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We reach an Impasse

We’re on holiday, making our way to Spain via France.

Last night, we spent quite a while hunting a brewpub in Montpellier, only to find that Impasse Perrier is now home to a very non-beery restaurant.

Tired and hungry, we gave up.

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Beer styles

Autumn: apples and smoke

Much as we’d like to pretend it’s ‘late summer’, nature won’t play along.  The leaves are turning brown, we’re being pelted with conkers on the way into work, and the mornings are getting unmistakeably misty.

So, if you can’t defy the coming of autumn, you might as well embrace it.

What does autumnal beer really look and taste like, though?  Many brewers seem to do some word association and so you get lots of beers described as nutty, copper, red or fruity, but which are really the same as the spring, summer or winter ales with a bit more crystal malt.

What would a real autumn beer taste like? It’s apple season, of course, but apples in beer don’t really work — that’s why we have cider — but we’ve said a few times that a good, sour Gueuze reminds us of West Country scrumpy, so that’s a possibility.

Even better, though, would be a good, subtly smoked beer. Nothing tells you it’s autumn more clearly than the smell of a bonfire on the air. I wonder if we’ll have to stick to Schlenkerla (not so subtle) or American examples? It would be nice to come across a few more smoked beers from British breweries.

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beer and food Snacks to beer

Snacks to Beer: Sea Laver!?

Crispy sea laver snack -- Beer Mate

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london

Stein's, Richmond

We finally made it to Stein’s, a beer garden which offers a slice of Bavaria in Richmond, in south west London.

There is good Klarheit with the unorthodox rules up on the shack, in the menu, and anywhere else there’s a flat surface to pin them.  It’s still confusing for lots of punters, though: you can’t drink without eating, so you need to buy food, order the beer at one serving hatch, and then collect it at another.  This is clearly a carefully calculated business model designed to deliver the atmosphere of a particular kind of beer garden in “binge Britain”.  This is not a place you come to get very drunk.  There are even signs asking you not to shout or sing.

The food is standard beer garden stuff, but pricey for what it is (cheap rubbery Bratwurst, mostly) but, really, you are paying for a fabulous view of the Thames and the authentic German atmosphere.  The beer is probably the least convincing bit — Paulaner Helles, and not as fresh as it might be in the Englischer Garten at that.

You won’t come here if you’re a beer geek, but if you are a beer garden geek, it’s about as good as you’ll get in London.

Categories
Belgium

Last thoughts on Antwerp

We’ve got one more bar to report on from our recent trip to Antwerp, as well as some final thoughts on the city.

Paters Vaetje is next to the cathedral.  It’s a friendly place and has a nice but manageable selection of beers.  It’s obviously popular with tourists but there were also plenty of younger locals there on our visit.

First, we went for Dikke Mathile.  We’re not ashamed to admit that its comparative weakness was the attraction.  It turned out to be a pleasantly sweet and fruity Amber, with a beautiful art nouveau inspired glass featuring a naked lady (tee hee).

Next, a matching pair, Boerken and Boerinneken, both 9.5%, from Den Ouden Advocaat, although brewed by someone else on their behalf.  Boerinneken was a golden yellow triple which managed to be intensely sweet, bitter and sour all at once.  There were all sorts of flavours popping out one after another, including orange, caraway and toffee (it tasted darker than it looked).  Very complex.  Boerken, the dark one, was also impressive, although less complex, reminding us of chocolate covered pretzels.

So, what did we make of Antwerp?  We want to live there.  It’s not as twee (nor as touristy) as Bruges, but much less grotty than Brussels, and there are nice looking bars everywhere.  The only real disappointment was De Koninck, which, although a great institution, was not, as promised by various sources, any more brilliant in Antwerp than anywhere else.