Beercation Part I

Many of you are already aware that my husband has a beer problem.  Not sure he is ready for the 12 steps, and honestly I shouldn't joke about alcoholism, but he definitely has a problem, just not in the way you think.  Adam is a beer collector, trader, seller, brewer, and general connoisseur of rare and craft beers. Obviously, we are not talking Miller Lite here..cough, cough...Kitty ;) He spends much of his time reading reviews and commenting on  website forums like Beer Advocate and Rate Beer.  He also spends many $$$/€€€ on beer that most of you have never heard of.  Occasionally this is a bit of a sore spot, but Adam is quick to remind me that I spend plenty of money on shoes and handbags and I promptly drop the subject.  Everyone has their vices right?! Additionally, it would only be fair to mention that I don't just sit idly by on the side lines when it comes to beer consumption.


So why all the beer talk? I feel it is important for you to fully understand the depth of Adam's obsession before filling you in on our recent adventure. Living abroad makes it so easy to explore Europe!  Not only are we closer to central Europe geographically than we were in the states, duh, but the flights are much cheaper!  In fact many of the flights between major European cities are far less expensive than the domestic flights in the US.

So where would a beer geek such as my husband want to travel on his first long weekend away?  If you guessed Belgium you are correct!  Cheap flights booked, car hire (rental) squared away, itinerary set! You may be asking, why rent a car?  Isn't most of Europe accessible by train?  Under normal circumstances we would be traveling by train, but this was not a normal vacation, this was a BEERCATION (beer + vacation). Beercations require a car because many of the places on our itinerary could only be reached by bike, foot, or car.  Trains and buses don't run out to remote abbeys in the middle of the Belgium countryside! This was our sweet ride! A Ford KA.  We joked all weekend in our best Boston accent about where to Paaak the Kaaa!

Now onto the important part of this post, the BEER! I don't want to overwhelm you with all the beerformation (beer + information) but hopefully you will find it interesting. I may have to bring Adam on to do a guest post because I will no doubt get some things wrong here, but I will try and do my best. I am going to have to deliver this beerformation in two different posts, because there is so much to tell you about our beercation, and I just can't edit it down enough!  Don't worry when this is over you will no doubt be planning your own beercation, and Adam will be glad to help you.


First stop, the De Molen Brewery.  This very, very small brewery is situated in the pristine and beautiful town of Bodegraven just south of Amsterdam about an hour.  We enjoyed lunch al fresco accompanied by several tasty beers.  Adam chatted with the owners and picked up several bottles from their shop as well as a few rare ones from the owner's private collection!  It is here where we also met a lovely Australian couple who joined up with us two days later for another brewery visit.

Outside of the De Molen Brewery in Bodegraven.

Adam looking serious and taking beer notes!

Browsing the selection at the De Molen bottle shop.

In case you can't read the fine print, it list De Molen as #5 best breweries in the WORLD!
We also visited #15, but I'll get to that in Part II.
Additionally we've been to #4 Cigar City in Tampa FL, and #13 Dieu du Diel in Montreal.

This is the brewing room!  Told you it was a very small brewery!

One more stop in the Netherlands before moving on to Belgium. The La Trappe brewery is the only Trappist brewery in the Netherlands.  The beers are brewed in collaboration with the monks of the O.L.V. Koningshoeven Abbey.  Did you know that a beer can only be called a "Trappist beer" if it is brewed at a Trappist monastery under the supervision of the monks, and only seven Trappist breweries still remain?! We were not able to tour this brewery because it is inside the walls of the monestary and tours are by appointment only.  However, they have a beautiful beer garden and shop just outside the walls so we sat in the sunshine and enjoyed our specially-crafted holy brews!

Next, it was back on the road on our way to Belgium. We made a quick stop in Antwerp before heading to Brussels to settle in after our first day of beercation.  The stop in Antwerp was just to grab a bite and stop at a small out of the way bar called Kulminator that is well known in the world of the beer geek.  


After an exhausting first day of travel we slept in late which was a bit of a mistake!  We were not able to go to all the places on our scheduled itinerary, which was a big dissapointment for Adam, but a wonderful excuse for him to return.  In fact he is already plotting his next beercation.  With what was left of our day we sought out a small place about 10 km  outside of Brussels called 3 Fonteinen.  Armand, the owner, no longer brews his own beer but specializes in the blending and aging of beers specific to this region like Gueze/Gueuze (pronounced goozah) and Lambic . 


Many of you have probably heard the term Lambic, and you may have even tasted one, or so you think! But, unless you have had an authentic Belgian Lambic you haven't actually had one.  Anybody can call it a lambic but an authentic lambic beer can only be produced in the Senne River Valley region of Belgium near Brussels. The reason being is due to the wild and naturally occouring yeast and bacteria in the region that are vital to the brewing process. It is one of the oldest styles of beer in the world. 

Geuze, is created by blending young and aged Lambic beers, traditionally 1-, 2- and 3-year old Lambics. The combination of the younger Lambics with the mellower, aged Lambics sparks a secondary fermentation that creates a wonderful effervescence in the beer. This slight fizz is why Gueuze is sometimes referred to as “The Champagne of Beers.”


Sorry for the beer lesson, but just think now you can impress your friends with this knowledge or maybe even be on Jeapordy!  Gotta love that Alex Tribec. 

Back to 3 Fonteinen.  It was another gorgeous day so we grabbed a table outside and settled in for an afternoon tasting extravaganza!  Armand and his wife were very accommodating. Armand even allowed us into his cellar to watch him open a cask and have a drink of the fresh lambic straight from the cask. The highlight of Adam's afternoon was opening a bottle of Millenium Geuze, a very rare bottle, that is not available for purchase.  It can only be enjoyed on premise, so that's what we did.  


Another exciting part of our visit was the fact that the brewer from  Boon Brewery stopped by to have a drink with Armand.  They are well known for their fruit lambics, especially Kriek which is a sour cherry style.  So we had a chance to meet him, even though we didn't make it to his Brewery.  These are the celebs of the beer world so we paused for a photo op!

Armand opening a cask and sharing with us a glass of fresh lambic!

A common occurrence in the fermentation process! 

We also enjoyed a tray of beer cheese.  A young creamy gouda-like cheese that has been soaked in the 3 Fonteinen beer.  In fact, while we were there the cheese maker showed up and was very excited when he found out Adam works in the dairy industry.  He came right over and shared with us the news of his small dairy farm and cheese production!

Adam forgot his sunglasses, so I let him borrow mine.
Watch out Elton John!

The 3 Fonteinen experience came to a close with dinner at the restaurant around the corner owned by Armand's brother called what else... 3 Fonteinen!  As you may have guessed many of the dishes there are prepared with Armand's amazing beer as part of the ingredient list!

This seems to be a good stopping place.  Up next Beercation part II, where you will be introduced to our new Aussie friends, Cantilon, Westveteren, and De Struisse Breweries, and our crazy night driving hopelessly lost around Brussels (still not quite ready to laugh about it, but I'll share the story anyway!) Cheers!