Wow! Kriekenlambic

Time for another trip to the Pajottenland, home of lambic and geuze. The De Cam gueuze stekerij (meaning essentially 'blendery') in Gooik has been around for about 10 years now and buys their lambic from Boon, Girardin, and other lambic makers to age, blend, and then create their own oude gueuze and oude kriek. Blenders of gueuze are not an uncommon thing in the region as the blending and aging is the most important factor in creating a unique final product. Hanssens and Drie Fonteinen are other well known blenders.

Right next to the De Cam stekerij is the De Cam Volkscafe where, along with hearty meal, you can find the wonderful De Cam kriekenlambic on draft. Kriekenlambic is what is left after steeping cherries in a barrel of the original lambic for many months. Most of it goes for bottling to become oude kriek after further bottle aging. Here though they serve some of what's left on its own without further aging. It is a flat and served in a earthen mug. The taste is full of the wonderful rich cherry flavors of the fruit and melds nicely with the sourness of the lambic. Perfect on a spring day.

In addition to this treat you can also find the other De Cam products like the outstanding and beautifully dry Oude Gueuze.

Moeder Lambic, The Original

Moeder Lambic, a bastion of good beer in the St Gilles commune (neighborhood) of Brussels, is located in the shadow of the town hall. Even with the opening of a new location closer to the center of Brussels, the original continues to hold down its deserved place at the top of the Brussels beer universe. This is due to a great list of bottles and thoughtful selections of draft beer along with a nice comfortable location with big windows looking out on the goings on in St Gilles.

A while ago I made a trip there to sample some Saison d'Epeautre from Brasserie Blaugies. This was the first time it was on draft, something first noted on the Thirsty Pilgrim blog. This beer is from southern Hainaut province, almost on the French border. It has a soft golden yellow hue and a wonderful dry grassy bitterness that is very refreshing on a spring day.

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.

A once a month kind of place

In the Flemish Brabant town of Diest is the cafe-brewery of Loterbol. It is an elusive establishment that only opens on the first Saturday of each month for eight hours. Loterbol makes a tasty blond and a brune as well as an very intriguing and recommended beer/lambic mix that are available in beershops.

In the cafe they serve on draft a refreshing lower strength blonde that has a nice sharp bitter character but lacks a bit in complexity. The cafe itself is a typical Brabantine town cafe with small wooden tables and some antique beer knick knacks here and there. It fills up with locals sharing some beers and chatting with the owner as well as coming in to exchange empty cases for full ones.

Meantime in Greenwich

A recent visit to the Greenwich Union pub in London presented a excellent introduction to the range of beers brewed by Meantime Brewing. This pub is the brewery tap and serves all the Meantime beers along with a number of notable other beers. We made our way here for a late lunch after a long bus ride and a soggy cold morning traversing Greenwich Park and its museums.

I previously had tried a couple of their British style beers in the US and was surprised to learn that Meantime also has a range of lagers that they brew along with some of the standard British ale styles. This portfolio of lagers certainly differentiates them from other British brewers (that the founder studied and brewed in Germany explains this different focus). They also have a number of draft only beers they make seasonally.


Meantime has pursued a modern design look to set it apart and this is reflected in the proprietary bottle designs they use as well as the labeling and glassware. This is also seen the the decor of the Greenwich Union pub which moves away from the traditional British pub look. You have wood in the interior but it is lighter colored and gives a bit of a Scandinavian style.



At the pub the London Pale Ale was one of three cask ales (the other two were from other microbreweries). It veered from the traditional in using some American hops to give it a stronger floral character but it was quite good. The Smoked Bock they were serving was influenced by the smoked beers of Bamberg, Germany and comes across with light smoky character that I'd say may be a little too suble. It was good with a burger though.

The lunch pub fare was reasonable and the dishes we had were quite good, especially the enormous aged angus burger. The chips were also delicious. Overall the Greenwich Union is a place to seek out if you are a fan of Meantime beers or are visiting Greenwich.

Brugs Beertje

The Brugs Beertje (Little Bruges Bear) has been around for about 25 years and they must be doing something right because they still get high marks from beer community. It is a cozy, well worn place with a great communal feel. The small front room has a bar with about a dozen stools and some tables opposite the bar, most set against a wooden bench along the walls. There is an equally sized back room with more tables and then a third event room with a second bar and some more tables that is opened sometimes when it gets crowded. They have five taps- two regulars (Brugse Zot, Deconnick) and three rotating taps of special beers (recently including La Rulles Estival and Dupont Les Bon Voeux). It is place well known to beer aficionados- the Good Beer Guide to Belgium notes that no one will seriously believe you found the place by accident.

A visit to a place such as this deserves a fine beer so I went with a 2008 Oerbier Reserva from De Dolle. This is their Oerbier aged in oak casks. This further aging lifts the alcohol level over 10% abv. It has an incredibly complex flavor that touches on notes of bourbon, a hint of sourness, along with a light spiciness. These all come together to make an amazing beer.