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Thursday, April 16, 2009

Last One(s) for The Road

Who knew a bitter aftertaste was a good thing?

On a suggestion from the bed and breakfast owner, I check out Brasserie de l’Union on the Parvis Saint-Gilles, which, in my case, was literally off the map.

I have an Orval, mostly because I haven’t yet, and watch the world go by. Spring is in the air – trees are budding and everybody in out on les terrasses, following the afternoon sun like flowers.

There are scads of other places to check out on the square: head across the street (sun or no) to Le Librar for leather jackets, piercings, tattoos and a blessed lack of gawkers or double back to the Maison du Peuple for an afternoon’s worth of Wi-Fi and bourgeoisie.

There, however, a local points me further up the street (and further off the map) to Chez Moeder Lambic where the beer list is long and the service and cheeses are raw – one of the best finds of the trip. If they’ve got it, the Trappist Val-Dieu comes highly recommended, but I start with a Gouyasse the end my Belgian beer quest the way I started – with a St. Bernardus wit.

I’ll be back.


Parvis Saint-Gilles – MAP


Chez Moeder Lambic – MAP
Savoiestraat 68, Belgium
+34 02 539 14 19‎



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Thursday, April 02, 2009

Good Beer

Brussels – God bless a good lead.

I dropped Anders Kissmeyer of Copenhagen’s Nørrebro Bryghus a note saying I was en route to Brussels and wanted to know where to go for good beer. Within a day, Kissmeyer and his two brewers, Shaun Hill and Kasper Larsen, had a list of brewers, beer halls and lambic blenders to contact.

Shaun recommended the Poechenellekelder bar, a stone’s throw (a short squirt?) from the city’s bizarre Mannekin Pis statue. This close to the touristic center of most cities, it’s generally good to keep your guard up. Instead we were more than impressed by both the selection and the product knowledge.

The list of choices is extensive – even for a beer enthusiast it can be baffling – yet a lot of selection doesn’t mean much without good guidance – “at that point they’re just a stockist” someone said later. Here, however, our waiter Cedric Jamar - a philosophy student who could easily pass for a sommelier - guided by asking just a couple of questions about what we know and what we like and, without presenting options, simply said, “I’ll be right back.”

He came back with two different beers – one exactly what I asked for, and the other, St. Bernardus wheat beer that – with gentle berry smells and crisp flavors, I’d rank among the top ten beers of my life.

I told Jamar so and, with a bit of clever salesmanship, said, “Ah, that’s nothing – if you like that, come back tomorrow and I’ll give you something that’ll knock your socks off.”

I’m on my way.


Poechenellekelder – MAP
Rue du Chêne, 5
Brussels

P.S. – Hot off the press – I just got word from Copenhagen that Nørrebro Bryghus is going carbon neutral. Cheers, Anders!



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