Lunch in Dendermonde

Wow. I had a serious lunch with the Bosteels, Ivo and his son Antoine. Steve and I trained to Belgium from Germany this morning (no big deal, thanks to the ICE train, about 2 hours and across the border, ho-hum), then took a local to Dendermonde, where Ivo met us and threw our luggage in the back of his Benz SUV and hurtled down the roads to Buggenhout, where the brewery has been since 1791. Really.

This is the brewery that produces Pauwel Kwak, Tripel Karmeliet, and DeuS. You may never have heard of the brewery; they take pains to make the name of the beers important, not the brewery, or, in fact, themselves. "We are not important. The beer is important." says Ivo. "We are a service, the brewery, we are in service to the beer." Steve and I turned to each other at one point and said, "The man is a quote factory," which he is, because his passion for brewing shines through like hot summer sunshine.

The picture above is Ivo holding up two glasses of beer. Take a look at them. Click on the pic and look at them close up. They are the same beer. Ivo did this to show what a difference the glass makes. That's Karmeliet Tripel in its own glass (on the left) and the Kwak glass on the right. You'd think they were two different beers. This goes to show that the different glasses for different beers are not just marketing. They show -- and smell, and taste -- the beers just how they were meant to be.

Anyway, the lunch. We went to 't Truffeltje in Dendermonde, a place Ivo and Antoine said they only went to two or three times a year...it is a Michelin one-star, and the meal was excellent. First we got an amusee bouche of a scallop in a DeuS sabayon, side-by-side with a forcemeat eel disc on greensauce: to drool for. We spooned up the excess sabayon and ate it. I must admit: I have never been a fan of DeuS. Now I understand. What a delicious beer. We had it with the seafood, and all of a sudden it made perfect sense. I get what everyone else ever said: it is crisp but complex, startling and not really one-dimensional at all. Now... was that me, or was it individual batches? I don't know. I stopped drinking it because it bored me. This was not at all boring.

We had a filet of cod with a Karmeliet sauce (did you know Karmeliet was made with oats, barley, and wheat, all both malted and unmalted?) that was excellent (see left), squab breast with Kwak sauce (with the best damned carrots I've ever had), and about three dessert courses. Woof.

Then it was back to the midst of Dendermonde, the plaza, where we had draft Karmeliet -- rather dead, and uninteresting -- at which point Ivo hustled us next door to St. Joris Cafe where we had the bottled Karmeliet: excellent.

Well...maybe there's something to this "bottled Belgian is better than draft" after all.

We finally bolted, and Ivo wound up driving us to Het Anker when we missed our train...but that's another story, and I'm exhausted right now. Must sleep.

Lunch in Köln

I got up this morning about 8:30, got some work done, and then Steve and I took a walk around the shopping district. I grabbed a Berliner -- the jelly donut, not the wheat beer -- which was just wonderful, and munched as we walked. After an inspiring tour around the Dom -- it was a cool, breezy, sunny day, and the view was, well, awesome -- we tripped down to the Gaffel Haus and had a couple stange of that crisp, hoppy kölsch.

Then we made our way through the torturous nest of intersections at the south end of the Heumarkt (if you've been there, you know just what I mean: 5 minutes to get 60 meters!) and had lunch at Malzmühle: as Steve said, the other end of the kölsch spectrum, the malty, even a bit sticky end. The food was as farmer-simple as I recall: a hearty mash of potatoes, green kale, and hammy bits cooked up in broth, with a fat and solid grilled bratwurst sitting on top. I could not finish it, delicious, but just too much. A last kölsch, back to the room (we're stazing at the Maritim, a very nice hotel just about 40 meters from Malzmühle), and then we hopped the train to Düsseldorf...where I'm typing this now before heading over to Uerige.

Tomorrow: Belgium.

Philly Beer Week -- Deliciousness at Chick's Cafe

"That's Not Belgian!"

People continue to refer to beers as having "a Belgian character." Now, given the enormous variety of beers in Belgium -- something I'm very much looking forward to experiencing in a couple days -- that's a questionable concept...but I know what they mean: a wildness, maybe rich, maybe spicy, maybe tart: the unexpected.

Join me at Chick's Cafe for a night of non-Belgian beers that have that same wildness, that unpredictability...but with their own slant. Here's what's on the well-paired menu; we're still making a few changes and additions (and I guarantee, it will only get better if we do!)

Opening beer: Seson from Birrificio Piccolo - made with chinoto, juniper, and coriander and matured in chardonnay barrels.

Appetizer: La Bavaisienne Blonde (a traditional biere de garde) served with a puff pastry tart with smoked mussels, goat cheese, leeks, and crisp green
apples.

Entree: Strada san Felice (amber ale brewed with chestnuts) with braised boar served over polenta with wild mushrooms.

Cheese course: El Gaitero Sidra / La Choulette Framboise (yes, that's a Spanish cider) with a northern Spanish cheese selection (Cabrales, Idiazabal, Afuega l' Pitu), possibly a French cheese with the Framboise.

Desert: BB10 from Birreria Barley (a dark rich beer brewed with the juice from the local Cannonau grape) with a chocolate truffle tart.

$55 plus tax and gratuity: tickets available from Chick's (215-625-3700; or you can e-mail directly).

Früh-stuck and a Day in Düsseldorf

Stephen and I eventually got out of the hotel this morning and walked up to Früh am Dom, the brewpub just off the Domplatz. We had one of the offered brewery breakfasts (breakfast is frühstuck in German; Früh plays with this and offers "Früh-stuck"): 3 fried eggs with bacon and bread. Delicious, especially with three glasses of kölsch. Then we hopped on the train up to Düsseldorf. It was a bit of a gray day today, and never did get better, though it did get worse at points.

One of the good points was the D-dorf U-bahn system, which quickly dropped us off on the east edge of the Altstadt. We wandered about in the rain, and stopped in a Jägermeister bar, Zum Hirsch. All Jäger, all the time, but we got two Frankenheimer Altbiers at the happy hour price of E1.10 each: nice, Frankenheimer is probably the sweetest of the altbiers, and that was welcome.

After that, we wandered up to the Rhein and Im Goldenen Ring, where we tried the unfiltered Schlösser Alt; "Jonges" Alt (literally 'young old'). It was yeasty, fruity, and lively. The filtered was less fruity, and walks the line between the caramel sweetness of Frankenheim and the dryness of Uerige and Füchschen. Then we stopped in Zur Uel, a very comfy spot and one of my fave Altstadt kneipe; a short walk from Im Füchschen, which we made afterwards. We enjoyed the view of the köbes working the bar, and enjoyed the altbier. It was really quite dry, and while hoppy, had a pull, a catch, that came primarily, I assume, from the roasted malt and the extended fermentation.

Hmmmm...Then we had fischsuppe at Gosch Sylt, a very nice open-air fish joint at the corner of Bolkerstrasse and Hunrückerstrasse: excellent fish soup, "full of damned fish!" my notes say, and as you can see by how happy Steve is, he fully agreed. Great to be eating hot soup outside under the large umbrellas.

Steve needed to work on a hotel story, so while he checked out a hotel, I ducked into MaiTai, a kitschy cocktail bar with a bamboo bar (that apparently has been around for 20 years). I got an "Exotic Rum Punch" that was pretty damned tasty: fruity, rummy, yummy. Man does not live by beer alone!

Man doesn't live by altbier alone, either: we walked south, and hit the Pilsner Urquell ausschank (brewery outlet) where Steve got a Pilsner and I got the Kozel Dark, which was dryly medicinal (which is much nicer than it sounds!). We ran into an American here, and chatted a bit. We continued the non-altbier trend a bit by stopping at a Woyton coffeeshop (across the alley from a Starbucks; the damned Seattle interlopers are everywhere!). Best German coffee I've had in a while. On with it: we stopped at a Spanish-type bar/tapas place, Cafe Madrid, and tried a glass of sherry. Odd concept, watching Germans drinking Estrella Damm when they had perfectly good altbier right at hand. The sherry wasn't that good either.

At this point, we decided it was time to get serious about what we were doing: we're working, dammit! (Actually, that was work for Steve: he's doing a wine piece.) It was off to Uerige, where we sat in the front room, had a few altbiers, and chatter with a native who worked with oil pipelines. I got some mettwurst, but then we moved on, going back to Schlüssel, where Steve craftily employed my stealth German skills to engage two older women in conversation for a story on nightlife he has to do (I actually know more German than I think I do; I blossom under the pressure of conversation, and the ladies complimented me). More altbier ensued -- we bought them a round -- and we were all quite happy when we left.

Steve wanted some schnapps, said his gut was upset, so we wound up at a place called Till Eulenspiegl, the trickster figure of German folklore. He had an Underberg, I had a shot of Karn -- whooee! -- and some more Frankenheim Alt. One more stop: Zwiebel ("onion") just because I was curious: sad-looking inside, almost deserted, and we had more Frankenheim, played pinball (Steve kicked my ass), and then headed back to Köln. Steve went back to the hotel, I went out to Päffgen, had a few more kölsche, and got my notes in order...which is how I wrote all this. Because at this hour of the night...it starts to blur. Good notes are essential...although I'm starting to think that taking pictures of places like this are important, too.

Hiding Out in Lagerland

Yes, I'm on that trip. I landed in Lagerland yesterday, met Stephen Beaumont at the Frankfurt Airport, took the train to Köln, and checked in at our hotel. My room has a great view of the Dom.

We hit Früh for two quick kölsches, then trained up to Düsseldorf. We picked up a tourguide from the local tourism bureau, who gave us a real whirlwind tour spiked with plenty of history. Then we got a brewery tour at Zum Schlussel (details on all of this later, I'm a bit rushed for time right now) and a delicious schweinehaxe dinner, and plenty of good altbier.

After that, getting a little bit of a second wind, we crossed the street to Im Goldenen Kessel for a couple glasses of Schumacher, then down to Zum Uerige, where we actually found an open barrel-table right next to the one where my blog picture one the left was taken. Like coming home. But I was crashing hard, been up almost 36 hours at that point, so we had two and caught the train back to Köln. And now we're up and ready to go back to Düsseldorf for more. I may or may not be able to post more, it's going to be a bit crazy.

Upstate Beer & Game Dinner -- here are your beers!

Scoats is now selling tickets for the Upstate Pennsylvania Breweries Wild Game Beer Dinner, which I'm hosting at the Grey Lodge on March 9 at 5 PM. I'm proud to say that this is a beer dinner that not many people could have put together, but Scoats and I have done it. We have a game menu paired with four beers from tiny upstate breweries, three of which are less than six months old. You won't find these beers anywhere else in Philly, and you won't find beers from all four of these breweries anywhere in the world. Except the Grey Lodge Pub.

First course: Hunter's chili, made with ground venison.
First beer: Elk Creek IPA. Elk Creek Cafe + Aleworks is in Millheim, a town so far out in the sticks you can't even see The Sticks from there. But they attracted GABF award-winning brewer Tim Yarrington (and no surprise: it's beautiful country up there), and this is your hop-fix for the night, ready to trim that spicy deer-meat chili.

Second course: Sauteed Partridge Salad (like duck breast salad, only more delicate)
Second beer: Bavarian Barbarian Headbangerz Brown Ale. Mike Hiller founded Bavarian Barbarian Brewing Co. in Williamsport just last year, a production-only brewery, brewing only two beers so far. This one is a sturdy English-type brown, great for the sauteed flavors of partridge.

Third course: Beer-braised rabbit (I do love me some bunny wabbit).
Third beer: Bullfrog Winter Warmer. Terry Hawbaker has been making fantastic beers for years now; first at W.T. Hackett's in Scranton (which closed), then at Black Rock in Wilkes-Barre (which closed), and for four years since then at the Bullfrog Brewery in Williamsport (proving that all he needed was a stable platform!). Terry and I talked about maybe pairing his Tripel or Unique Singel with our rabbit main course, but then he said, 'You know...the Winter Warmer I have on now has just a hint of rosemary. That might be good with rabbit.' And the deal was sealed. He promises: "just a hint." Gonna be great with the rabbit.

Fourth course: Apple fritters (don't you love fritters? Such an upstate kinda dessert.)
Fourth beer: One Guy Cinnamon Boldy. If you read this blog, you know about One Guy Brewing. And you probably know about Cinnamon Boldy: "He handed me a glass: it was a light gold, and the cinnamon came bursting out of the glass, not like a little cinnamon on an apple dumpling, more like cinnamon in Moroccan stews. Bold, like the man said. The beer in the mouth was big, blazing, almost like a tea made from cinnamon hearts. I am not a fan of spice beers, but I'll be dipped if I didn't enjoy this. I've never had anything like it. "

As I said, a beer dinner you just will not find anywhere else. The ticket price is $80, and as Scoats says, "It's a little pricer than I hoped, but game is expensive. And that price does include taxes and tip", so no surprises or extras. Give Scoats a call (215-825-5357) or drop him an e-mail about tickets. See you there.

Pilsner Gala is now a LAGER Gala

We had some folks who wanted to play with us in the Pilsner Gala we have planned at Triumph for Philly Beer Week who didn't have what were quite exactly pilsners...but Jay decided we should let them in anyway. So here is the final list (er...probably final) of Lagers for the Gala at Triumph on March 13, 6-10 PM.

Triumph - German Pils, Dunkel, Kellerbier, Blonde Doppelbock, and Rauchbock (all from the Philly location)
Iron Hill - Vienna Lager (which, if you ain't had it yet, you should)
Victory - Braumeister Pils (Tettnanger?) and Prima
Sly Fox - Pikeland Pils, and a special amber Rauchbier
Ramstein - Vienna Lager
Appalachian - Zoigl Star Lager (unfiltered kellerbier-type)
Lancaster - Franklinfest (a change from Gold Star Pilsner)
Troegs - unfiltered Sunshine Pils
Stoudt's - Pils (this may be unfiltered; waiting to hear on that)

And if you're hungry, Jay is lining up serious German beerhall eats: smoked sausage, meat patties, pfefferwurst, sliders (okay, German-American), and lots of meat. There will probably be some vegetable stuff too. No, really!

This is all pay-as-you-go, most (but not all) breweries are sending people, and you will have an almost unprecedented opportunity to compare these local lagers side-by-side. I'm really looking forward to this, hope you can make it!

Addition: Lord, I was just looking at this line-up again...you'd be hard-pressed to find this many different non-mainstream lagers on in one bar/brewpub anywhere. It's gonna be better than Germany. Heresy.

Cease & Desist, that jug is DANGEROUS!

I saw this on BeerAdvocate about half an hour ago: fella posting said that State Line Liquors (one of my favorite booze stores, and that's no kidding: we stop in here almost every time we get below Wilmington for beer, wine, and spirits) got a letter from the Maryland Attorney General's office telling them that they have to stop filling growlers for sale from their in-house taps. Here we go, I thought, either it's another New Dry with their panties in a twist about "jugs" of beer, or just some over-active bureaucrat enforcing what they think is the law, or maybe somebody looking to get State Line in hot water. Because it can't be a real problem, right?

I picked up the phone and called Robert Murray at State Line, we chatted about the weather (they've got less than an inch), and then I asked him, what's up with the growler thing? He laughed. "It's comical," he said. "They sent us a letter and said that since we didn't have a microbrewery license we couldn't put beer in a jug. But they won't give us the paperwork to tell us what law we violated." He explained that the letter had actually come from the county liquor board, but they were essentially just passing on a letter direct from the AG's office.

"We have both an on-premise license and off-premise license," he said. "No one called to ask what we were doing, and no one [from the AG's office] has actually witnessed what we're doing. Where did it come from? We don't know."

Could someone please tell me why growler sales are such an issue? Here you've got a place that can sell bottles, cans, and kegs of beer; they can sell pre-filled growlers. They also have an on-premise license: they can sell a glass of draft beer to a customer, who can then stand there and drink it. But filling a jug from the tap, right in front of the person, is somehow illegal? Tell me why. Is it labeling requirements? Growlers often don't say what is in them, but you're filling it right in front of the person. Is there no room in the law for common sense? Is it health issues? Why is a growler less healthy than serving it in an open glass? Is it a safety issue, are they worried someone might drive down the road and open the jug? Can't be: you can open bottles, cans, and pre-filled growlers just as easily.

I want to hear the reasoning on this one. And I'd really like to challenge all state alcohol agencies to open up their laws on this. Growlers are perfectly safe, they are just a glass of draft with a lid on them. They support local business. They do not encourage unsafe consumption in any way. Why not make a few reasonable requirements -- labeling for volume, that obnoxious federal "warning" wording, and a required visual inspection and rinse -- and then step back and let adults buy legal beverages in the format that they wish. I mean...is it legal to buy beer in Maryland, or isn't it?

It's been doing really well, we've been having a lot of fun. The county inspector did call us today. He has a meeting with the liquor board atty, we're trying to set up a meeting. It's comical. How about I just sell the bottle, like on eBay? No, I haven't gone that far yet.

Snow Day

We've got three inches so far, and it's still coming down; supposed to change over to freezing rain, but there are some indications that the predictions may be off on when and where that will happen...so I still have hope for more snow. Meanwhile, there's strong coffee in the pot, school's been called off, I've got a couple interviews scheduled for this morning and then just some short pieces to write this afternoon...looks like a nice day to spend some time with the dog.

And tomorrow...who knows? Might have to go relax somewhere. It's been a rough week, for personal reasons, and I think we need some down time. Meanwhile, it's always fun to watch a Corgi in the snow.

Back to Uerige

See that picture of me I've had pinned to the top left corner of the blog since I started it, a little over a year ago? That was taken -- a little over a year ago -- at Zum Uerige, in Düsseldorf. I hope to have another one soon: I'm headed back. Stephen Beaumont recently contacted me, saying, I'm going to Düsseldorf and Belgium, wanna come along? Hell yes, I did: I, um... have never been to Belgium. True. So I'm going to fix that. After all, Steve's never been to Düsseldorf.

The fun thing is, what originally seemed like a problem -- a trade fair in Düsseldorf made it impossible to find a hotel room (is there always a damned trade fair in that town?) -- turned into a plus: we decided to stay in Köln and take the train back and forth, getting us what Steve is joyfully calling 'a twofer.' So I'm essentially going to be commuting to work, something I haven't done in over ten years, unless you count walking down to my basement office (as I'm sure Ms. Anonymous will tell me doesn't count because it's not a job...thanks, toots). And when I "get home from work," I can toddle by the spectacular Dom for a couple glasses at Früh.

Ahhh, wonderful...and that's not even touching on the beauty that will be visiting Belgium: Brussels, Ghent, a couple small family breweries in the country. I'll be trying to blog some of this for you, but I may get busy. You understand, of course.

It's all part of my continuing education (without brewery sponsorship, by the way) to get to know these places, these breweries, these beers better, so I can write better. Okay, it's fun, too, but shouldn't every job be this satisfying?

(Addition: I promised Adam I'd post the two sites I used to plan that first trip to Düsseldorf and Köln: Ron Pattinson's excellent and superbly chatty European Beer Guide, and Fred Waltman's much more focused Sticke Warriors site. BTW, Adam: I fully endorse Fred's recommendation of Hotel Haus Rheinblick (the link's in German, but if you can figure out that "Reservierungsanfrage" means "reservation requests," you can probably take it from there), a very nice family-run hotel in the north half of the Altstadt, a short easy walk to the Rhine, Im Goldenen Ring is three minutes walk, Uerige is about seven minutes, Im Füchschen is about 12 minutes...and you get breakfast, too, for well under E100 a night. I can't recommend the penzione where I stayed in Köln; clean, but not particularly comfortable, in the Turkish quarter, which was fascinating (and delicious) during the day, but scary at night; we heard frightened screaming people running through the streets two nights in a row. Trying a new place this time; pricier, but close to the train station, because of the commute. Actually...I just looked at the map, and it's not closer to the station. But it is right beside Malzmühle, and it's not uphill, so I'd say it's a win.)