Happy Belgium National Day!

The 21st of July is 'National Day' in Belgium, the anniversary of the swearing in of King Leopold I, the first recognised King of Belgium nearly 200 years ago, in 1831, following the revolution the previous year against the last of many empires encompassing Belgians over hundreds of years, the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Therefore, much celebration will be had in Belgium today as it is a public holiday, nowhere more so than in Brussels (The Brussels Times). 

Sadly I cannot make it to Belgium today, although I will be making another visit in the not too distant future, consequently today I had to go shopping for Belgian beer, and this (above) is what I returned from the shops with. I had to go shopping because the first two places I would have gone to for Belgian beers in Hastings would have been the Eel & Bear (blog) and The Jolly Fisherman (blog), who both sell an impressive array of bottled beers. Sadly, both are also closed on Mondays, so woe is me, I was unprepared... 😣

BUT, next year will be different, no doubt, as Belgium National Day falls on a Tuesday! 😁

Anyway, I bought 4 bottles of an Abbey style beer this year, brewed by Leffe (website), where brewing has been ongoing only since 1240 😉 and that is their 6.0% Blonde. Sadly, not as potent as the 6.6% Leffe Blonde we drank back in September (blog), but my brother Dan had brought those back with him from Brussels, we get weaker stuff served up in Britain. 😒 This is pretty much a 'go to' beer for Dan as it's very dependable. Even though a wee bit less body and strength than the Belgians enjoy, there are still hints of caramel and spices in the aroma and taste, particularly cloves, a very gentle bitterness, and a slightly dry finish, nice one.👍

So, Happy Belgium National Day! Cheers 🍻

Belgian Beer Weekend!

Although the Belgian Beer Weekend that set me off on this blog was at Brussels Grand Place 6-8th September (website), and we could only drink a few Belgian beers, not the hundreds that were available in Belgium, I was visiting my brother's to celebrate our birthdays, and would see one of my Belgian nieces too. So we had to do something relevant, our own mini festival.😉

We did other things over the weekend too, but did manage a different Belgian beer each day, first, an Abbey style beer brewed at Grimbergen, where the abbey was first built in 1128, and the monks started brewing later that year (website). This was their 6.7% Blonde, which has a sweet slightly toffee flavour at first, with a gentle hint of cloves, a smooth golden blonde with a much drier finish that completes a very nicely balanced beer, 'pretty good' I noted.

The beer Saturday was from a slightly newer Abbey brewery, where they've only been brewing since 1240 😉that is Leffe (website), and their 6.6% Blonde. Similar strength, and pretty much a go to beer for my brother Dan as it's very dependable. Hints of caramel and spices, notably more cloves than the Grimbergen, gentle bitterness too, balancing the beer with a slightly dry finish.👍

Our third Abbey style beer on Sunday was from St Feuillion (website), with a history going back to the 7th century, with it's own brewery too, but sadly soldiers of the French Revolution condemned the abbey in 1796 following Napoleon's invasion and annexation of Belgium. It was not until 1873 that Stephanie Friart took over the name at her own brewery, which was producing light beers, and not until after World War II that her descendants started brewing what we now more readily recognise as Abbey style beers.

With my birthday dinner prepared by Dan we had the stronger 7.5% St Feuillion Blonde, a deep golden colour with a wee bit more body. This is slightly maltier than the others mentioned above, and slightly more bitter, and having less spicy undertones. It was very pleasant with a dry finish, a pleasant accompaniment to dinner and end to my birthday weekend beers, cheers!🍻

A Day in Brussels

I did have a couple of drinks on Eurostar, sadly they no longer sell Duvel in their buffet bars, but they do sell Leffe Blonde (website), which is very nice too, but drinking on a train isn't drinking in Brussels, so... I stayed nearby at my sister-in-law and brother's flat, on the other side of the Parc du Cinquantenaire to our first bar on the day, and the first bar I ever drank in on my first visit to Belgium many many years ago (apparently changed ownership since my last visit), that is the 120 years old La Terrasse, Avenue des Celtes 1, Etterbeek, 1040 Brussels (website).

I've already been questioned by a friend about my drinking lager here, as I'm more of an ale drinker, but for me the 5.2% Jupiler pils (website) is the best pilsner there is, indeed it is the highest selling beer in Belgium with 40% of the market share! It has flavour but is refreshing and very easy to drink, and okay, it is a pilsner style lager... 😉

We wandered through the Parc du Cinquantenaire (visitbrussels) and on to Chez Bernard at the Cafe L'Espérance, in the small square at Pl. Jourdan 47, Etterbeek, Brussels 1040, with my brother diving in ahead of me in the photograph above!

It was very quiet inside, much busier outside, but we sat down with this view of the bar (above) and Dan ordered the ever-good 8.5% Duvel (website), and I drank a trappist ale, the 9.5% Westmalle Tripel (website), my favourite Belgian ale indeed.👍Indeed, I wrote about both of these beers in my blog a couple of years ago.

We ate with my sister-in-law, after she got away from work, at Restaurant Volle Gas, Pl. Fernand Cocq 21, 1050 Ixelles (website). To the right of where I took this photograph from (above) is the Ixelles' Municipal Hall, where my youngest niece's birth was registered. If you visit, don't be surprised by how far back the restaurant goes, even if it does look quite small, there's much room downstairs, not to mention upstairs. I drank Westmalle Tripel again, as did Dan, it so goes with food, and I ate a hearty... I'll not say what, I don't want to upset any vegetarians reading this, but excellent food, and many thanks to my 'sis' Shirin for treating me, cheers m'dear!

Next stop Bruges! 🍺

Circular Walk, Putney to Richmond and Back.

Okay, not so much a pub crawl, but an excellent circular walk, 15-16 miles, from Putney to Richmond and back to Putney, with many pub opportunities, and virtually all off road, a walk in the country in effect! We started by The Spencer in Lower Richmond Road SW15 1HJ (website), but much before opening time, and walked across Putney Common, passing the wonderful Arts & Crafts All Saints church (London Metropolitan Archives), before reaching the often very busy Upper Richmond Road, which we crossed to Putney Park Lane, which was soon off-road.

We followed Putney Park Lane all the way to Putney Heath and continued onto Wimbledon Common, passing by the Windmill and across to Beverley Brook following the brook to Richardson Evans and the A3. Yes, we had to cross the A3, where there is a good crossing, but you have to stick to the lights because the traffic here can be very dangerous, and quite unsighted. Once across we entered Richmond Park at Robin Hood Gate, with deer all around us (above image, and that close, no zoom lens needed!). We then strolled across to the Pen Ponds and up to Richmond Gate at the top of Richmond Hill (website).

We walked down Richmond Hill, much of it through Terrace Gardens, down by Richmond Bridge to the Thames Path and along to the White Cross, TW9 1NR, originally built in 1740 with some rebuilding in the 19th century (website) at the bottom of Water Lane. The White Cross has been a Young's pub since 1869, so Young's ales on sale, Ordinary and Special, and we started off with a pint of Ordinary each (3.7%), a decent enough refreshing pale amber bitter. Sadly, Young's is no longer a brewery, but a pubco, and their ales are now brewed in Bedford by Charles Wells (website). I have written about the Ram Brewery in Wandsworth closing down before, and what is now there, eg blog.

Young's pubs regularly seem to have St Austell Proper Job (4.5%) as a guest, so I had a pint of that too, an ale I've written about many times before, eg blog. And I've had Twickenham Naked Ladies (4.4%) here too, named after statues in York House Gardens in Twickenham, eg blog. Oh yes, and we dined here, the menu isn't out of this world (website), but pretty decent quality and enough for us to do a share with an extra portion of chips, tasty...

On finishing our lunch, we continued on our circular walk along the Thames Path (though the Thames does meander!) towards Mortlake and had a pint each at The Ship, 10 Thames Bank SW14 7QR (website), a Greene King pub, but I do get 10% CAMRA discount off ales here.😊 The Ship was built in 1781, and the Oxford v Cambridge Boat Race has had its finishing line here since 1845, so extraordinarily busy that day! Excellent views of the river and Chiswick Bridge, not the ugliest bridge crossing the Thames, and you can get 'trapped' in here for a short while every now and then when the tide is in, see photograph below from our previous visit here...

Or, of course, you can get your feet and trousers wet,😉but the tide starts going out again quite quickly, and there is always a wee path you can use along Ship Lane that goes up to the main Lower Richmond Road ('tis quite a long road) and Mortlake High Street. 

Or you can stay and have a drink, indeed, we sat outside (to the left of the photo immediately above, though sunny this day, and the tide wasn't in) and enjoyed a couple of pints of Greene King New Tricks (4.0%), a golden ale with lemon peel and ginger. Now I'm not the greatest fan of Greene King ales, but its location, and 10% off the price, influences our decision to visit here whenever passing. The New Tricks? Very subtle flavours form the ginger and lemon, a gentle bitterness, and wasn't bad at all, always worth dropping into The Ship. 👌

When we'd finished our drinks we carried along the Thames Path to Putney, completing our 'circular' route, and each had a Leffe Blonde (6.0%) to rinse away the dust, cheers!

Leffe website.

Oh yes, and if you want to drink in a pub close by the Thames in Putney, I suggest the Bricklayer's Arms, which is included in a recent blog, enjoy.