James Bond (Sean Connery) in Bier Central?!?!

Hello there,

If you read the title you must wonder if I'm joking. Well, I'm not! This friday (March 11th, 2011), we will have a visit of nobody less than Sean Connery. Sean Connery is most famous as actor of legendary movies like James Bond (Gold Finger, Dr No, From Russia with Love, ...), The Hunt for Red October, Indiana Jones, and many many more.

But Sean Connery is also a proud Scottish man, and loves to promote everything Scottish. As such he will come over to promote the Gordon-beers we offer (Gordon Scotch, Martin's Pale Ale). Allthough these beers aren't Belgian, they are brewed in Belgium (by brewery Timmermans), and as such we do serve them. To promote these beers, he will be joining us and you might get a beer served by the man himself.

For anyone who's a fan of this legendary actor, this might be the chance to have a drink with him and have a chat.

It's not clear yet when he will be there, but it will be in the evening. So be sure you are on time and find yourself a seat, as you probably won't be the only one. And though there is quite some room in our pub, we don't have unlimited space.

So, be there on Friday ... not only will you get to taste a beer you might not know yet, you might also get that beer from Sean Connery himself!!!

See you on Friday!

Greetingz,
Koen.

First Bier Central beer tasting report, February 3rd ...

Hi there,

It's been a while since my last post here. Apparently winter is at it's end, spring is coming, and I've been suffering a nasty flew, as I seem to be having the last 10 years around this period of the year :( But I think (hope) I'm over it, and feeling better again. So the last few weeks my head wasn't really "beer-minded" to be honest, hence the lack of posts here. Now, feeling better again, it's time to get back on track :)

Two weeks ago, we had our first "open" beer tasting at Bier Central. Anyone interested could join the tasting at a very reasonable price of €12,5 per person. The tasting was lead by Hans Bombeke, president of the ABC (Antwerps Bier College). Hans is a real beer expert and has been giving workshops about beer for many years. He is also a full-time teacher in beer-science, and though he doesn't admit it: he knows about everything "beer", especially Belgian beers.

We started around 8:30 pm and took around 2 hours. During those 2 hours the approx. 25 participants got tons of information about beer/tasting beer, and eventually tasted 6 beers covering a wide range of Belgian beer-styles.

The tasting started of with a hefty intro, giving us everything needed to enjoy a good tasting. During that intro we first got a ton of information about "beer" itself. It's ingredients, it's elements and everything needed to taste beer the right way. During this intro we got to drink a "De Koninck", or "bolleke" as it called here in Antwerp.

A bolleke has never been one of my favorites, but with all the information we got and the positive atmosphere, I have to admit that for the first time I actually liked it (and I was actually feeling sick that day).

As it was the first tasting, we got served a wide variety of beer-styles. Future tastings will focus on specific beer-categories, in which we will taste different beers from a specific beer-style. Now, we got to taste 6 beers all from different categories.

After the De Koninck we got a "3 Fonteinen Oude Gueuze". Allthough I liked this one very much, I noticed that several people didn't share that same feeling, which surprised me a bit. In hindsight this is of course a bit normal. Gueuze is a special and very typical Belgian beer-style, not known to the masses. You would probably have the same when you would do a cheese-tasting and started off with a bleu Rocquefort (while having never tasted different kinds of cheese). It's too much of the good, too soon. One's taste has to grow towards more complex tastes before being able to appreciate all the aromas.

The third beer was yet again a very typical Belgian style beer: a Rodenbach, an Old Flemish Red style beer. Rodenbach is a sweet-sour dark beer, with it's roots in the West-Flanders.

The fourth beer was another typical Belgian style which is most famous around the world: a trappist beer. For the occasion we got to taste a La Trappe Quadruple, a very strong, rather sweet amber-dark trappist, which was liked by many of the participants.

The next beer was yet again of a complete different style called a "Saison". The Saison Dupont was a very nice surprise for me, as I never tasted a saison before. Bitter-sweet and very easy drinking. I can imagine that this kind of beer is super during the summer.

Our sixth and last beer was a XX Bitter. As the name already reveals, this is a very hoppy and bitter-tasting beer. I was a bit reluctant to taste this, as very bitter is not my thing. But much to my surprise I actually liked it a lot, and is certainly a beer I will drink again!

This first beer-tasting sure proved to be a success and I'm looking forward to the next tasting on March, 3rd, where we will delve further in a specific category to explore more beers. Again, this coming tasting is open to anybody interested. Just mail me, or info@biercentral.be to reserve your place. Hope I will meet you there!

Greetingz,
Koen.

How beer saved the world ...

Apparantly there's a new show coming on Discovery ... watch the ad ... I've always known: nothing, NOTHING has been more important than beer :)

Beer Review #3: La Trappe Tripel

The La Trappe Tripel is brewed by Beer Brewery de Koningshoeven, the only Trappist brewery in The Netherlands. All beers are brewed in collaboration with the monks of the O.L.V. Koningshoeven Abbey. This monastery was founded in 1880 and is compared to the other trappist monasteries, relatively young. It was founded in The Netherlands after moving from France, where they were worried about the fate of the monks.

There are actually quite a few La Trappe beers: Blond, Dubbel, Tripel, Quadrupel, Witte Trappist, Bockbier, Isid'or, Oak Aged, PUUR and Real Trappist. Here at Bier Central we offer the first 4, and the Tripel is the first one I'll describe.

The La Trappe Tripel has an ABV of 8% (alcohol), and has a golden to light amber color. The firm white foamhead disappears quite fast, allthough there remains a very thin layer that stays on top of the liquid.

The smell is quite fruity and reveils the coriander, which definitely gives it a spicy character. The beer is well carbonated, but I found it to disappear quite fast, and made the it a bit flat if you don't drink it fast enough. I like my beers well carbonated.

The mouthfeel was well present, which wasn't the case for the aftertaste. It's taste reminded me of something roasted and also made me think about caramel. Bitter-sweet I'd say.

Allthough this is definitely not a bad beer, it's not one of my favorites, especially if you compare it to their Quadruple, which I like much more.

Don't try to compare it with the Westmalle Tripel, it's a complete different tripel, it would be like comparing apples to oranges. Where the Westmalle stands out in it's bitterness, the La Trappe Tripel is way more fruitier and sweeter.

My rating ... 6 out of 10.

Beer Review #2: Achel Blond

The Achel Blond is, just as the Westmalle Tripel, a beer of one of the 7 trappist monestaries in the world. Achel Blond is brewed by the Saint-Benedictus Abbey "De Achelse Kluis", situated in the small town of Achel (B), near the Dutch border.

Just like most of the other trappist monestaries, it's roots go way back, back to 1656 to be exact. Since that time the "Achelse Kluis" is a center of prayer, spirituality and christian culture.

The Achel Blond is a tripel beer, with re-fermentation in the bottle, and has an ABV of 8% (alcohol), slightly less than the Westmalle Tripel.

The Achel Blond is again just as the Westmalle Tripel clear and yellow-gold of color, but slightly darker than the Westmalle Tripel. The foam-head is white and big, and lasts for a decent time. It is a bit more carbonated than the Westmalle, which you can see more clearly.

Just as the Westmalle it's smell reveals hop, but again a little explicit as the Westmalle. Mouthfeel is a bit lame, but the aftertaste is all about hop and bitterness.

In many ways you could say the Achel Blond is a slightly softer version of the Westmalle Tripel.

A very nice beer, which I surely will drink again, but personally I prefer the Westmalle Tripel, which is a bit more pronounced in all it's aspects.

My rating: 7 out of 10.

Beer Review #1: Westmalle Tripel

In my previous post I showed you my first batch of beers I'm about to taste ... tonight I tasted my 2 first beers. I started with the Westmalle Tripel. Not actually the best choice as it is a very strong beer in it's taste and overwhelms other tastes. Using this as the first beer is risky, cause it's taste might stick and influence the taste of the next beer. But since I consider Westmalle Tripel as a reference beer, I thought it to be a good starter.

Westmalle Tripel is brewed by the Monastery of Trappists of Westmalle. The history of this monastry goes way back, back to April 22nd, 1836 to be exact. One constant in it's long history is that over the years they kept on investing in their manufacturing plant with only one aim: better quality of their Trappist beers. Better quality is truly the "leitmotiv" through the history of the brewery.

And it shows (or tastes in this case). The Westmalle Tripel is a true example of a high quality Trappist beer that has had this high standard for many years.

No need to mention that the Westmalle Tripel is categorized as a Trappist beer. Trappist beers are beers brewed by or under control of Trappist monks. To learn more about what exactly defines a Trappist beer (or Trappist monastery), check the International Trappist Association website.

The Westmalle Tripel is as a true Tripel should be, quite strong in alcohol. With 9,5% ABV this beer has a strong punch. If you plan to drink Westmalle Tripels for a whole night, beware! Believe me, I've seen very tough guys, who really can handle a lot of alcohol, go completely wasted after 5 or 6 of these. Personally I think this has not only to do with the alcohol percentage, but also because of the density of the beer. Trappist beers seem to be more dense than other beers, and as we say here in the Flanders: "die blijven aan de ribben plakken" (literally translated "they stick to the ribs", meaning they are stronger than what you're used to).

When pouring in the beer, you notice that besides the golden yellow clear color, you get a firm, white foamhead, which lasts for a decent time. The smell reveals a lot of hop. I noticed some "glue"-like scent. I recall that this smell is due to a particular sort of hop, but I can't recall which one (I'll ask my mentor one of these days). I also noticed some vanilla-aromas. Be sure when you first taste this trappist, not to pour everything into your glass. The bottom of the bottle holds a lot of yeast. If you add this to your glass the beer might get a bit cloudy and adds an extra punch of bitterness. It is also said that this last bit of beer holds a lot of vitamine E.

When tasting, I found the mouth-feel a bit disappointing, but the taste in the back of the mouth is quite the opposite and overwhelming. A strong bitter taste that lasts very long. Bitterness is the keyword for this beer.

The Westmalle Tripel is definitely one of my favorites, a beer I like to drink on a regular basis, and which is, here in Belgium, easily available in many stores.

Allthough there are numerous beers that have a more pronounced bitter taste, for me the Westmalle Tripel is about as high as bitterness of a beer should go. More bitterness would probably be too much. For me, the Westmalle Tripel is, as far as bitterness goes, the perfect match.

If you like bitterness and hoppiness, and you want to get to know what a trappist (tripel) beer tastes like, this is definitely THE beer to start with!

My rating: 8 out of 10.

First batch ... trappists ...

Hi there,

here is the first batch of beers I'll taste and review. Contrary to what I said before (tasting all the beers from page 1 to 86), I will start with the first category after the large bottles ... the trappist beers, Belgiums glory :)

Below a picture of all the beers I have here at home.

Shown above are:

• Achel Blond
• Achel Bruin
• Chimay Bleue
• Chimay Rouge
• La Trappe Blond
• La Trappe Dubbel
• La Trappe Tripel
• Orval
• Rochefort 6
• Rochefort 8
• Rochefort 10
• Westmalle Tripel

There are missing a couple however: the Westmalle Dubbel, the Chimay Tripel and the La Trappe Quadruple. The 2 first ones (Westmalle Dubbel and Chimay Tripel) are on tap, so I'll have to taste those in Bier Central, the last one (La Trappe Quadrupel) is currently out of stock, but should be here anyday now (chances are it's back in stock by the time I post this).

Of course there is missing one very important one (3 actually) ... the West-Vleteren trappists. But since we don't serve these (West-Vleteren is not commercially available), I do not have them at my disposal. I will ask my mother to go and get some for me one of these days (she lives very close to the monestary).

Stay tuned for the next updates ...

Greetingz,

Koen.

Tasting Notes ... the format ...

Hi there,

I'm about to start tasting all our beers listed in the "Bier Encyclopedie". I just need to bring the first batch of beers home and start doing "the hard work" ;) ... if all goes well and I don't feel sick tomorrow (today was/is horrible ... some kind of nasty flew), I'll go and pick up the first beers and all the glasses that go along with it.

But what exactly will I describe/write about each beer? Again, I consider myself a beginner when it comes to tasting beer. Sure, I can tell if I like a beer or not, but what does that help you? Your taste is probably completely different than mine, and what I like, you might dislike (or vice versa). And the goal after all is to have a collection of tasting notes that helps you and me make better choices when selecting beers.

So what things will I write down? For each beer I will first start to write down some very objective criteria: name, brewery, category, ABV, and a picture. Next come the tasting notes themselves: the aroma/smell, color and density of the foamhead, color and brightness of the beer, first impressions of tastes and the after-taste.

After that I'll try to list some other beers that can be compared to the beer tasted, and where possible maybe add some background information about the beer, it's history or other trivia. And I'll also try to give each beer a rating from 1 to 10.

This is of course an initial set-up, and as my tastings evolve there might be some changes, but at least it's a start.

If you have any suggestions/comments, please feel free to let me know, using the comments below!

Greetingz,
Koen.

Bier Central beer reviews ... we have a plan!

Hi there everyone!

First of all, I wish everyone a very happy new year!! May you all get what you wish for, and a little more (of the good things)!!

I hope everybody enjoyed the new years'eve parties, we sure did!

Remember one of my earlier posts, in which I pointed out my new years resolution for 2011? In that post I said I wanted to taste (and describe) every beer we offer in Bier Central. All those beers are described in the "Bier Central Bier Encyclopedie".

The "Bier Encyclopedie" is our 86-page beer-menu that every visitor to our pub uses to make his choice of drink. Customers can also buy our "Bier Encyclopedie" for a very reasonable price, if they want to have a thorough look at it at home.

By now, we're already 4 days in the new year, and it's time to get started. But tasting 300+ beers is not an easy task :) ... Where do I start and how do I continue to bring it to a good ending? Honestly I was a bit confused and overwhelmed. Should I taste beers per category, or should I taste several types of beers of each style per tasting-session? How much beers should I taste per session? Where, and when should I taste them? It all seems very easy, but I promised myself to do it thorough, and as objective as possible.

This morning I had a quick chat with one of our beer-experts, Hans Bombeke, president of the "Antwerps BierCollege" (Antwerp Beer College). Hans gives us (the Bier Central staff) regular updates/workshops about beer and everything that comes with it. Presenting him the question in what order I should taste beers, he advised me to keep it simple, and just start tasting from page 1 to 86, in that order, so that you, the reader, can easily follow each tasting, using the "Bier Encyclopedie" (if you have it of course :).

Luckily our "Bier Encyclopedie" is already categorized, and is not an alfabethical list of all our beers.

A short recap of the categories, listed in the order as printed in the "Bier Encyclopedie":

• Beers on tap (20)
• Large bottles (26)
• Trappist beers (20)
• Abbey beers (54)
• Gueuzes and Lambics (22)
• Kriek beers (20)
• Fruit beers (18)
• Speciale Belge beers (4)
• Flemish Brown ("Oud Bruin") beers (10)
• Belgian golden ales (8)
• Belgian White beers (8)
• Biere Brut beers (Champagne beers) (3)
• Saison beers (5)
• Speciality beers (119)
• Saisonal beers (and beers hard to get) (20)

So, using the list above, I should start with the beers on tap ... However, I will not :) ... As I want to start my tastings at home (as the tastings evolve, I will do them at the pub in the future), I have to start with bottled beers. So my first category will be the beers bottled in 75cl bottles.

As I've already learned the hard way, you should limit the number of different beers per tasting, and thus I can not taste one category in one tasting (20 beers is just too much :). So I will take one page per tasting max (each page has a maximum of 6 beers, some have less). One tasting per week, 50 weeks in the coming year ... that is about 300 beers ... It's gonna be tight, but we sure will try :).

Ok, we have a plan ... what's the next step? The first tasting!

Let's have a look at the first category: large bottles.

We have 20 different beers listed in that category. Wherever possible I will taste from a small bottle, rather than a big bottle, it's simply no use to drink 75cl of each beer to taste it. Taking the first page of that category, we see the following beers:

• Chimay Bleue
• Westmalle Triple
• Dominus Triple
• Ename Triple
• Gueuze Fond Girardin
• Iris 2007 Cantillon

These will be the first beers in my "Bier Central beer reviews"!

Stay tuned to read the first tastings in the coming days!

Greetingz,
Koen.

Champagne beers, "Biere Brut" ... beers for special occasions.

Hi there,

The end of 2010 is very near ... this will probably be my last post this year. Let me first start off with wishing everybody a HAPPY NEW YEAR! Have a great ending tomorrow, and an even better beginning. May all your wishes come true!

In this post I'd like to talk a little about our champagne beers. As most of us will party tomorrow-night, it's a good idea to toast to the new year with a good alternative to champagne, a champagne-beer, also called 'brut beers'.

But what exactly is "champagne beer"?

Champagne beer, or "Biere Brut" is a rather new and very interesting style of beer, which is primarily brewed in Belgium. It's not a true Belgian style beer as for example Lambic is, but Belgium is for sure the pioneer in this style (the first one ever made in this class is the Malheur Brut, brewed by De Landtsheer, here in Belgium :).

Champagne beers typically undergo a lenghty maturation, some of them are even cave-aged in the French Champagne region and finished using the "methode champenoise" to remove yeast from the bottle.

Champagne beers are usually rather high in alcohol (11 - 12% ABV) and very sparkling (highly carbonated). Colors range from very pale (just like champagne) to darker colors. Tastes and aromas are very rich and diverse, a true feast for all your senses, beer made for special occasions!

Just like champagne, champagne beers are usually only available in big bottles (75cl) and served alike: very cold in an ice-bucket, and drunk in champagne glasses.

Here, in Bier Central, we have the following champagne beers available:

Malheur Bière Brut (Brut Reserve) 

Brewed by brewery De Landtsheer, this is a exclusive and rich beer, which is 3 times re-fermented in the bottle. The yeast in the bottleneck is removed using the "degorgement"-method.

Beer guru Michael Jackson quoted it as a new "World Classic"; suitable as an aperitif, dessert or digestive: strong but silky-smooth, with a powerfull, dry aftertaste and very aromatic.

Brewery: De Landtsheer, Buggenhout
Alcohol (ABV): 11%
Category: Brut beer

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Malheur Dark Brut

(text below is copied from the celebrator.com site, click here to read the full review) The Malheur Dark Brut, which was initially called Black Chocolate and Brut Noir, was first introduced in 2003. The base beer is the Malheur 12. Spices are added in small quantities to this brew, though Manu would not reveal what they were! He told me: "The key to using spices in a beer is adding just enough that they add to the flavor complexity of the brew, but not so much that anyone could guess which spices are used."

Additionally, the Dark Brut undergoes two weeks of conditioning in American oak barrels. While the wood is American in origin, the barrels are made in France. Manu commented: "We use the barrels to add a subtle wood taste to the beer. We tested for quite a while to see what length of time the beer should be aged in the barrels so that this process would impart the taste we wanted in the Dark Brut: perceptible, but not too much.” He continued, “The reason we used American oak is that it imparts its wood character to the beer much more quickly than French oak." (end copied text).

Brewery: De Landtsheer, Buggenhout
Alcohol (ABV): 12%
Category: Brut beer

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DeuS, Brut des Flandres

This extraordinary and sparkling "DeuS, Brut Des Flandres", brewed with barley, is fermented and matured in Belgium, refermented in the bottle, followed by the traditional "remuage" and "degorgement" in France. Serve chilled (2-4* C) and gently into a chilled flute or chalice glass.

Brewery: Bosteels, Buggenhout
Alcohol (ABV): 11,5%
Category: Brut beer

---

Where-ever you have your new-year's eve party tomorrow, start your new year with something different, and try a champagne beer, I'm sure you'll love it!

As mentioned before, here at Bier Central, we have our 123party, which will be a blast for sure. I hope you will be there too, there are still tickets available! If you're not there, I wish you a very happy new year, and hope you'll be visiting this blog and/or pub on a regular basis. Cheers!

Greetingz,
Koen.

How NOT to taste beer ...

Yesterday (Christmas day) I had to work. Not really a day I like to work, as I prefer to be with my family, but that's part of the job. So I'm not complaining.

From a professional standpoint, Christmas is a weird day to work on. During the day there wasn't that much work, as most people spend their time with family, but later in the evening people do come out and want to socialize in a pub. As I worked all day I could stop around midnight, and got to drink a couple of new beers with some colleagues.

We first tried the Ename Tripel. A rather pale blond but very clear tripel with white head. The taste was a bit disappointing. There actually wasn't much of it. It felt a bit as drinking water with alcohol. Very neutral, too neutral. The bottom of the bottle did add a little sweetness, which reminded me to a taste I sometimes find in some Duvels. Ename Tripel is brewed by Roman and has a ABV of 8,5%.

The next one was a Kapittel Abt. Kapittel is brewed by brewery Van Eecke. Van Eecke is located in Watou, a very small town in the West Flandres. Watou is also the home of another very famous brewery, Sint Bernardus. 

Just as the Ename, the Kapittel Abt is an abbey beer, refermented in the bottle. It's a bit darker than the Ename Tripel, and is also unfiltered. The foam-head is much nicer and solid. It has a much richer taste and I was really pleased with it ... a touch of bitternes makes it a very nice Tripel, one that I'll drink again, for sure. The 10% alcohol does find it's way in your blood, so beware ;).

After that my colleague, Mike, insisted to try a Watou Tripel, as this is his favourite. The Watou Tripel is brewed by the Sint Bernardus brewery, which is the only commercial brewery that also brewed the world-class West-Vleteren trappist beers (they had a license untill 1992).

The Watou Tripel is indeed a very nice abbey beer, which does have some nice aromas, that the Kapittel doesn't have, but it did miss a bit of the punch, probably because it's lighter in ABV (7,5%). 

Again, this wasn't really a real tasting ... we were just talking at the bar, having fun while enjoying some new beers. By the time we were drinking the Watou Tripel, another colleague joined us, and we were talking about the strongest beer we have at Bier Central ... we actually have a couple, all with an ABV of 13%. One of them is the Black Albert.

Black Albert is brewed by De Struise Brouwers and is a stout. As most of us aren't really fond of stouts (for me the reference beer in the stout category is a Guinness, and I'm not really fond about that kind of beer), but we were curious about the Black Albert's taste and we couldn't resist buying one and sharing it. It poors into the glass as thin black oil, not producing a lot of foam, allthough it eventually gets a thick brownish head.

To be quite honest, at that point I actually drank already too much, so I don't even remember the smell. I do remember that I was actually surprised by the taste. I still can't describe it, but it sure wasn't bad (or at least not as bad as I expected a stout would be). One thing I will remember for sure is it's strong after-taste ... the taste really lasts very long, and I do like that when drinking a beer. Definately a beer I'll drink again to examine the rich flavours it has.

Meanwhile my colleague was drinking a Floreffe Tripel, and I did take a sip of it. It has a stronger bitterness than the other Tripels we tried, and sure tasted good. But again, at that point I was getting wasted, so I'll have to taste it again to give a good opinion :).

The alcohol was really getting in my head and the ambiance was big fun :) ... so we decided to go upstairs to The Popcorn and have some fun on the dance floor ... no more beer for me, I started drinking Havana Especial 7 years old ... bad idea :) ... actually it was big fun, and we had a blast. But that much alcohol is a sure way to get a huge hangover the next day ... one I'm still struggling with right now :(.

Anyway, lessons learned: it was a fun night, but it's certainly not the right way to have a beer-tasting :) When you drink too much, you can't really make a objective opinion about a beer. And a beer-tasting should not lead to a hangover the next day :). I guess it's better to only taste half of each beer you want to taste and taste only 3 to 4 beers maximum. But I did get to know a couple of new ones I sure will drink again.

Enjoy the year-end, but do drink reasonably!

Greetingz,

Koen.

My (beer) goal for the coming year 2011 ...

Hi beerlovers,

As this years end is very near now, this is the time to set up some goals and things I want to achieve in the coming year. One of the things I really feel important is to get a thorough knowledge of all the beers we sell in Bier Central.

Of course I already tasted a lot of the beers since Bier Central opened it's doors, but despite those efforts, I have to admit that the results so far are actually pretty useless and far from professional as they should be.

So, what is my goal (beerwise) for 2011?

Taste every beer we have listed in our "Bier Encyclopedie" (which is the actual beer-menu that is present on all of our tables in the pub).

The Beer Encyclopedie has 320 different beers listed (20 beers on tap, 300 bottled beers). Tasting them all is not as easy as you might expect ... for several reasons, you can't just say "I'll drink one beer a day, and in one year I have them all" ... so it will require some thinking and planning to succeed in this mission :).

But it doesn't stop there ... with "tasting" I mean: tasting and documenting every aspect of each beer, so all that information can be used in the future, mainly to help our customers choose a beer when they might be overwhelmed of all the choices they get. But also to share that information with my collegues and other beer-lovers.

As I already mentioned in one of my previous posts, I consider myself a beer-newbie, so before I will get started I will have to learn some basics before I can actually start the tastings, which I will of course share with you via my blog and other social media (Twitter, FourSquare, etc ...).

After the initial learning process, I'll have to do some planning (which beers first, how many beers to taste in a week, etc ...).

Only then I'll start the effective tastings ... it's gonna be a long, but fun voyage, and I hope you'll join me!

Please feel free to send comments/tips which can be usefull ... any advice is welcome. You can reach through this blog or via Twitter. Thanks in advance!

Greetingz,
Koen.

Rue de la biere ...

Hi there,

one of the things that makes our interiour so unique are the numerous enamel plates which hang all over the place. I don't know how much there are, but there are a lot. And some of them are really unique (and probably collector item's for some people).

I've started to make some pictures of them, which I will definately show in later posts. For now a small selection for you to enjoy ...

Greetingz,
Koen.

Year End is coming, and it shows ...

Hi there, everyone.

Last weekend was again a very busy weekend in Bier Central. As you might know, Bier Central is a new pub (opened just a few months ago), and though it is new, the owners are already long time experienced in this location (Kelly's Irish Pub is just next door, and that pub has been around for several years).

A few weeks back, my boss told me that beginning of December would be calm and starting around December 15th, the pace would go up. And indeed, this weekend was probably the busiest we had so far. Not only was Bier Central full house, but all the other businesses too ... Kelly's, The Popcorn, Andersen restaurant, and the chip-shop Frituur Oud-Belgie, all had too work at full throttle.

Amazing actually, it's like everyone already get's in party-mode after a year of hard working, and it's time to unwind and have some fun.

In one of my first posts I mentioned that Bier Central is actually part of a concept, in which you can come and drink a couple of nice beers, and once you get in the mood to actually party and dance or enjoy live music, you just go to one of the other businesses like The PopCorn or Kelly's Irish Pub.

So far our management promoted this mainly to companies who wanted to organise a special occassion for their clients or employees, allowing them to eat, drink and party all in one venue. And with success ...

Now they're going a step further and organise such an event for anyone who's interested. I've already posted something about it, and as you may have guessed I'm talking about the coming New Year's Eve Party.

On December 31st, there are a range of packages available for everyone who want's to enjoy the best New Year's Eve Party in Antwerp.

Most people like to start the last night of the year with a nice dinner, and after that the party can get started. The Andersen restaurant offers a couple of choices, where you can choose between the Andersen-menu or a World buffet. Or you can opt to enjoy a Fondue in Frituur Oud Belgie. Which ever package you choose, after your dinner you get access to the main event of the evening: the 123Party!

The party is spread accross the 3 pub's: Kelly's, Bier Central and PopCorn. Tickets for this party cost 10 euro (presales) or 15 euro the evening itself. This ticket includes one free drink. As you see, entrance won't be free that night, mainly to ensure there won't be too much people and preserve a pleasant atmosphere.

In Kelly's there will be live performance of Olly de Quartz, the best cover band in the Benelux. After the show, there will be DJ's playing the best pop & rock hits of 2010.

In Bier Central and The PopCorn there will be Steve Keane's 70s & 80s show, and DJ's playing the best disco and party music, making sure the night will be a party you won't forget!!

Make sure you reserve your tickets as soon as possible, as places are limited. And if you want something special ... reserve a VIP table in the PopCorn!

More information about all activities and packages can be found on a special site set up for the occassion: www.123party.be.

Unfortunately I won't be able to enjoy all of this as you can, since I'll be on duty and will be working, helping you to have the night of the year!

Hope to see you at the party!

Greetingz,
Koen.

Winter and Christmas beers ... what are they?

This time of year is the time of winter and Christmas beers. It's a tradition that goes way back. But what are they exactly and why are they so special?

Winter and Christmas beers are brewed in the winter and finds it's roots when cooling installations didn't exist yet. Fermentation is much harder at higher temperatures (during summer months). As the inventories of hops and barley had to make place for the new crops of the new year, brewers used these last supplies to make unique beers.

As these beers are rich in these ingredients, they are typically stronger, with more taste and aroma than their "normal" versions. Back then, these brews were often used as a Christmas gift that the breweries gave to their employees and special customers.

Christmas beer is usually a maltbeer of high fermentation, and is amber colored. To give those beers extra taste, brewers often add spices like honey, cinnamon, cloves and/or licorice.

As they are usually higher in alcohol-percentage, they are ideal for those cold winter months.

Here in Bier Central we have the following Christmas beers:

- Leffe Christmas - 6,6% - InBev
- Gordon Xmas - 8,8% - Anthony Martin
- N'Ice Chouffe - 10,0% - Duvel Moortgat/Brasserie D'Achouffe
- WinterKoninck - 6,5% - Brouwerij De Koninck
- Val-Dieu Noel - 7,0% - Brasserie Abbaye Du Val-Dieu
- Stille Nacht - 12% - De Dolle Brouwers
- Gouden Carolus Chrismas - 10,5% - Het Anker
- Barbar Winter Bok - 8,0% - Brasserie Lefebvre
- Avec les Bons Voeux - 9,5% - Brasserie Dupont

So, whenever you pass by, be sure to ask for one of the above, as they are seasonal beers, they might not be in stock later on!

Enjoy!

Greetingz,
Koen.

Pictures, 4 dec 2010: BierCentral and The Popcorn

Don't have much inspiration to write at the moment, so I'll just share you some pictures from last night ... a couple in BierCentral and a few from The Popcorn (the club upstairs).

The ambiance is really great on Saturdays ... like this, the new years' eve party is going to be awesome!!

Pictures from Bier Central

Pictures from The Popcorn

Pictures, 3 dec 2010 ...

One of the advantages of this being a personal blog, is that I can also write about the times that aren't so good ... right now is such a moment ... after a day of work, I got myself a couple of Tripel Karmeliet's too many ... it was fun, but too much is too much ... Tripel Karmeliet goes in soooo easy, but eventually the "guy with the hammer" always comes around ... beware!!!! Worked till around 18h, drank untill around 22h, got home, slept a couple of hours, and now wished I was a little wiser 6 hours ago :)

Anyway, here are a couple of pictures of today ...

Greetingz,
Koen.

N'Ice Chouffe, another Xmas beer, now available ...

Winter definately arrived here in Antwerp ... it's freezing cold ... not really my favorite season. Luckily we have Christmas beers to get warm :)

Another one in our range of Christmas beers is the N'Ice Chouffe, of the La Chouffe brewery of the equally named popular beer. The N'Ice Chouffe is a strong dark beer that will warm you up during the winter months. It's spiced (with thyme and curacao) and has a light hop taste. Unfiltered and refermented in the bottle.

N'Ice Chouffe is available in 75cl bottles and has 10% alc./vol. ... Ideal to share with a friend/girlfriend and get all warmed up ;)

Enjoy.

Greetingz,
Koen.

Some great resources about Belgian Beer on the internet ...

Hello my fellow beer-friends,

Belgium is considered as one of the most important countries in the world when it comes to beer. And as such there is plenty information to find about Belgian beers on the internet. A lot of good stuff and a lot of crap.

Below a couple of sites which I personally find very interesting.

Enjoy!

Greetingz,
Koen.

The Belgian Beer Odyssey – 1 to 1000
A blog about a guy who talks about his journey, tasting 1000 belgian beers, one beer at a time. Started somewhere in the end of 2009, he is now at his 164th beer (November 29th, 2010). A real good site, giving a lot of background information about each beer he tastes. Wonderful how this guy can write. This guy is a true writer, and he sure loves beer. I can only dream of having such talent.

RateBeer - the best beers of belgium
A list with the highest rated beers brewed in Belgium as they appear in the ranks of RateBeer.com. RateBeer.com was partially responsible to make the West-Vleteren 12 trappist to be known as the best beer in the world.

Beer in Belgium - Wikipedia
Wikipedia page of beer in Belgium, giving a comprehensive overview of all things "beer" in Belgium. Ranging from history, over beer-types and other usefull background information.

Tournee Generale
Tournee Generale is a series of 10 tv-shows on Canvas (National TV channel) in which musician, biker and beerlover Jean Blaute takes his British companion, the legendary MTV-VJ Ray Cokes, on a journey through the belgian beer-landscape. Together they travel across the country in search of our unique and versatile beer culture.
In dutch, but most videos are English spoken, with dutch sub-titles.

YouTube - Belgian Beer
And endless list of videos related to belgian beer. Some of them useless, some of them fantastic. Good for hours and hours of belgian beer entertainment!

Google - Belgian Beer
If you've gone through the link above, and you want more, much more, then there's always Google ... just follow this link and you have enough information to wander around for the rest of your life ;)

Gordon Xmas, now on tap!

In one of my previous posts I already mentioned we now have Leffe Christmas on tap ... another Christmas beer now on tap is Gordon Xmas, temporarely replacing the regular Gordon's Scotch.

Gordon Xmas is a seasonal Christmas beer with an intense flavour and a lot of body. The flavour unfolds gently but steadily from the first mouthful. The stringent woody notes combine with a sweeter base without either flavour gaining the upper hand. The sweetness lingers on the palate, the stringency remains in the throat.

Alcohol: 8,8%
Colour: Dark Rubis
Fermentation: Top
Type: Scotch Ale

Enjoy!

Greetingz,
Koen.