“There’s a huge number of people from Scandinavia who have subscribed to the magazine,” says Paul Walsh, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Belgian Beer and Food Magazine. “Let’s organise a Belgian beer road trip so that we can go and meet them.”
We drive from Brussels to Stockholm – Paul, Dimitri Van Roy and myself – stopping off along the way to host four events in four European cities with four Belgian breweries: Brouwerij Het Anker (Amsterdam); Brouwerij Hof Ten Dormaal (Hamburg); Brouwerij De Leite (Copenhagen); and Brasserie St. Feuillien (Stockholm).
BELGIAN BEER ROAD TRIP
THE NETHERLANDS | DAYS 1 TO 3
“So much of what the Dutch have learned about beer has come from Belgium,” says one of the attendees at our celebration of Het Anker brewery in the trendy Stadscafé Van Mechelen bar in Amsterdam. “The Gouden Carolus beers are a perfect example of how Belgium has been a reference here for great beer.”
On our mission to further explore the new Dutch beer scene, we visit Borefts beer festival which takes place in Bodegraven. Young rebellious Amsterdamers, Oedipus are pouring their ‘Mennoliefde’, a Saison named for Menno Olivier, one of the owners of host brewery De Molen, in which they’ve used Amstel beer as brewing water.
Their ‘PoePoe brett saison’ collaboration with fellow Dutch microbrewery Oersoep inspires us to drive to Nijmegen and spend most of the day talking with Sander Kobes, Do Bongers and Joyce Janssen of Oersoep about spontaneous fermentation, experimental product lines and what a beer magazine should be.
The night finishes in a strange AirBnB chalet in the Dutch countryside in which there are no doors on the bathroom. The three of us crack open a bottle of Oersoep picked up at the brewery earlier. It prompts Dimitri and I to open a bottle of Fantome Saison which Paul has brought along as a gift for people in Stockholm. A bottle of Saison D’Epeautre from De Blaugies follows. Canaster Scotch from De Glazen Toren finishes off the night. The car is a little lighter.
GERMANY | DAY 4
The speed limits on the road disappear and our petrol stops become more and more dominated by sausages.
The newly-opened Schankwirtschaft bar in Hamburg attracts a young and hip crowd with its clean design and chic tasting glasses. Beer journalist Joe Stange makes the journey from Berlin and guides us through a beer list of great German microbreweries we’ve never heard of.
“Why is your beer red?” asks a young Hamburger. “There are cherries in it,” answers brewer Jef Janssens of Hof Ten Dormaal. “It’s our Kriek beer.”
Paul seeks advice from Jef on making the magazine trendier. He tries on Jef’s trucker cap and varsity jacket. He doesn’t look trendy.
DENMARK | DAYS 5 TO 6
The long drives offer plenty of opportunity for discussion. Being surrounded by two Irish guys, Fleming Dimitri is undergoing a change of accent. His Pacific-North-West English has been transformed into something from an indeterminable region of Scotland.
Our shared pulled pork smoky barbecue platter is served with three small tumblers of whisky at the Warpigs brewpub, a joint venture of American brewery 3 Floyds and Danish beer heavyweight Mikkeller. It’s a hive of activity located in an old slaughterhouse in the middle of the Copenhagen meatpacking district.
Ølsnedkeren – literally translating as Beer Carpenter – is a cosy bar where all the beers chalked on the blackboard are produced in their own small brewery. We make ourselves comfortable among the second hand furniture and recycled wood and engage in deep conversations about beer geekery with the brewers hunched over the bar.
“Martin, I love you,” says Luc Vermeersch of De Leite brewery. He’s talking to Martin Due, the owner of Kareten in Copenhagen where Luc has just finished delivering a tasting of his beers. “And I love your bar.”
Luc is a good storyteller and works an eclectic room which includes Danish beer enthusiasts, local distributors, the Belgian Ambassador to Denmark Pol De Witte and one of the most famous beer personalities in Denmark, Carsten Berthelsen. “You’re going to Sweden tomorrow on your Belgian beer road trip and I’m going the opposite way,” says Carsten. “I’m off to explore the hop region of Poperinge.”
SWEDEN | DAYS 7 TO 8
At the Stockholm Beer & Whiskey Festival, Paul spots Garrett Oliver of Brooklyn Brewery who together with Carlsberg (their Scandanvian importers) and members of the family that originally owned the ‘Carnegie’ brand, have set up Nya Carnegiebryggeriet (New Carnegie Brewery).
“You guys aren’t Belgian,” says Oliver, as Paul introduces us and thrusts a copy of the magazine into his hands. We roll out Dimitri – our authentic Belgian – to prove that we are who we say we are. Dimitri greets Oliver in his now full-blown Irish accent. Oliver looks uncomfortable and tries to escape the interaction by offering us a beer.
We’re given a tour of the beer cellar in famous bar Akkurat after which Paul orders a pint of cask ‘Ruby Doux’, an English Brown Ale from local Swedish brewery Skebo Bruksbryggeri. “Do you think we could start a magazine about Swedish cask beer?” he asks.
The final event of our Belgian beer road trip is in the cave-like tasting room of Pressklubben where Dominique Friart presents the beers of Brasserie St. Feuillien. “Thanks for bringing some class to the evening,” says one of the attendees to Dominique. “Your beers bring a lot of class as well.”
Bar owner Jens Skrubbe who has curated an impressive Belgian selection in Pressklubben decides to make the occasion even more special and cracks open a Salmanazar of St. Feuillien Grand Cru to honour Dominique’s presence.
“We’ve got nine litres to pour for a very reasonable price and I know you will all pay,” says Jens. “The Swedish always pay.”
