cervezarara
Well-Known Member
SWMBO and I just returned from 8 days in Belgium and we were lucky to have had our long planned trip coincide with the Toer de Geuze, on May first! Here are some observations:
1) You need a good map, which is pretty hard to come by in Belgium. WiFi is pretty spotty, and roads are small and, for the most part, pretty poorly marked. You think you're heading into Gooik one moment, and then you find out you're going the opposite direction.
2) We left Brugge a little late, and didn't get into Gooik until about 12:30. By then the Toer was in full swing, and de Cam was our first stop. I was driving, so I limited myself to tasting. They served lambic, geuze, and kriek- we tried the lambic, as it is not available here. Their lambic is excellent by US standards, but didn't quite compare with Cantillon, which we had in Brussels.
3) The Toer reminds me of a county fair. People come out and celebrate, with musicians playing guitar, accordion, and bagpipes. Kriek is probably served 2 to 1 over lambic and geuze, and locals really pound them! The tour bus disgorges large groups who aren't bashful about intake either!
4) Eizeringen is close to Gooik, but little more than an intersection of the N285 and N8. Lambicland gave us a hint that In de Vezerkering tegen de Grote Dorst is across the street from the village church, and I had seen a spire up the hill. This bar is usually open only a few hours a week on Sundays after church, but was open "alle dag" for the Toer! The locals looked ecstatic as they were able to get their Jupiler at 2 in the afternoon! We had some Drie Fonteinen Gueze and scored a bottle of the Horal Mega Blend 2011 here. They had a two gallon metal pail on the bar full of corks from the bottles they opened. We didn't stick around to see how often they had to empty the pail, but judging by the crowd, I'd guess every hour or so!
5) Frank Boon did a marvelous job posting signs to his brewery, so we were able to find it with just a few hitches. It is not in Lembeek proper, but a bit south of town. Parking, even driving, was nearly impossible as the horde of thirsty tourists blocked streets and the field they had set up for parking. It was hot and sunny, and the kriek was making a small river of blood as the overflow form the taps drained away from the impromptu taps they had set up. There was a long line for lambic, but let me say it was well worth it!
6) Boon lambic is incredible! It has a lot of oak with a slight bourbon background (did I read somewhere that he uses bourbon barrels?) Lambics were served in 25cl glasses and Kriek and Gueze in 33cl at 1 and 2 Euros respectively. This was an incredible bargain, and the county fair atmosphere lent a magical quality to the event. Musicians gave impromptu renditions of traditional songs on accordion and Irish bagpipes, then Scots bagpipes, guitar, and various other combinations.
7) Hanssens was sadly impossible for us to find, as Dworp is a fair sized town, and the street on which they are located has a different name at the main street. Curse our poor navigation tools!
8) Beersel was hopping, and a couple of tour buses were outside the Lambic Oudroom where Drei Fonteinen was set up. No Musicians were there, but a lot of hot and beery tourists were gulping gueze and lambic. We were staying at the Centrum Hotel, so we ended our tour in Beersel.
This was a magical event, even if we missed Timmermans, Lindemans, etc. On a side note, the night before we left Brugge, they opened one of only 100 casks of 2007 Boon lambic at the Brugse Beertje! Boon makes a marvelous lambic, and in retrospect, the 2007 was terrific with some oak but no bourbon. The cantillon lambic at Moeder Lambic in Brussels is fantastic, also. We had to return to Brussels for our flight home, so we had another go at Cantillon to cement it forever in our memories.
1) You need a good map, which is pretty hard to come by in Belgium. WiFi is pretty spotty, and roads are small and, for the most part, pretty poorly marked. You think you're heading into Gooik one moment, and then you find out you're going the opposite direction.
2) We left Brugge a little late, and didn't get into Gooik until about 12:30. By then the Toer was in full swing, and de Cam was our first stop. I was driving, so I limited myself to tasting. They served lambic, geuze, and kriek- we tried the lambic, as it is not available here. Their lambic is excellent by US standards, but didn't quite compare with Cantillon, which we had in Brussels.
3) The Toer reminds me of a county fair. People come out and celebrate, with musicians playing guitar, accordion, and bagpipes. Kriek is probably served 2 to 1 over lambic and geuze, and locals really pound them! The tour bus disgorges large groups who aren't bashful about intake either!
4) Eizeringen is close to Gooik, but little more than an intersection of the N285 and N8. Lambicland gave us a hint that In de Vezerkering tegen de Grote Dorst is across the street from the village church, and I had seen a spire up the hill. This bar is usually open only a few hours a week on Sundays after church, but was open "alle dag" for the Toer! The locals looked ecstatic as they were able to get their Jupiler at 2 in the afternoon! We had some Drie Fonteinen Gueze and scored a bottle of the Horal Mega Blend 2011 here. They had a two gallon metal pail on the bar full of corks from the bottles they opened. We didn't stick around to see how often they had to empty the pail, but judging by the crowd, I'd guess every hour or so!
5) Frank Boon did a marvelous job posting signs to his brewery, so we were able to find it with just a few hitches. It is not in Lembeek proper, but a bit south of town. Parking, even driving, was nearly impossible as the horde of thirsty tourists blocked streets and the field they had set up for parking. It was hot and sunny, and the kriek was making a small river of blood as the overflow form the taps drained away from the impromptu taps they had set up. There was a long line for lambic, but let me say it was well worth it!
6) Boon lambic is incredible! It has a lot of oak with a slight bourbon background (did I read somewhere that he uses bourbon barrels?) Lambics were served in 25cl glasses and Kriek and Gueze in 33cl at 1 and 2 Euros respectively. This was an incredible bargain, and the county fair atmosphere lent a magical quality to the event. Musicians gave impromptu renditions of traditional songs on accordion and Irish bagpipes, then Scots bagpipes, guitar, and various other combinations.
7) Hanssens was sadly impossible for us to find, as Dworp is a fair sized town, and the street on which they are located has a different name at the main street. Curse our poor navigation tools!
8) Beersel was hopping, and a couple of tour buses were outside the Lambic Oudroom where Drei Fonteinen was set up. No Musicians were there, but a lot of hot and beery tourists were gulping gueze and lambic. We were staying at the Centrum Hotel, so we ended our tour in Beersel.
This was a magical event, even if we missed Timmermans, Lindemans, etc. On a side note, the night before we left Brugge, they opened one of only 100 casks of 2007 Boon lambic at the Brugse Beertje! Boon makes a marvelous lambic, and in retrospect, the 2007 was terrific with some oak but no bourbon. The cantillon lambic at Moeder Lambic in Brussels is fantastic, also. We had to return to Brussels for our flight home, so we had another go at Cantillon to cement it forever in our memories.
