Trolling for things to do this weekend, She Who Must Be Obeyed found the Brugge Beer Festival ( http://www.brugsbierfestival.be ). Brugge (or Bruges in French/ English) is a really scenic but very touristy town close to the Belgian Coast in Flanders. We have been many times as it is usually on people’s must see list for Belgium, but generally we try to avoid it, particularly during the high season. As this was the low season and they were hosting a beer festival, we got a hotel room and took the hour drive out Saturday morning.
Belgian Beer Festivals are an interesting way to spend an afternoon. The Brugge Beer Festival was no exception. The nice thing about this festival was the number of smaller breweries that were available. The Brussels Beer Weekend has a better atmosphere because it is outside in the middle of the Grand Place, but the number of breweries is limited due to the limited space. This festival by contrast was full of unique breweries with some really interesting options.
Which means, it is time for more Drunk Monks!
SWMBO and I gravitate toward different types of beers. She is a fan of the tripels predominantly and I like the darker beers, so this let us try a lot of different beers across a few styles. Another unique thing about this festival is that they did a 15 cl pour (sometimes a bit less) which is less than half of a typical bottle of beer. So you get a nice sample and can try more beers without getting completely impaired. Although to look at some of the attendees, they did not allow a small pour to get in the way of their impairment.
The first two beers were exactly the kind of beers that we went to the Festival to try. Bryggja Brewery and Henricus Brewery are too small to go to many shows and for this one, they paired up. The Bryggja Tripel had the herbal flavors and creamy mouthfeel you look for in a tripel. Easy to drink, probably a bit too easy. Three Drunk Monks.
The Henricus Brewery Paljas had a light sweetness and some hop. Not as good as the Bryggja. Two and a Half Drunk Monks.
While enjoying these first beers, SWMBO purchased a couple of raffle tickets and won a Duvel Gift Pack which she wielded, cudgel-like throughout the day cutting a swath through the inebriated crowds.
Next up, we had a couple of offerings from Sint Canarus. SWMBO went for the Sint Canarus Tripel which was very light with a citrusy/grassy flavor. It was interesting, but probably not our favorite. Two and a Half Drunk Monks.
I went for the Pere Canard Barrel Aged. This was a 10% alcohol deep, rich beer. The beer had lots of toffee and coffee flavors with a caramel sweetness. After 15 cl I felt like I just had a rich dessert. Three and a Half Drunk Monks.
After recovering, we went to the Fort Lapin booth. They have a great logo but these were probably our least favorite beers of the day. SWMBO got the Tripel (are you seeing a trend yet?) and I got the Quadrupel. The Tripel had a really interesting combination of citrus and pear with some herbal overtones. I didn’t care for the combination. It wasn't bad, just not my taste. Two and a Half Drunk Monks.
The Quadrupel is a dark heavily alcoholic beer. It was both sweet and bitter and both of us felt like it’s aftertaste was reminiscent of beef stew. It would probably make a great beer based stew but I was happy that I only had to drink half a bottle. Two and a Half Drunk Monks.
At this point we bumped into a couple of other Americans who were living in Germany and had come across by train for the weekend. The husband did not think that the beers tasted like beer. Obviously he has been drinking a lot of lagers. His disappointment in the Belgian Beer was obvious. They have not been in Europe for a year yet and it really sounded like they did not do a very good job negotiating the assignment. He only gets three weeks of vacation a year. I wonder how he will feel in August when everyone around him is taking the month off.
After talking to the American couple we wandered off to John Martin to get a Bourgogne Des Flandres. After two 10% beers it was nice to get back to a lower alcohol (5%) dark lambic. This beer had lambic sourness with a deep, rich almost date-like flavor. Three Drunk Monks.
While I was enjoying the lambic, SWMBO picked up a Gentse Strop from Roman Brewery (and shockingly, not a Tripel). The beer had malty flavor with some citrus but was overall a bit blah. Two Drunk Monks.
We took a little break at this point and enjoyed the people-watching. There are many interesting sartorial choices made at events like this. I will let the photos speak for themselves.
After our break, SWMBO and I decided to divide up and pick some different breweries. SWMBO went for a Jessenhofke Tripel which I have rated here before. True to form, it is still excellent. I went for a Prearis Quadrupel from Vliegende Paard Brouwers. The Prearis was easily my favorite beer of the day. Caramel and toffee notes, rich but very drinkable. Four Drunk Monks
Last up, SWMBO veered away from Tripels again and chose the Rebel Local IPA from Brouwers Verzet. This was SWMBO’s favorite of the day and it was excellent. Lightly hopped as compared to a US IPA. It had a complex combination of flavors with a citrusy finish. Four Drunk Monks.
My last of the afternoon was a La Trappe Quadrupel. Another high alcohol dark beer and like the Prearis, extremely tasty. Three and a Half Drunk Monks.
While we could have stayed and continued to taste away, as the afternoon moved on the crowds got worse and a bit more inebriated. We figured we would leave while we were still enjoying ourselves rather than wait for it to degenerate.
We left the festival, found some dinner and enjoyed wandering around Brugge at night. All in all a great day.
