We then gathered in the private tasting room/bar inside the brewery for talks on Brouwerij Bosteels from Antoine Bosteels, and from Miek van Melkebeke of Brouwerij de Ryck. Charles LeClef of Brouwerij Het Anker then spoke about the brewery and his Gouden Carolus beers.
After the talks, we had a tour of Bavik’s lab, brewhouse, bottling line, and warehouse. There are two brewhouses right beside each other: a beautiful old copper one from the 1960’s, and a newer stainless steel one from 2005 or so. You can see the brewhouse through big glass windows from the road, which makes a memorable impression.
The coach then transported us to Brugge (Bruges) for our last (official) stop of the day: Brouwerij De Halve Maan. Owner Xavier Vanneste gave us a quick tour of the brewery, which is the only one in the heart of Bruges nowadays. Around the year 1900, there were about 30 in the city.
We then enjoyed a fine meal, paired first with Brugse Zot Blond, then the Dubbel of the same name. Xavier spoke about the history of the brewery and also about his new barrel-aged brew, Straffe Hendrik Heritage 2011. It was a very enjoyable beer, paired with dessert, and one that I look forward to tasting again more often. A memorable meal, it was.
We stayed at Martin’s Relais Oud Huis Amsterdam Hotel Brugge, a really nice place beside a canal, and five minutes’ walk from the city center.
It was already past 11 pm, but as we were in Brugge, a nightcap or two was necessary. The great new Le Trappiste, just around the corner, fits the bill nicely. It’s the first place in Bruges to have quite a few foreign special beers on tap, and its Belgian beer menu is very good. There are 12 taps and 80 beers by the bottle, including a certain rarely seen Trappist brew from West Flanders. Le Trappiste is run by Regnier De Muynck and an English partner. Regnier used to run De Biertempel in Brussels, and later, in Bruges.
This bar is located in a 12th century cellar, and huge pillars holding up the ceiling and breweriana throughout make it one of the most atmospheric in the city. Get there!
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