Lame Bar Crawl

It is time to go back to being a beer blog. Due to the dearth of beer reviews recently, and because we really had nothing better to do today, we headed out to Brussels for a mini bar crawl. It was mini largely because we are old and do not have the endurance or patience that a real Belgian Bar Crawl would require.

We started the day at Moeder Lambic Fontainas and in retrospect, we should have stayed there. As far as beer bars go, this place is right up there. What it lacks in atmosphere, it makes up for in selection. They have 46 beers on tap and another 150 bottled varietals. This is unusual for Belgium. The most common tap beers are Maes and Leffe, which are nothing to write home about. The best beers are typically in the bottle, so the fact that they have many unique beers on tap is interesting. The downside to this bar is that the beers are pretty expensive relative to most typical bars and they only pour a 25cl beer. That being said, if you want to test a lot of Belgian beers in one sitting, this is your place.

First beers up were the Zeezuiper from Scheldebrouwerij and the Rulles Tripel. The Zeezuiper is a very light, moderately hoppy ale. In some respects it had pilsner like characteristics but is a bit stronger at 8%. Probably a nice beer for a hot summer day while tackling a bowl of seafood. Overall, a little thin for my taste, but she who must be obeyed seemed to enjoy it very much Three and a half Drunk Monks.

The Rulles Tripel Hap more pronounced hop character and a creamier mouthfeel. There were distinct herbal and floral notes which were quite good. I liked this beer very much and was probably the best of the day. Four Drunk Monks!

While we enjoyed our Quiche, we ordered up another round and this time opted for the Kerkomse Tripel and a Bink Bloesem. Both beers come from Brouwerij Kerkom and apparently, the Tripel is also labeled as Bink Tripel for some markets. At 9% the Kerkomse Tripel is a strong beer with a bit of alcohol bite to it. Like the Rulles Tripel, it had a pronounced herbal character with a moderate level of hops. Not as good as the Rulles, I would give it three and a half Drunk Monks.

The Bink Bloesem is a little less strong Amber at 7.1%. This is somewhat sweeter beer with less hop character. I would almost characterize this as American in style. It is a lot like some of the microbrew amber ales that you can get in some of the better beer cities across the US. Not bad, three and a half Drunk Monks.

After lunch we wandered around Brussels for a little while. Originally we thought we might try to compare and contrast Moeder Lambic with the other well known beer bar, Delerium Café. We sat down at Delerium, but split after about two minutes. It is just too much of a tourist trap. Dirty, smoky and filled with an unsavory mix of drunk tourists. Not our scene.

So we wandered back toward Moeder Lambic and went to a nearby bar called Au Soleil. It is a tiny little bar with a smaller menu. A good list of beers including a couple we had not tried before. The Quintine Blonde (8%) and the Caracole (8%). The Caracole Blonde is made by the same brewery that made the La Troublette that I reviewed previously. As with the Troublette, this is a fairly light beer with a bit of sweetness and floral character. Three and a half Drunk Monks.

The Quintine Blonde had a bit more body than the Caracole. A moderately hopped blonde, it had fruity notes and an odd yeasty aroma. Again Three and a half Drunk Monks.

The last stop of the day was a bar just off the Grand Place that we knew would be a tourist trap, but they claimed to have a great beer list so we wandered in. We should have known better. They had all the standard beers and were set up like an American bar trying to be a Belgian bar. Really tragic. One last overpriced and watery beer and we were ready for the tram home.