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03-10-2022, 09:43
Visit The Beer Nut site (https://thebeernut.blogspot.com/2022/10/unfinished-business.html)
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqhvfR3uAybMjj9SzEacQT_IY86szuy_ewh36vSqrjp-d5RMwQ7o2VSqTte53fqmAjvTfFwy6K_bdOUdI0YIZwd5t0Pt8e 32eXDjeaEBeJRIXEdFFs5eHtMBU9_JcNQGhYsWdwB9igrNPkVN TGKPJ97TCdDJinVGf3RkERoJE-GTvkbosDzpM/s200/a_la_becasse.jpg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqhvfR3uAybMjj9SzEacQT_IY86szuy_ewh36vSqrjp-d5RMwQ7o2VSqTte53fqmAjvTfFwy6K_bdOUdI0YIZwd5t0Pt8e 32eXDjeaEBeJRIXEdFFs5eHtMBU9_JcNQGhYsWdwB9igrNPkVN TGKPJ97TCdDJinVGf3RkERoJE-GTvkbosDzpM/s2300/a_la_becasse.jpg)Last year I went to Brussels (https://thebeernut.blogspot.com/2021/09/on-move-again.html) in the hope of attending the BXL Beer Fest only to find it postponed for a further year. It was back on for 2022, however, and what I found there will feature here later in the week. I built a long weekend around the festival, mostly to catch up with the bits of Brussels that were closed last time around, and I had partial success with that. Toone was back in fine form, cat and all (https://twitter.com/thebeernut/status/1563140648395751425), and on the final afternoon I managed to catch the re-opening of À La Bécasse. Still closed doors at À L'Imaige de Nostre-Dame and Au Bon Vieux Temps, alas, and that's not even mentioning the tragic, and hopefully temporary, closure of La Fleur En Papier Doré.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixq7ht82gwSyKIjI5YRbO3qOAeyB61bhG49cDnjnhVQ1 QJ8B87QB_HzRRDnipVzBTT7cTUc12ZYQvgr_mWA3qA3ZuWnY5J kNV2U3Xm4qi1B1C-2r_AJW9WKpQXdU6XQHv34PMURRYGl0aAUPcyNY-oQi1Wk442pNcO0uHa7iUnkBL_HPG1QBY/w200-h194/drogenbos_gruit_passion_blanche_cassis.jpg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixq7ht82gwSyKIjI5YRbO3qOAeyB61bhG49cDnjnhVQ1 QJ8B87QB_HzRRDnipVzBTT7cTUc12ZYQvgr_mWA3qA3ZuWnY5J kNV2U3Xm4qi1B1C-2r_AJW9WKpQXdU6XQHv34PMURRYGl0aAUPcyNY-oQi1Wk442pNcO0uHa7iUnkBL_HPG1QBY/s2175/drogenbos_gruit_passion_blanche_cassis.jpg)Gist has a new lease on life, however, and a new owner. The vinyl is gone but the cask engines are still there and the beer list is about as diverse as it was in the good old days. The Drogenbos brewery features prominently and, seated outside, I opened my account with Gruit Passion, an extremely old-fashioned Belgian beer style given a tropical twist. It works really well too, the passionfruit taking a back seat and allowing the spicy herbal flavours sparkle. There's a kind of vanilla sweetness, but again not too much. I found a lot of complexity on show here for just 4% ABV and the thought that it tastes a bit like shower gel was only momentary.
The purple beer beside it is another from the same brewery along the same lines: Blanche Cassis. It's much less interesting, and if as the name suggests, it's based on a witbier, there's not much character showing through from that. Instead you get blackcurrant cordial and a hint of green celery and that's your lot. It tastes like the kind of thing industrial breweries produce to attract the girls to beer, though they don't usually make them as strong as 5.2% ABV.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs6PsIHxWDuxFZBPrBNGzkm15ihyi1DUGwk7kfwcyfdf TfQgzBvRXFJlritGL2vgZb3BX57hb1PWU1FC8lIbdj75h0xazT r-KPRxpunJ1J9TJFmh4lNhiqcxMQM9SCLjxGwAB6SrmTuPT0GI85 zUgCxX2g4_N2cdDYLFW1KPqMkNu4eLHhu8A/w167-h200/borinage_urine_dipa_minne_ardenne_stout.jpg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs6PsIHxWDuxFZBPrBNGzkm15ihyi1DUGwk7kfwcyfdf TfQgzBvRXFJlritGL2vgZb3BX57hb1PWU1FC8lIbdj75h0xazT r-KPRxpunJ1J9TJFmh4lNhiqcxMQM9SCLjxGwAB6SrmTuPT0GI85 zUgCxX2g4_N2cdDYLFW1KPqMkNu4eLHhu8A/s2705/borinage_urine_dipa_minne_ardenne_stout.jpg)Morbid curiosity had me ordering a beer from Wallonian brewery Borinage next, called Urine. This is 7% ABV and badged as a double IPA. It's clear and golden, demonstrating a very heavily resinous aroma with dry cereal in the background, suggesting something a bit severe was to come. It proved much mellower, however, beginning with the smooth texture and sweet floral and strawberry foretaste. A harder waxy bitterness rises behind this, but it's gentle and balanced, not jarring or harsh. Overall it works surprisingly well. The only thing I'd change is the name.
Herself opted for stout: Ardenne Stout by Brasserie Minne. It's a big lad at 8% ABV and very much in the British tradition rather than Belgian, eschewing fruit and running instead with cocoa and tobacco. High notes of lavender and rosewater help to temper it, and while it's still a little busy, it's fun with it.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1CLeVHUHJLGZotdJO4NSYdz1uJF0QxwJRt8aK29Tc8e ZdiCjYZROsnXYCJ8YhXUSBEskcE2WEjNDVr9RZwcNHU88e41Qh 3MZkVZyX1ItUJ4zvH1siaWl1XW45n1fP9Ts8mgDilrxMmgvFyp chKrKrZLTjss6w403yO-vEaR4zRms_tkHUzyw/w170-h200/minne_ardenne_tripel_bbp_dansaert_distant_echoes.j pg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1CLeVHUHJLGZotdJO4NSYdz1uJF0QxwJRt8aK29Tc8e ZdiCjYZROsnXYCJ8YhXUSBEskcE2WEjNDVr9RZwcNHU88e41Qh 3MZkVZyX1ItUJ4zvH1siaWl1XW45n1fP9Ts8mgDilrxMmgvFyp chKrKrZLTjss6w403yO-vEaR4zRms_tkHUzyw/s2665/minne_ardenne_tripel_bbp_dansaert_distant_echoes.j pg)She continued to their Ardenne Tripel next, stronger still at 8.5% ABV and really doubling down on the sugar. Though the aroma is pleasingly savoury, showing white pepper and spinach, the taste is pure syrup with a hot and sticky density to match. Tripel's notorious drinkability is missing, and I enjoyed it less for that.
There were a couple of beers from the new spontaneous brewing facility of Brussels Beer Project on Rue Dansaert and I had one of them before going: Distant Echoes. Seems like they're going for a bit of a prog rock theme with these. It's a sour ale with grapes at 7% ABV, ochre-coloured and smelling powerfully of vinegar. Again, the flavour switched directions, mixing apple jelly and saltpetre spice on a warm and rich malt base. There's a mature classiness to this which does not suggest it's from a brash new start-up. It seems they know what they're doing. I didn't get to try any more from the brewery on this trip but look forward to seeing them again.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbirZnoJZAYrArBBzsYThzuC20siPcMZsGinKrbuje1f WYVdJXLkV5ToOYnOL81qYeHqEd_j88tbiLBo7IN_45K-5XjNz8klF9FDeVuNgOEUwi47OSVOSVfs_d4s7M1g95eylLs4tW tAOLHnGkQVAjLN8dwujf__JJMcDINuWFByIgVMKSe1E/w193-h200/flow_ipa_deep_amber_lager.jpg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbirZnoJZAYrArBBzsYThzuC20siPcMZsGinKrbuje1f WYVdJXLkV5ToOYnOL81qYeHqEd_j88tbiLBo7IN_45K-5XjNz8klF9FDeVuNgOEUwi47OSVOSVfs_d4s7M1g95eylLs4tW tAOLHnGkQVAjLN8dwujf__JJMcDINuWFByIgVMKSe1E/s2350/flow_ipa_deep_amber_lager.jpg)A different sort of unfinished business was conducted at the Wolf foodhall, where last time they only had one beer pouring from the in-house Flow brewery. Now they had three on.
Flow IPA is amber coloured and 6% ABV. A vague lemony aroma suggested at first that it might be English-style, but a too-sweet profile of caramel and fruit candy on a thick texture makes me think, if it's in a sub-style at all, it's American IPA done badly. I found it just about potable when cold and in a small glass but didn't want to countenance what might happen if it warmed.
Deep Amber is a lager and 5% ABV. It's slightly hazy in a way I've almost come to expect of brewpub lagers and has quite a bock-like malt weight, slightly sweet at first, before a sudden noble hop explosion of nettle, grass, rocket and spiced cabbage. The full spectrum of Germanic complexity there, and quite delightful, untroubled by any undue sweetness from the malt.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibfbty89HvqtT2M8JFYuNF_vJ34tSEi6Pa57nJ2qNPHh 1qmWS1TCKoHFodl_J-psn4L0KiKTL3ppTuPTJqtiNMk5zlK4SmB3JgFbcEyOBOdzKDkm _DsBw_lckm4W8Z16V-EAZyQyK08Bil7ko3LRqWO6QCu_9OySPaM6eghkQHqwMSlMhyqp w/w142-h200/flow_wild_blond.jpg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibfbty89HvqtT2M8JFYuNF_vJ34tSEi6Pa57nJ2qNPHh 1qmWS1TCKoHFodl_J-psn4L0KiKTL3ppTuPTJqtiNMk5zlK4SmB3JgFbcEyOBOdzKDkm _DsBw_lckm4W8Z16V-EAZyQyK08Bil7ko3LRqWO6QCu_9OySPaM6eghkQHqwMSlMhyqp w/s3180/flow_wild_blond.jpg)To complete the set out of sheer doggedness I had a glass of Wild Blond finally. This is a clear dark gold, thick and heavy but staying dry. A lager crispness meets Belgian golden ale density but neither really go anywhere, fading to nothing quite quickly: the meh of both worlds.
The brewery is very much an afterthought at Wolf. The venue is fun but the beer is just making up the numbers, by and large.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqRDIgm8TPK7OgaWuCWrZk85ImINqtDofOh-GRh5Bsw0p76ipVB2fjwga7ibpcWAjUFYAcZSthHDqltqRQRIK1 tNbAbgzhPhQuCSnuYR4-13i-jj-7BHMPvDnE1jDJP0eqly8a1u8HeIf1sxWrsWGIMbPW-Aw-2dQpFiowhbhUTadDNXOTfl0/w150-h200/cristal.jpg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqRDIgm8TPK7OgaWuCWrZk85ImINqtDofOh-GRh5Bsw0p76ipVB2fjwga7ibpcWAjUFYAcZSthHDqltqRQRIK1 tNbAbgzhPhQuCSnuYR4-13i-jj-7BHMPvDnE1jDJP0eqly8a1u8HeIf1sxWrsWGIMbPW-Aw-2dQpFiowhbhUTadDNXOTfl0/s2785/cristal.jpg)Have you ever had ubiquitous Belgian pilsner Cristal? I hadn't but chanced it when it was the only unfamiliar thing on a restaurant menu. I had never really thought about Belgian pils as its own style but here it is: like stablemate Maes it's dry with a corn sweetness. It's not unpleasant but you need to be either in the mood for it or very thirsty. To my palate there are strong similarities with the Mexican style lager that seems to be currently in fashion for no good reason. Maybe when that has passed, Belgian pils will have its moment too.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMHP_9HfMiBPpf5cpggxX1NRqcZWI8njfFRW8BmePKRd WuJYH9cxhRetIPx1hO2fQOXbsfq2mEVRMQ2Eje3GQ9vaFJYris _KhRZXlu7L2H1hjzKlnI2KNLju0FY9U3ya9V9LhpMeh4v2hG3d kq6HNPenO4csfE5Jj1gK6i3VJww3IEK6Ug0tk/w194-h200/la_source_200_ibus_ipa.jpg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMHP_9HfMiBPpf5cpggxX1NRqcZWI8njfFRW8BmePKRd WuJYH9cxhRetIPx1hO2fQOXbsfq2mEVRMQ2Eje3GQ9vaFJYris _KhRZXlu7L2H1hjzKlnI2KNLju0FY9U3ya9V9LhpMeh4v2hG3d kq6HNPenO4csfE5Jj1gK6i3VJww3IEK6Ug0tk/s2055/la_source_200_ibus_ipa.jpg)On to new territory next, and I had never set foot before in Les Brasseurs, a quite famous beer café right on Boulevard Anspach at the Bourse. I barely did this time, just to rustle up some service before sitting back down outside. Said service brought me a can of La Source 200 IBUs which was over three months out of date and as a result tasted of caramel with some slight resin. Bitterness doesn't fade with time so I call bullshit on both the beer's name and the bar's stock rotation procedures.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfWTDRe51WR_yjkQdAHhapuWIbyK5PbKDeIzCbd9LGO-2hSM6Ab6wRO8D2Iqwz1BC5UpqEV6YSmL23faH0hmpCk_FlyPh8 z6Qpm9CQF_hQo3fRjIz69NdLpCfM_zn7bAKZd3TsZG4_3gxFZN sGNFNmS_xJ_Ft6AAV8jrHSqaSwR_1JqZQ2sUs/w183-h200/bobbi_tripel.jpg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfWTDRe51WR_yjkQdAHhapuWIbyK5PbKDeIzCbd9LGO-2hSM6Ab6wRO8D2Iqwz1BC5UpqEV6YSmL23faH0hmpCk_FlyPh8 z6Qpm9CQF_hQo3fRjIz69NdLpCfM_zn7bAKZd3TsZG4_3gxFZN sGNFNmS_xJ_Ft6AAV8jrHSqaSwR_1JqZQ2sUs/s2205/bobbi_tripel.jpg)The nearby rooftop beer garden I enjoyed last summer hasn't returned but the management have a new venue, taking over the roomy courtyard of a former hospice in the city centre and making it a massive, yet still charming, beer garden. The beer list was decent and my nightcap there was Bobbi Tripel, a nicely juicy example of 8% ABV. Canteloupe features big, alongside more traditional features of tripel like clove rock, lemon rind, celery and pepper. It keeps things light and not boozy, exhibiting exactly the sort of drinkablity missing from the Minne one above.
That's all for today. More Brussels-based wanderings in tomorrow's post.
More... (https://thebeernut.blogspot.com/2022/10/unfinished-business.html)
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqhvfR3uAybMjj9SzEacQT_IY86szuy_ewh36vSqrjp-d5RMwQ7o2VSqTte53fqmAjvTfFwy6K_bdOUdI0YIZwd5t0Pt8e 32eXDjeaEBeJRIXEdFFs5eHtMBU9_JcNQGhYsWdwB9igrNPkVN TGKPJ97TCdDJinVGf3RkERoJE-GTvkbosDzpM/s200/a_la_becasse.jpg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqhvfR3uAybMjj9SzEacQT_IY86szuy_ewh36vSqrjp-d5RMwQ7o2VSqTte53fqmAjvTfFwy6K_bdOUdI0YIZwd5t0Pt8e 32eXDjeaEBeJRIXEdFFs5eHtMBU9_JcNQGhYsWdwB9igrNPkVN TGKPJ97TCdDJinVGf3RkERoJE-GTvkbosDzpM/s2300/a_la_becasse.jpg)Last year I went to Brussels (https://thebeernut.blogspot.com/2021/09/on-move-again.html) in the hope of attending the BXL Beer Fest only to find it postponed for a further year. It was back on for 2022, however, and what I found there will feature here later in the week. I built a long weekend around the festival, mostly to catch up with the bits of Brussels that were closed last time around, and I had partial success with that. Toone was back in fine form, cat and all (https://twitter.com/thebeernut/status/1563140648395751425), and on the final afternoon I managed to catch the re-opening of À La Bécasse. Still closed doors at À L'Imaige de Nostre-Dame and Au Bon Vieux Temps, alas, and that's not even mentioning the tragic, and hopefully temporary, closure of La Fleur En Papier Doré.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixq7ht82gwSyKIjI5YRbO3qOAeyB61bhG49cDnjnhVQ1 QJ8B87QB_HzRRDnipVzBTT7cTUc12ZYQvgr_mWA3qA3ZuWnY5J kNV2U3Xm4qi1B1C-2r_AJW9WKpQXdU6XQHv34PMURRYGl0aAUPcyNY-oQi1Wk442pNcO0uHa7iUnkBL_HPG1QBY/w200-h194/drogenbos_gruit_passion_blanche_cassis.jpg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixq7ht82gwSyKIjI5YRbO3qOAeyB61bhG49cDnjnhVQ1 QJ8B87QB_HzRRDnipVzBTT7cTUc12ZYQvgr_mWA3qA3ZuWnY5J kNV2U3Xm4qi1B1C-2r_AJW9WKpQXdU6XQHv34PMURRYGl0aAUPcyNY-oQi1Wk442pNcO0uHa7iUnkBL_HPG1QBY/s2175/drogenbos_gruit_passion_blanche_cassis.jpg)Gist has a new lease on life, however, and a new owner. The vinyl is gone but the cask engines are still there and the beer list is about as diverse as it was in the good old days. The Drogenbos brewery features prominently and, seated outside, I opened my account with Gruit Passion, an extremely old-fashioned Belgian beer style given a tropical twist. It works really well too, the passionfruit taking a back seat and allowing the spicy herbal flavours sparkle. There's a kind of vanilla sweetness, but again not too much. I found a lot of complexity on show here for just 4% ABV and the thought that it tastes a bit like shower gel was only momentary.
The purple beer beside it is another from the same brewery along the same lines: Blanche Cassis. It's much less interesting, and if as the name suggests, it's based on a witbier, there's not much character showing through from that. Instead you get blackcurrant cordial and a hint of green celery and that's your lot. It tastes like the kind of thing industrial breweries produce to attract the girls to beer, though they don't usually make them as strong as 5.2% ABV.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs6PsIHxWDuxFZBPrBNGzkm15ihyi1DUGwk7kfwcyfdf TfQgzBvRXFJlritGL2vgZb3BX57hb1PWU1FC8lIbdj75h0xazT r-KPRxpunJ1J9TJFmh4lNhiqcxMQM9SCLjxGwAB6SrmTuPT0GI85 zUgCxX2g4_N2cdDYLFW1KPqMkNu4eLHhu8A/w167-h200/borinage_urine_dipa_minne_ardenne_stout.jpg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs6PsIHxWDuxFZBPrBNGzkm15ihyi1DUGwk7kfwcyfdf TfQgzBvRXFJlritGL2vgZb3BX57hb1PWU1FC8lIbdj75h0xazT r-KPRxpunJ1J9TJFmh4lNhiqcxMQM9SCLjxGwAB6SrmTuPT0GI85 zUgCxX2g4_N2cdDYLFW1KPqMkNu4eLHhu8A/s2705/borinage_urine_dipa_minne_ardenne_stout.jpg)Morbid curiosity had me ordering a beer from Wallonian brewery Borinage next, called Urine. This is 7% ABV and badged as a double IPA. It's clear and golden, demonstrating a very heavily resinous aroma with dry cereal in the background, suggesting something a bit severe was to come. It proved much mellower, however, beginning with the smooth texture and sweet floral and strawberry foretaste. A harder waxy bitterness rises behind this, but it's gentle and balanced, not jarring or harsh. Overall it works surprisingly well. The only thing I'd change is the name.
Herself opted for stout: Ardenne Stout by Brasserie Minne. It's a big lad at 8% ABV and very much in the British tradition rather than Belgian, eschewing fruit and running instead with cocoa and tobacco. High notes of lavender and rosewater help to temper it, and while it's still a little busy, it's fun with it.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1CLeVHUHJLGZotdJO4NSYdz1uJF0QxwJRt8aK29Tc8e ZdiCjYZROsnXYCJ8YhXUSBEskcE2WEjNDVr9RZwcNHU88e41Qh 3MZkVZyX1ItUJ4zvH1siaWl1XW45n1fP9Ts8mgDilrxMmgvFyp chKrKrZLTjss6w403yO-vEaR4zRms_tkHUzyw/w170-h200/minne_ardenne_tripel_bbp_dansaert_distant_echoes.j pg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1CLeVHUHJLGZotdJO4NSYdz1uJF0QxwJRt8aK29Tc8e ZdiCjYZROsnXYCJ8YhXUSBEskcE2WEjNDVr9RZwcNHU88e41Qh 3MZkVZyX1ItUJ4zvH1siaWl1XW45n1fP9Ts8mgDilrxMmgvFyp chKrKrZLTjss6w403yO-vEaR4zRms_tkHUzyw/s2665/minne_ardenne_tripel_bbp_dansaert_distant_echoes.j pg)She continued to their Ardenne Tripel next, stronger still at 8.5% ABV and really doubling down on the sugar. Though the aroma is pleasingly savoury, showing white pepper and spinach, the taste is pure syrup with a hot and sticky density to match. Tripel's notorious drinkability is missing, and I enjoyed it less for that.
There were a couple of beers from the new spontaneous brewing facility of Brussels Beer Project on Rue Dansaert and I had one of them before going: Distant Echoes. Seems like they're going for a bit of a prog rock theme with these. It's a sour ale with grapes at 7% ABV, ochre-coloured and smelling powerfully of vinegar. Again, the flavour switched directions, mixing apple jelly and saltpetre spice on a warm and rich malt base. There's a mature classiness to this which does not suggest it's from a brash new start-up. It seems they know what they're doing. I didn't get to try any more from the brewery on this trip but look forward to seeing them again.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbirZnoJZAYrArBBzsYThzuC20siPcMZsGinKrbuje1f WYVdJXLkV5ToOYnOL81qYeHqEd_j88tbiLBo7IN_45K-5XjNz8klF9FDeVuNgOEUwi47OSVOSVfs_d4s7M1g95eylLs4tW tAOLHnGkQVAjLN8dwujf__JJMcDINuWFByIgVMKSe1E/w193-h200/flow_ipa_deep_amber_lager.jpg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbirZnoJZAYrArBBzsYThzuC20siPcMZsGinKrbuje1f WYVdJXLkV5ToOYnOL81qYeHqEd_j88tbiLBo7IN_45K-5XjNz8klF9FDeVuNgOEUwi47OSVOSVfs_d4s7M1g95eylLs4tW tAOLHnGkQVAjLN8dwujf__JJMcDINuWFByIgVMKSe1E/s2350/flow_ipa_deep_amber_lager.jpg)A different sort of unfinished business was conducted at the Wolf foodhall, where last time they only had one beer pouring from the in-house Flow brewery. Now they had three on.
Flow IPA is amber coloured and 6% ABV. A vague lemony aroma suggested at first that it might be English-style, but a too-sweet profile of caramel and fruit candy on a thick texture makes me think, if it's in a sub-style at all, it's American IPA done badly. I found it just about potable when cold and in a small glass but didn't want to countenance what might happen if it warmed.
Deep Amber is a lager and 5% ABV. It's slightly hazy in a way I've almost come to expect of brewpub lagers and has quite a bock-like malt weight, slightly sweet at first, before a sudden noble hop explosion of nettle, grass, rocket and spiced cabbage. The full spectrum of Germanic complexity there, and quite delightful, untroubled by any undue sweetness from the malt.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibfbty89HvqtT2M8JFYuNF_vJ34tSEi6Pa57nJ2qNPHh 1qmWS1TCKoHFodl_J-psn4L0KiKTL3ppTuPTJqtiNMk5zlK4SmB3JgFbcEyOBOdzKDkm _DsBw_lckm4W8Z16V-EAZyQyK08Bil7ko3LRqWO6QCu_9OySPaM6eghkQHqwMSlMhyqp w/w142-h200/flow_wild_blond.jpg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibfbty89HvqtT2M8JFYuNF_vJ34tSEi6Pa57nJ2qNPHh 1qmWS1TCKoHFodl_J-psn4L0KiKTL3ppTuPTJqtiNMk5zlK4SmB3JgFbcEyOBOdzKDkm _DsBw_lckm4W8Z16V-EAZyQyK08Bil7ko3LRqWO6QCu_9OySPaM6eghkQHqwMSlMhyqp w/s3180/flow_wild_blond.jpg)To complete the set out of sheer doggedness I had a glass of Wild Blond finally. This is a clear dark gold, thick and heavy but staying dry. A lager crispness meets Belgian golden ale density but neither really go anywhere, fading to nothing quite quickly: the meh of both worlds.
The brewery is very much an afterthought at Wolf. The venue is fun but the beer is just making up the numbers, by and large.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqRDIgm8TPK7OgaWuCWrZk85ImINqtDofOh-GRh5Bsw0p76ipVB2fjwga7ibpcWAjUFYAcZSthHDqltqRQRIK1 tNbAbgzhPhQuCSnuYR4-13i-jj-7BHMPvDnE1jDJP0eqly8a1u8HeIf1sxWrsWGIMbPW-Aw-2dQpFiowhbhUTadDNXOTfl0/w150-h200/cristal.jpg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqRDIgm8TPK7OgaWuCWrZk85ImINqtDofOh-GRh5Bsw0p76ipVB2fjwga7ibpcWAjUFYAcZSthHDqltqRQRIK1 tNbAbgzhPhQuCSnuYR4-13i-jj-7BHMPvDnE1jDJP0eqly8a1u8HeIf1sxWrsWGIMbPW-Aw-2dQpFiowhbhUTadDNXOTfl0/s2785/cristal.jpg)Have you ever had ubiquitous Belgian pilsner Cristal? I hadn't but chanced it when it was the only unfamiliar thing on a restaurant menu. I had never really thought about Belgian pils as its own style but here it is: like stablemate Maes it's dry with a corn sweetness. It's not unpleasant but you need to be either in the mood for it or very thirsty. To my palate there are strong similarities with the Mexican style lager that seems to be currently in fashion for no good reason. Maybe when that has passed, Belgian pils will have its moment too.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMHP_9HfMiBPpf5cpggxX1NRqcZWI8njfFRW8BmePKRd WuJYH9cxhRetIPx1hO2fQOXbsfq2mEVRMQ2Eje3GQ9vaFJYris _KhRZXlu7L2H1hjzKlnI2KNLju0FY9U3ya9V9LhpMeh4v2hG3d kq6HNPenO4csfE5Jj1gK6i3VJww3IEK6Ug0tk/w194-h200/la_source_200_ibus_ipa.jpg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMHP_9HfMiBPpf5cpggxX1NRqcZWI8njfFRW8BmePKRd WuJYH9cxhRetIPx1hO2fQOXbsfq2mEVRMQ2Eje3GQ9vaFJYris _KhRZXlu7L2H1hjzKlnI2KNLju0FY9U3ya9V9LhpMeh4v2hG3d kq6HNPenO4csfE5Jj1gK6i3VJww3IEK6Ug0tk/s2055/la_source_200_ibus_ipa.jpg)On to new territory next, and I had never set foot before in Les Brasseurs, a quite famous beer café right on Boulevard Anspach at the Bourse. I barely did this time, just to rustle up some service before sitting back down outside. Said service brought me a can of La Source 200 IBUs which was over three months out of date and as a result tasted of caramel with some slight resin. Bitterness doesn't fade with time so I call bullshit on both the beer's name and the bar's stock rotation procedures.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfWTDRe51WR_yjkQdAHhapuWIbyK5PbKDeIzCbd9LGO-2hSM6Ab6wRO8D2Iqwz1BC5UpqEV6YSmL23faH0hmpCk_FlyPh8 z6Qpm9CQF_hQo3fRjIz69NdLpCfM_zn7bAKZd3TsZG4_3gxFZN sGNFNmS_xJ_Ft6AAV8jrHSqaSwR_1JqZQ2sUs/w183-h200/bobbi_tripel.jpg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfWTDRe51WR_yjkQdAHhapuWIbyK5PbKDeIzCbd9LGO-2hSM6Ab6wRO8D2Iqwz1BC5UpqEV6YSmL23faH0hmpCk_FlyPh8 z6Qpm9CQF_hQo3fRjIz69NdLpCfM_zn7bAKZd3TsZG4_3gxFZN sGNFNmS_xJ_Ft6AAV8jrHSqaSwR_1JqZQ2sUs/s2205/bobbi_tripel.jpg)The nearby rooftop beer garden I enjoyed last summer hasn't returned but the management have a new venue, taking over the roomy courtyard of a former hospice in the city centre and making it a massive, yet still charming, beer garden. The beer list was decent and my nightcap there was Bobbi Tripel, a nicely juicy example of 8% ABV. Canteloupe features big, alongside more traditional features of tripel like clove rock, lemon rind, celery and pepper. It keeps things light and not boozy, exhibiting exactly the sort of drinkablity missing from the Minne one above.
That's all for today. More Brussels-based wanderings in tomorrow's post.
More... (https://thebeernut.blogspot.com/2022/10/unfinished-business.html)