It is not just Hungarian craft beers that are popular nowadays - more and more people decide to step out of their comfort zone and try something new instead of their usual brands. Like a top-fermented Belgian brown beer, or a fruits wheat beer. We visited Sailor's Tavern in order to taste a few nectars that will also be available at the V. Belgian Beer Festival.
Wine tasting has its own tradition, so why couldn't we savour beer with a similar care? Not in a snobbish way, talking silly of the smells and flavours, but savouring every flavour while listening to stories about brewing and fermentation. There are nearly 800 varieties of Belgian beer, they count as a real world-power among beer production and have been perfecting these drinks, usually high in alcohol content, since the Middle Ages.
Anyone familiar with Belgian gastronomy knows that the area of Bem quay is a real Belgian gastro centre next to the Danube instead of Brugge's canals, with clam dinners, cheese plates, and of course, beer.The abbatial, the ale, the double brown, the almost-white wheat, and the fruity varieties. Prepared for the weekend festival, we tasted the most popular and unique beers with a very experienced beer fan, a colleague of the Belgacom Ltd. All of them came in their own, quite pretty and functional glass, since these noble drinks deserve to be served just as specially as wines. Similarly to how we would not pour white wine in a champagne glass, we would not desecrate Kwak by serving it in a common beer mug. This is a ritual - a sympatric little magic for beer drinking.
1. Tripel Karmeliet 8% abbatial tripel
In 2008, carmelites' (female monks) silky, citrusy three-component (barley-wheat-oats) beer was selected as best of the world. We are talking about a tricky, bottle-fermented brew. Why tricky? Its 8% alcohol content can hardly be felt because its fruity and spicy nature. Although this was the first beer we tasted, we immediately thought no better could follow.2. Duvel Tripel Hop 9,5 % tripel
The next was a limited edition Duvel beer, of which only 70 crates are available in the country. This one represented a much wilder flavour, since it1s part of the highly hopped ales' family, meaning that after the evaporation of the volatile compounds, the beer is flavoured again with hops. The Moortgat family made its original duvet beer (meaning: devil) at the end of the 1800s, since around that time the conquest of the golden pilsner-type beer began, becoming rather popular. Duvel seems light based on its colour as well, however it is a very full-bodied beer.
3. Pauwel Kwak 8% half brown ale
Anno coachmen were not allowed to leave the horse carriages while their lord had some fun at the inn. Kwak comes in an hourglass-shaped glass with wooden ear, and according to the legend, allowed the coachmen to drink a pint of half brown ale without leaving their post, since the glass' handle was just as thick as the whip's handle. We associate the story with a beer that has a rather complex flavour. It is sweet with strong hints of vanilla and caramel. This nectar should also be treated with caution, because the sweet flavours make the beer slide down our throats faster, and the 8% alcohol content is hard to hit the base.4. Blanche d’Ardenne 4,3% Belgian wheat
The name is no exaggeration, the opalescent drink's truly evokes the Ardenns with its snow white froth. We were glad to finally "take a break" with a beer with a lighter flavour and lower alcohol content. despite being wheat beer, Blanche d’Ardenne does not come with lemon. Lemon is usually served with German wheat beers, since those have quite different laws applying to them in terms of "purity". Belgians add curacao orange peel and lemon to the beer, which makes it citrus-y on default.
5. Gouden Carolus Classic 8,5% brown
Flemish ale The greatest challenge of our tasting session, favourite of Charles V Holy Roman Emperor, and chosen as the best brown beer in 2012. The top-fermented beverage is full of surprises; its froth is massive, its colour is almost black, and the taste is definitely strong, but also has a little 'Christmas', or rather, gingerbread aroma in it. Its glass might be simple, but do not be fooled - Carolus is a real gourmet beer.6. Floris Kriek 3,6% cherry wheat beer
Even those will like Floris Kriek who do not prefer beer in general. It is so succulent that it almost feels like drinking a silky cherry nectar from the thin glass, however the wheat beer's flavour is still there. It is almost impossible to stop drinking it.
7. Delirium Red 8,5% cherry Belgian ale The pink elephant beer became rather well known (Delirium Tremens), but its red cherry sibling is still hard to get. In Matróz, it even has its own tap, full of the 8,5% alcohol content delicacy. Unlike Floris Kriek, this beer is rather strong - it is made by mixing the fresh brew of basic Tremens with cherry nectar.The V. Belgian Beer Festival draws up 31 breweries and 150 types of beer between the 16th and 18th of May, and we will be able to taste 50 kinds straight from the tap.
The entry ticket includes a voucher: for 2800 forints, we can drink 3 kinds of specialities, and for 4000 forints, we can choose from 5 varieties. Bálna Budapest is a new location, and we are rather happy about it, since the weather will not be pretty this weekend. Be careful with the stronger Belgians!
