th, 2011 | Beer | 3 Comments
Westvleteren is one of only seven Trappist monasteries in the world where the monks brew traditional Belgian beer. What makes them special? They are the one Trappist brewery that only sells their beer on the premises, not in beer stores. You can get the beer of the other six Trappist breweries all over the world, including in London and in Vancouver. The only place you should be able to taste Westvleteren is in Cafe In De Vrede adjacent to the brewery at Saint Sixtus abbey (Westvleteren is actually the name of the nearest town), or in your home if you’ve visited and purchased a few bottles. However, some sneaky beer store owners have made the pilgrimage to Westvleteren and put their horde up for sale. I’ve come across this rarest of beer in Amsterdam and in Antwerp. I did buy some, but specifically avoided the legendary quad until I could make the journey myself. The aforementioned quad is widely considered to be the best beer in the world, just check out Beer Advocate and RateBeer.com for proof.
The Beers of Westvleteren
Since getting into beer and learning about Trappist brewing tradition, I’ve had it as a goal to make the trip. Now I’ve finally done it. This past Christmas Erik and I, along with the wives, took a trip to Belgium. We took the Eurostar from London to Brussels, spent the night there (Cantillon, Delirium, Mort Subite, Bruges, Antwerp, and so many more posts to come), then rented a car and drove out to West Flanders. The trip was supposed to take over an hour and a half, but, thanks to our rental car upgrade (Audi A4 diesel wagon) and my prodigious driving, we made the trip in just over an hour. We were getting a bit worried as we neared our destination since it looked as though we were in the middle of nowhere amongst the farmland of flanders fields. Our apprehension was not lessened as we approached what appeared to be a desolate monastery. Then we turned the last corner and saw a slick looking cafe and hundreds of other cars in the parking lot. Turns out we approached from the rear.
In de Vrede Cafe, bit modern looking eh?
I was a bit disappointed to see a shiny new visitor center with a modern cafe restaurant staffed by normal looking people. I expected tonsured monks pulling bottles out of hay lined crates and blessing the beer before selling it to me. Oh well, at least I still had the best beer in the world to drink. We ordered one each of Westvleteren 12 (the quad), Westvleteren 8 (a dubbel), and Westvleteren Blonde (pale ale). They were all very good beers, but when something is billed as the greatest beer in the world, you expect magic. In that respect, I was a bit disappointed. I am quite sure the exclusivity of this beer helps it in the ratings department. Turns out the St. Bernardus brewery brews the same beers using the same recipes and St. Bernardus 12 doesn’t get quite the same attention, though it is still quite highly rated.
Don’t get me wrong, all of the Westvleteren beers were excellent examples of their style. Going right to the monastery and trying the best and most exclusive beer in the world was one of the coolest things I’ve ever done. I bought two bottles of each style and I haven’t drank them yet, so I’ve got a few more Westvleteren sessions to get through yet. If you like beer at all, I definitely recommend making the pilgrimage yourself. If not for the beer, then because something else happened on Flanders Fields a few years back.
When you consider the population of Canada at the start of WW1 was about seven million, it’s quite impressive that over six hundred thousand Canadians served in the war. When you think of what Canada was like at that time, we were barely a country, we barely had an army, and most everyone was a European immigrant (not necessarily from the UK). And yet Canadians, who were mostly farmers/labourers and possibly of German decent, signed up in droves to fight for Britain. Most of the sixty seven thousand Canadians that died in WW1 did so in Flanders fields. We saw monuments to Canadian soldiers all over Belgium and Flanders is littered with military cemeteries and monuments. Think of what the trenches of WW1 were like (I was freezing just standing outside for ten minutes) and consider the way Canadians fought for the UK and for Belgium. I did and being there, taking it all in, I’ve never been so proud to be Canadian.
The Menin Gate in Ypres, a monument to commonwealth soldiers who died in Flanders Fields
Some of the 55000 names on Menin Gate
Recent wreaths laid for Canadian soldiers at Menin Gate
Random Cemetery in Flanders: Their name liveth for evermore
Tyne Cot Cemetery at night: 12000 graves, 9000 unnamed
Cheers,
Chris
Love Good Beer goes international
Monday, April 5th, 2010 | Beer | 2 Comments
Jet lagged in Guildford two years ago
My wife and I moved to London, England last week. We’ve been staying with my gracious great aunt in Guildford, Surrey, an accessible train ride from the city. We’ll hopefully be able to continue doing so until we find our own flat (British for apartment), which will hopefully be soon. It is true that everyone here talks funny and drives on the wrong side of the road, but I suppose we should be thankful the British sent all of their smart, good looking people to Canada (and their dumb and ugly to the US) 400 or so years ago to improve upon their language and culture. Even though Canada is eleven times better than the UK, we decided to come experience the old country and the rest of Europe before we became bored enough to try having babies. In all seriousness now, it was time for a change in our commute heavy and not entirely fulfilling lives, so here we are. I mean no offense to people who have babies (we’ll be them soon enough) and very little offense to the UK (come on, it isn’t perfect here).
What does this mean for LoveGoodBeer.com? Not a whole heck of a lot really. We’ll continue blogging, Erik from Vancouver and myself from here. And while I’ll miss the burgeoning BC beer scene, there will be plenty of new beer experiences for me to have and write about. I’ve already been to two British pubs (the Lamb and Flag and the Grantley Arms) and sipped real ale, but I also plan to visit Belgium, Oktoberfest, and more of the UK, including the GBBF, in the coming months. Erik plans to visit twice too, meaning our entire staff of writers will be reunited, however briefly, across the pond. Back to things that I’ll miss, I don’t know how I’m going to live without Brewery Creek and the Alibi Room, not to mention my friends and family, for however long we’re over here. Hopefully the experiences will make up for any sense of loss, but I’ll just have to hope everything isn’t too different when I get back. I will miss Vancouver and those close to me there dearly.
Cheers,
Chris
New Year’s Beer Resolutions
Sunday, January 3rd, 2010 | Beer | 3 Comments
We had a good year in 2010, but didn’t exactly close out the year strong what with our posting becoming increasingly infrequent. Despite our lazy December, we managed to have a really good first full year of LoveGoodBeer.com. Some of the cool stuff that happened to us:
- We received free beer a few times
- We attended a lot of cool events (one with a press pass)
- We had a few restaurants ask us for help with their beer menus
While that stuff was awesome, it’s time for us to step our games up. To make sure we reach higher this year, I’ve decided to set some lofty goals via New Year’s resolutions. I haven’t talked to Erik about these, but he’ll just have to deal with it.
Westvleteren, we'll be there
Westvleteren, we'll be there
New Year’s Resolutions:
- Get Erik intertube access – Erik bought a new house in late November and has been busy renovating and moving in, but still doesn’t have the internet. This explains why he hasn’t posted in well over a month, even though he has rad things to write about.
- Drink more awesome beer and less crappy beer – There is a lot of good beer out there, so why bother drinking crappy beer? Also, we need to try every good beer ever made and, therefore, have no time to waste on crappy beer.
- Exercise more - If we are going to drink more beer, we’ll have to exercise to stay really, really, really ridiculously good looking, probably at least three times a week.
- Go on at least three beer pilgrimages – We haven’t even been to Portland yet, so we’ll need to do that. Oktoberfest in Munich and Trappist Monasteries in Belgium come to mind. Westvleteren here we come.
- Post thrice per week – Collectively, we should be able to post three times a week every week.
I was also going to add “take over the world”, but felt it didn’t apply because we have pretty much already done this. Happy New Year!
Cheers,
Chris
Seasonal Beer
Monday, June 15th, 2009 | Beer | 2 Comments
Good news, delicious red-centered BC strawberries are now in season. Strawberry season in BC signifies the start of BC’s bountiful harvest. For those British Columbia who choose to eat large, watery California strawberries all year round, I beg you, please switch to local berries. Local BC strawberries are far juicier, sweeter and overall more flavourful than generic imported strawberries. They are only available for a few weeks, so get your fill while they are still here.
Fresh local strawberries mean one thing in my house, waffles with strawberries. Now here is the challenge, pairing beer with waffles & strawberries. Beer has such a diverse flavour profile from style to style, that I image there must be a beer that works with strawberries.
My first thought is to match this seasonal breakfast-for-dinner or “brinner“, with one of the many local fruit beers available. BC brewers offer a good selection of beer brewed with the inclusion of fruits such as Peach, Raspberry, Blackberry and Pumpkin . Unfortunately I have not been able to find a single brewer in BC offering a strawberry beer. A friend and former brewmaster told me that strawberries impart an unpleasant flavour post ferment, but this cannot be true. Abita Brewing in Louisiana brews what is rumored to be a good strawberry beer. Unfortunately I don’t think I will be able to find Abita’s Harvest Strawberry Lager in BC.
The other option I am considering is a Belgian fruit geuze, a wild fermented lambic beer brewed with fruit – the fruit helps add sweetness to the beer. An aardbei geuze, a strawberry geuze, seems an obvious choice. The only problem could be the geuze overpowering the fresh strawberry flavour. I want the beer to complement the fresh strawberries, no compete. A Belgian Fruli, a Belgian wit beer with strawberry juiced added is also a good option, but from what I have read, Fruli is closer to strawberry soda than strawberry beer.
Please feel free to make recommendations on beers that complement strawberries. I will be making a trip to Brewery Creek and possibly Firefly tomorrow to see what I can find. This Wednesday will be the big strawberry waffle day, I’ll keep you all posted.
Cheers,
Erik
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