Belgium – home of the best beer, chocolate, waffles, and fries in the world. As Adam pointed out in the previous blog post, the four of us (him, his wife Julie, me, and Jimmy) had been wanting to go to Oktoberfest together for about a decade. For the majority of my life though, I hadn’t really been a fan of beer, so I usually missed out on all their fun times spent at local beer festivals. There was no way I would miss the biggest keg party in the world. Luckily, everything changed when a friend of ours started hosting craft beer tasting parties with some of the best (and most expensive) beers from around the world. He was convinced that there was a beer out there for me. Sure, enough, he introduced me to the gloriousness of Belgian beer. First, I discovered the sweet and strong (almost wine-like) Belgian Quads. Then, I realized that sours were actually a thing and fell in love with the Duchesse, a Flemish red ale. So, what could make a trip to Oktoberfest even better!?!??! Following it up with a beer tour through Belgium!! And I can actually join in on the fun!! And who doesn’t love chocolate…Julie and I were pumped to do some chocolate tasting as well. Fast forward about five years….and we finally made it!!
On our flight to Brussels from Munich, Adam and Julie let me borrow their Rick Steves’ book to see if there were any specific sites or activities that we wanted to add to the beer and chocolate agenda. Of course, we always have to do the Rick Steves’ walk to get a great overview of the city – the architecture, the history, and the culture. But, when Adam and Julie asked me if anything else caught my eye besides our plans for beer and chocolate…well.. I told them, now I also have to eat waffles, fries, shrimp croquettes, carbonnades flamandes, meatballs, speculoos, and vol-au-vent….oh, and make sure to see the little peeing boy statue. So, our 4 days in Belgium was spent wandering around enjoying the quirkiness of Brussels, the beauty of Bruges, eating a lot of food, and drinking even more beer.
Our first stop was, of course, for beer! We were very fortunate to have Adam along with us because he actually works in the beer industry and knows everything about beer and where the best beer can be found. We went to a trendy bar called Moeder Lambic with exposed brick walls and an impressive selection of beers…and not just any beers, sours galore!
We were in heaven! I also quickly learned that the overly sweet fruit lambics sold in the US (don’t get me wrong, I still love those too!) are not a true representation of the lambic style of beer. Thanks, Adam, for teaching me so much about the beer that I like but sadly knew very little about. Moeder Lambic was a great beginning to our Belgian beer adventure.
We wandered through the city learning from Rick Steves as we went. The main square La Grand Place is beautiful, so I won’t bore you with history and facts and just show a couple pics.
Of course, we also went into every beer shop to check out the plethora of stellar, impossible-to-find-in-the-US beers. Where else can you walk into every shop and find cases of the #1 ranked beer in the world? And then even haggle with the owner for the cheapest price? Nice work, guys!
We only once had the opportunity to get a dozen Westies in the US and that is a story in and of itself to procure that many bottles. We then rationed them over the next few years to be able to enjoy them periodically. Not here. Every day can be Westie day.
After a few beer stores, a chocolate shop, and some Rick Steves commentary, we had worked up an appetite (or maybe just wanted to start diving into our long Belgian food wish-list), so we stopped in at a highly recommended café, Maison Dandoy, that has been serving artisanal biscuits, speculoos, and waffles since 1829.
The waffles come primarily in two styles: Brussels or Liege. So, we had to try both!! The Brussels waffle is lighter and crispier, and we got one topped with caramel.
The Liege waffle is denser, chewier, and sweeter because it is made with buttery brioche dough and chunks of pearl sugar that caramelize on the crust when cooked. We got that one topped with chocolate.
So delicious! We easily could have crushed another couple waffles but decided to move on because there was a cute little peeing boy that we had to see!!!
The Mannekin-Pis is the mascot of Brussels and wait…what is he wearing?? Ah yes, he often gets dressed up in various costumes sent from all over the world. As you can see here, we got to see him as a little hip-hop rap dude. The Mannekin-Pis, put in place around 1618, is an emblem of the rebellious and laid-back attitude of the people of Brussels. Wandering the streets and peaking in the stores, you can see him everywhere. Ice cream shops…
Even the frites (fries):
Luckily, the famous little statue just happened to be a block from our sweet AirBnB with views over downtown Brussels. So after a long day of touring drinking and eating, we headed back to enjoy our rooftop deck and all the awesome beer that Adam had carefully selected for us throughout the day.
We also picked up some frites (from the store with the peeing frites sign, of course). The Belgian frites set themselves apart because they are fried twice, have a crisp outside with fluffy inside, and are served with special dipping sauces. Our favorite was the Andalouse – mayo, lemon, tomato, and pepper. Hanging out with great friends, eating Belgian frites, and drinking Belgian beers while on our rooftop deck in downtown Brussels…not too shabby of a way to finish our first night!
The tone for day two was set with one of the best finds since we set foot on European soil over 2 months ago….BRUNCH!!! Oh, how we have missed brunch or even breakfast for that matter. Italians and Germans just do not do breakfast…a pastry and coffee does not count! Even better, it was a true brunch and not a “sad, late breakfast” as we like to say because they even had mimosas!!
We all had the chorizo and goat cheese topped waffle with poached egg. Who could pass that up!?!?
After breakfast, we had one mission for the day…Cantillon.
Thanks again to Adam for knowing that this was THE place to go in the entire world for sour beers. Cantillon is a traditional family-run Lambic brewery since 1900. The oldest historical accounts of brewing date back to around 3600 BC and back then people had to rely on Mother Nature and wild airborne yeast to contaminate the wort to start the alcoholic fermentation process. Over the years as new technologies emerged, most brewers chose not to leave the brewing process to chance and moved toward artificially controlled processes. And unfortunately, large-scale industrial production has brought more products to the market of lesser quality. The only beer today that continues to be produced using the natural fermentation technique from thousands of years of brewing history is the Lambic. Cantillon is one of the last places in the world that still honors the traditional Lambic procedure and battles with Mother Nature to produce a higher quality, unique tasting product. And we got to try them all!! But, first, my favorite part of the tour….the cooling tun room.
This is where the magic happens. The large copper vessel is quite shallow but has a large surface area which allows for a quicker cooling while supporting direct contact of the wort with the ambient air. This process can only happen at night during cold weather which means that Cantillon can only brew beer from the end of October until the beginning of April!! That is some dedication to quality and tradition! Researchers studying the biology of Lambic fermentation discovered 100 different strains of yeast, 27 strains of acetic acid bacteria, and 38 strains of lactic acid bacteria in just ONE type of lambic. Supposedly, it is these micro-organisms that are specific to the Senne River valley that makes this type of fermentation only possible in the Brussels area. So, the cooling tun room is ultimately the secret ingredient because the unique micro-organic fauna is what makes their unique Lambics possible and unable to be replicated elsewhere in the world. Okay, enough science and history….now onto the drinking!
We spent the greater part of a day indulging in all that Cantillon had to offer, and it was everything we hoped it could be. Unfortunately, the rarity of the beers meant that most of them had to be purchased and drunk on the premises. Only a few varieties could be taken home. So, of course, we had to try every one of them. Luckily, we made some friends that were also big beer nerds.
They let us sample the ones they bought and vice versa. Picking a favorite was tough because they all were so good!! Adam and Julie’s favorite was the Fou’foune, which is a Lambic in which apricots have been soaked. Jimmy and I went with the “Lou Pepe” Kriek…or was it the “Lou Pepe” Framboise…or maybe the aged versions…
“Lou Pepe” was a select Lambic in which cherries (Kriek) or raspberries (Frambroise) have been soaked. The “Lou Pepe” is set apart from the basic Kriek/Frambroise because cane sugar and not a young lambic is added for the secondary fermentation in the bottle resulting in twice as much fruit per liter of beer.
After an afternoon of drinking some of the best and most unique beers in the world, what is there left to do in Brussels?!?! Why, eat of course! Remember that long list of foods I am still trying to get through in only 4 days? We heard great things about Nuetnigenough and how can you not be excited for a place with the slogan “The Brussels Brasserie for Greedy Gluttons and Fine Beer Lovers”. Everything on the menu sounded delicious, but it was hard to pass up the meat dishes smothered in beer sauce. Jimmy (and, of course, I took a few bites because it was on my “list”) had the quintessential Belgian dish, carbonnades flamandes, essentially a beef bourgignon but with beer instead of wine. Brilliant!
I had the veal meatballs in a white beer sauce with a side of stoemp. Stoemp, another specialty of Brussels, had not made my list but it was a pleasant surprise – a potato and carrot puree – way better than it sounds, and I am not even a fan of cooked carrots.
A friend of Adam’s from college who happened to live nearby even joined us for the evening. She was a lot of fun and had the best stories to share. Can you believe that she has traveled with Justin Bieber and massaged Rihanna!?!? What an evening! Full, perhaps a little tipsy, we wandered our way back through the streets of Brussels toward our AirBnB, and I found this sweet workout outfit for Jimmy!! Christmas present!?!?
And the Grand Place is even more impressive at night!!
What a beautiful spot for a group photo with Cat.
“But, wait? Why is Alysia grabbing Julie’s crotch? Let’s re-take the picture.”
“What? Why does it still look like she’s grabbing her crotch!?!?”
We all look really close at the camera screen…
“Oh, optical illusion…it really is Julie’s arm.”
Definitely time to get to bed!!
Day 3 was our day trip to the beautiful city of Bruges. As this blog post has gotten a bit long, I will summarize with just a few of our favorite pictures and moments.
Bruges is often considered the “Venice of the North” because of the beautiful canals.
We climbed the medieval bell tower, added to the square around 1240, to get beautiful rooftop views of the city and to see the inner workings including the carillon and 47 bells ranging from 2 to 11,000 pounds!! We were fortunate to be at the top at the turn of the hour to watch/listen as the song Til We Meet Again (1918) was played. Impressive!
The boys re-enacted a defining moment in Bruges’ history.
And then there is the food.
Adam and Jimmy finally got the famous mussels and fries (moules frites) that they were craving. And I found the shrimp croquettes! One more off the list!
The Belgian blog would not be complete without a more thorough discussion of the chocolate. Julie and I insisted on a few stops in Bruges at the highly-rated chocolatiers. Over all the other chocolates we tried in Brussels and Bruges, we rated the family-owned Chocolatier Dumon, which won best chocolate in Belgium in 2016, as the chocolate with the best overall taste and texture. They perfected the classic pralines including flavors like hazelnut, speculoos, and caramel. The Chocolate Line won for sheer creativity and unique flavors. How can you not want to try flavors like vodka/lime/passionfruit, cannabis, sake, cabernet sauvignon, and Miss Piggy (bacon and quinoa)?
And you may be thinking, like I did, that the greatness of Belgian chocolate is overhyped, but let me tell you, that we were not disappointed even going in with high expectations. Turns out that a 1884 Belgian law regulates the composition of its chocolates, so nobody can tarnish the reputation by using lower quality ingredients or methods.
Okay, so where was I?? Ah yes, trying to summarize Bruges quickly and perhaps not as quickly as I thought….so, last but certainly not least is the beer. We had plans to spend part of our time at one of the well-known breweries in town – De Halve Maan. Great beer reputation, but the tasting area was packed with a very older looking touristy crowd, so we decided not to stay. But, we did get to see their claim to fame…the world’s first beer pipeline!
The pipeline brings the beer from the brewery inside the city to the bottling plant located 3km outside the city. Only in Belgium!
So, what was able to lure us away from the coolest brewery in town? A tiny little bar that offered an amazing beer flight.
We couldn’t have asked for a better day exploring the beautiful and delicious city of Bruges.
Finally….our last day in Belgium…congratulations for making it this far because I think this may be my longest blog post yet! But, we just had so much fun with Adam and Julie that we couldn’t not write about all the things!
After so much awesomeness, can our last day live up to the previous three? Why, yes, yes it could with even more amazingness from architectural marvels, the great beers of the world, the little peeing boy, the Tiffany & Co. of chocolate shops, that overwhelming food list, and Dusty Men. And yes, I am resorting to bullet points to help speed this up.
- Architectural marvels…Dorky scientists have to go see Atomium! Built for the 1958 World’s Fair, the Atomium is an iron molecule magnified 165 billion times.
- Great beers of the world…We spent a sunny afternoon at 3 Fonteinen drinking their specialty Geuze and Kriek beers and feeling very snobby as we debated the flavor profiles of all the top beers in the world that we had all week, while beer geeks in the US would be dying to try…just…one.
- The little peeing boy. Passing by the Mannekin-Pis every day and trying to guess if and what outfit he would be in became a bit of a game for us. While Julie and I were off fulfilling our chocolate dreams, Adam and Jimmy found a costume dressing party in session.
- The Tiffany & Co. of chocolate shops. Julie and I were loading up on chocolate and visiting the final shop on our wish list: Pierre Marcolini. This luxury chocolate shop also was well-known for their macaroons and other treats. I couldn’t help but fall in love with the beautiful pastries in the window. So, although we didn’t actually try any Pierre Marcolini chocolates, their macaroons were some of the best I have ever had with fun flavors like speculoos, caramel, and passion fruit. And the caramel éclair was heavenly!
- The overwhelming food list…We hit the jackpot for dinner at a fancy little French restaurant right next to our AirBnB. Everybody agreed it was our best dining experience of the week. And I was stoked to find the Brussels sampler on the menu…and I checked off all 3 food items still on my list… carbonnades flamandes (remember, Jimmy technically had it previously, not me), meatballs (I still needed the traditional red sauce and not the beer sauce), and vol-au-vent (creamy chicken and mushroom casserole).
This dinner also demonstrated how proud Belgians are of their beer. After drinking so much beer all week, I asked our server what local wine he would recommend with my dinner. He responded with, “only a proper Belgian beer can be paired with traditional Belgian food”. Well, more beer it is.
- Dusty Men! Go now and download it from iTunes. A free concert was going on in La Grande Place after dinner, and we heard Belgian singer/songwriter Saule perform.
Dusty Men is fun, catchy, upbeat and will put a smile on your face even on a rough day. We spent our last evening drinking a few more of the best beers in the world on our rooftop deck while listening to Dusty Men on replay. Priceless way to end an epic adventure with two of our favorite people.
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