My Gueuze Is Cooked ...

Hello Folks,


The  Musee Bruxellois de la Gueuze is located close to the train station about 1.5 km from the Grand Place.  This area has been taken over by North African emigrants, searching for a new way of life ... similar to the Mexican situation in the southern US states.  The similarity does not end there, as the same problems that exist in the southern US, exist here as well.  That said it was a pleasant walk ... lots of interesting shops and eateries.

At the Musee itself, it was hard to tell whether it was open or not ... no indication ... yet when I tried a small man door ... that was part of a very large overhead loading door, it opened into a bar area where I was welcomed immediately.  The aroma of the space was great ... imagine hops and grain and spices and you'll get a sensory map of what I was experiencing.

A short history of the Musee and it's production was given ... it is still a very active brewery ... and then I was launched on a self guided tour of the operating brewery.  Gueuze (pronounce Guze) is still produced here in the traditional methods .... meaning natural airborne yeast inoculation ... and three years in barrels ... made of oak or chestnut ... Gueuze is a blend of 1, 2 and 3 year old Lambic ... Lambic being the younger, unblended beer which is sweeter ... 

There is no production of beer in the Musee at this time of year because the process uses natural cooling and the weather is simply too hot until about October/November.  At the end of the tour I had a tasting of a Gueuze, a Kriek (Lambic with fresh cherries added combined with young Lambic to cause refermentation) and a Rose de Gambrinus (raspberries instead of cherries) .... if you can imagine Champagne or dry cider ... this would be close to the body, mouth feel and taste of the beer ....

After all this, I needed some time to think so I wandered back to the Grand Place and sat down at one of the outdoor cafes and had a Grimbergen Blond .... OK ... this symbol thing ... the symbol of the Cantillon Brewery/Musee is a Ben Franklin like silhouette, tipping his chair back while simultaneously tipping his flagon of beer into his mouth ... and clearly enjoying it ... but the brewery is about tradition and old ways ...I thought about this and then grabbed my guide book ... old ways, tradition ... good old days ... good old times ... aux bon vieux temps ... a bar not far from me ...

I walked from the Grand Place to an adjacent street and there just down the street was an alleyway ... the entrance to the bar ... the bar interior is all dark woof paneling ... even the ceiling ... there are gorgeous large lamps and stained glass everywhere ... the bar itself has been in operation since 1695 ... I ordered a Westmalle Dubbel on tap ... and it was the perfect blend of colour, taste and mouth feel ... a great beer ... I followed that up with a Corsendonk Blond ... similar in colour to a Grimbergen/Affligem Blond but having a more complex taste ... my new favorite quaffer ... 

I wandered back to the apartment, on the way grabbing a baguette and some items for a sandwich and to ponder all of this .... deciding over the sandwich that the next logical step might be to complete my sojourn to the Chez Moeder Lambic ... this would be the classic 'old vs. new' .. meaning with 250 beers plus it would be a good place to try to understand the juxtaposition between the two and maybe what 'symbol' I am looking for .. if indeed it is a symbol at all ...


To quote from verse 1695 of the Krome Koan,


' ... in dog beer ... I've only had one .. '




The G.R. Ale Hunter (aka The Night Templar)