I'm back. Thanks for the encouraging words. I really feel like a part of the family...you non-Westie drinking dicks.
I must thank Jamil for talking about his Belgium trip last year. After listening to the archives where he mention the Cantillon (lambic) Brewery in Brussels I decided to check it out… I wasn’t disappointed. The smell in the barrel room was awesome and it was truly amazing to see the open cooling tun in the rafters in the Cantillon Brewery. Plus, after trying their beers I have a new appreciation for lambics.
We also made it to the De Dolle Brewery in Esen after reading about it in Charlie P’s “Craft Brew Adventuresâ€. It truly is still a small operation dedicated to keeping the Belgium tradition alive. The brewer was around talking to people and serving beer in-between trips up a ladder to fix a window while his mother guided the tour and sold beer. She was the funniest old lady I have ever meet and a true asset to the brewery. In addition to having great information on brewing, she kept cracking us up with hilarious stories about things like prostitutes and by hearing an elderly lady repeatedly say “Mad Bitch†(one of their beers).
I tried to many beers to talk about them all, but I couldn't complete this tale without mentioning the Abdij St. Sixtus of Westvleteren. I wish I had the verbal skills to accurately describe a beer, so I will just have to say that even with all the hype I wasn’t disappointed. YUMMY.
OH YAH. We didn’t stay in the monastery so no dice on the lovn (not that it would have happen if we did), but I did get the wife to make out in the woods just outside.
