Quenching a Great Thirst

A couple weekends ago Sunday morning took us just west of Brussels to the town of Eizeringen and a visit to the cafe In de Verzekering tegen de Grote Dorst. This area is part of the Payottenland, the center of traditional lambic and geuze production in Belgium. Translating to 'In the Insurance against Large Thirst' this is a classic Flemish small town cafe that is located across from the town church. It only opens on Sundays from 10am-1:30pm. It was bought and restored by two lambic aficionados after its proprietor retired in about ten years ago after decades of steady service. They wanted to preserve the authentic character of this small town cafe.

The cafe has an extensive selection of lambic and geuze that includes vintages going back to the 1980's along with select draft lambics. We relaxed on wooden benches as the fire in the iron stove at the back crackled and people filtered in as after church let out. I opted for a Moriau Oude Geuze with the bottle served in a traditional basket. It had a lovely sour dryness. Truly a wonderful experience as the modern times slowed down just for a moment.