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!🍻

Knoydart Brewery, a very remote brewery!

I had never heard of Knoydart Brewery, Inverie (website), before my brother told me he had visited it last week, and reading on you will understand why it had been way off my radar. To begin with, it is reckoned to be the most remote brewery in Britain, indeed, it cannot be reached by road, but you can catch a ferry to Inverie, on the Knoydart Peninsular and overlooking Loch Nevis, from the port of Mallaig on the west coast of the Scottish Highlands (website), or you could hike nearly 20 miles to get there! The brewery is situated in a converted chapel built in 1886 (above), and many thanks to Dan (my bro) for the photographs used here.

Before I go on, I was in the Jolly Fisherman in Hastings on Saturday, and one of the regulars, Goose, had already been planning to visit Knoydart before I even mentioned it, a coincidence, but knowing Goose I shouldn't have been surprised. Anyway, the brewery is run by Samantha and Matthew Humphrey, and was set up in 2018 and has a 5 Brewers Beer Barrel kit (nearly 1500 pints a brew). They use local pure mountain water from the Millburn as their supply liquor, and all their bottled beers are unfined, unfiltered and unpasteurised, thus vegan friendly.

They brew 2 cask ales, The Seven Men (4.5%) which is a 'best bitter' and The Old Forge Revival (4.2%), a pale ale celebrating the local community-owned pub (currently being refurbished - website). They have 6 regular bottled beers, including a light lager, the 4.1% Nevis Lager and a porter, also 4.1%, Dubh Lochain Porter, with 'hints of chocolate and coffee.'

The first beer they brewed was The Seven Men (4.5%), which is also available in bottles, a pale bitter brewed with Magnum and Chinook hops, thus providing fruit and spice to the aroma and taste, as you would expect. There is also a weaker session beer available, the 3.7% Millburn Pale Ale, 'refreshing and thirst quenching.'

The final 2 bottled beers available are the 5.1% Heavenly Blonde, a golden ale with hints of citrus' and my brother's favourite, the 4.5% IPA (Inverie Pale Ale), inspired by American East Coast IPAs, presumably meaning plenty of hops from the USA are used. 'Pine and citrus notes and tropical fruit flavours' are just what you would expect...

They also brew 'specials' and I have no idea if Dan has brought me back a bottle, but I'm seeing him in a couple of weeks time, so fingers crossed, cheers!

Oh yes, and Knoydart beers are only available locally, for details of which stockists go to their website, although I have seen hints that ordering may be available online in the future, but not right now, so maybe book yourselves a wee holiday, it looks like a beautiful place. 😉 

Beermeister in Cyprus?!?

OK, even I was excited to see a Beermeister cap in the historic metropolis of Paphos in Cyprus yesterday, but it wasn't me there, but great to see a representative enjoying time out...

Many thanks to my brother Dan, actually, cheers Dan, here enjoying a coffee today (hmmm...) and displaying the Beermeister cap in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus too!