Primus met gist

That translates to 'Primus with yeast'. My interest was piqued by an entry about this beer in the recent Flemish beer book 100x proeven van straffe streekbieren. This beer is served only at the Brouwershuis restaurant across the street from the Haacht Brewery (which is where else but in Haacht). Primus is normally an extremely bland forgettable euro-lager found nearly everywhere in Belgium but at the brewery tap they serve it on draft with the yeast still in the barrel in hopes of imparting some character to it.

It was with this in mind that we traveled in aftermath of a snowfall to the Haacht Brouwershuis to try the Primus met gist and see how their lunch measures up.The restaurant is located across the street from the brewery in a very tastefully restored Victorian house that was formerly an executive's home. It a short walk from the train station and easy to find (can't miss the brewery). Lunchtime was very busy too.

Soon after sitting at our table we quickly got our glasses of the rare beer. The tall thin mugs were cloudy, almost the color of a witbier. This unfiltered Primus is markedly better than than the regular version. You can still tell it is a mass market lager but the yeast gives it a bready, almost chewy, character that leaves a nice taste on your tongue. A very refreshing beer that it went well will my tasty but a little unfocused 'Brouwershuis salad'- a mix of greens with chicken, shrimp, and calamari.

Worth visiting to try the beer if you are in the area but not so amazing that it demands to be a beer destination.