BRUGES - After years of wandering, Bourgogne des Flandres has once again found a permanent home in Burgundian Bruges. This beer left the city when Bruges brewery Den Os closed its doors in 1957 and ended up finding a home with lambic brewery Timmermans, joining The Finest Beer Selection of the Anthony Martin Group. Bourgogne des Flandres is a ‘cut beer’ (a blended beer), in this case a blend of a young brown top-fermented beer and a lambic matured on oak for over a year. “We are brewing the top-fermented beer right here in our brand new microbrewery,” Bruges brewer Thomas Vandelanotte tells us with justified pride. “The mother beer ferments in open basins, just like in ancient times. This prompts the yeast to develop more fruity esters (that form the basis for aromas developed later on in the process).” We are strolling through the brewhall in the attic...

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ANTWERP - Today, we are meeting up for a second tasting session in this beer and food pairing series at ‘t Zilte restaurant, the proud owner of two Michelin stars, perched high above the Flemish city of Antwerp. We are sampling beers in the company of chef Viki Geunes, his sommelier Aaron Moeraert, Mieke Dockx of restaurant Marie in Antwerp, Piet Vannieuwenhuyse, the former manager of Dock’s Café also in Antwerp, Thomas Debelder of the 3 Fonteinen restaurant (the house restaurant of the eponymous lambic brewery) in Beersel and Cas Goossens and Hans Lachi, both from Antwerp restaurant De Rooden Hoed. This tasting is a good reminder that good beers can really blow you away and that the margins between beer and wine, or even beer and sherry, can be rather vague. Viki Geunes had a hand in the development of the Rodenbach Caractère Rouge and Vintage and was also responsible for Arthur’s Legacy by Viki - produced by the De Hoorn microbrewery - which is a zesty triple based on Cornet. Does Viki share the opinion of many of his colleagues: that a beer has to be quite powerful, both in the kitchen and at the table? “My considered opinion is that yes, it has to,” he answers, “now that we have a lighter and more delicate cuisine, we are looking for concentrated tastes. Alcohol can play a role in this.” We try the Strandgaper from the Schelde Brewery...

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ELLEZELLES - Put several brewers and chefs around the same table, get them to taste a few beers and soon you will have a heated discussion! Jean-Baptiste and Christophe Thomaes of Le Château du Mylord, a restaurant awarded with two Michelin stars, invited their colleagues to a beer tasting. Around the table there was an enormous amount of experience and knowledge about beer and food. There was Eric Martin from Lemonnier in Lavaux Ste-Anne, Laurent Martin from La Frairie in Perwez, Eric Fernez from the two-star-winning Eugénie à Emilie, brasserie Le Faitout and café La Marelle in Baudour. The brewers were represented by Marc Lemay from Brasserie Dubuisson and Charles and Bruno Delroisse from La Frasnoise. Catherine and Antoine Malingret of Ca Brasse Pour Moi in Boussu are beer traders who are planning to start up their own brewing operation. Muriel Lombard and Marjorie Elich voice the opinion of women with La Bière des Femmes...

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