365 different beers from 365 different breweries in 365 days with random musings on beer, food, music, sports, dogs and anything else interesting along the way
Day #616 Quad 10 / Brouwerij Fort Lapin, Bruges, Belgium
Previously from this brewery: The Tripel(and a shout out to the new King of Belgium), the Tripel, and the Quad
Another beautiful Saturday, which I will spend sitting inside. Seems like a good plan. I don't always sit inside - here's a picture of me and the bike I rode across Belgium.
I kid. I only rode across half of Belgium.
I've previously written about Fort Lapin, a relatively new brewery in Belgium. In addition to sampling the Tripel during our visit, we got to try a glass of the Quad as well. It poured a mahogany color with a substantial off white head. There are floral and malt aromas, and when you take a sip you get a big mix of candi sugar, dark fruit, chocolate, cinnamon, and clove. Very rich and complex, yet remarkably easy to drink. If I had to pick a favorite between the two, I'd probably take the Tripel, but the Quad is very good as well. You're not likely to see these in America any time soon, however. Sorry!
Hi there.
The brewer told us the story of how his 10 year old son likes to help around the brewery, and wants to grow up to be a brewer one day. That sounds like the most awesome experience ever for a 10 year old! We also promised that we wouldn't relay the story of how his 10 year old has been drunk two or three times before. No problem keeping that one quiet - it's not like anyone reads this silly blog anyway....
Thing to Think About Today:
As previously mentioned, 'lapin' in French translates to 'rabbit' in English, so I'm closing out a mellow, contemplative Saturday with The National and Pink Rabbits. Have a good Saturday...
Since I wrote all about Fort Lapinin my last post, I'm just going to leave this here for y'all. Lapin means bunny! Whoa, bunny!
Yee-haw!
The other beer that I had from Fort Lapin was the Quadrupel.
It poured a deep, chocolatey brown color with a loose tan head. It smelled fantastic and almost reminded me of cotton candy. The flavor was good but slightly unexpected for a quad. There was much more spice in there than I anticipated. Coriander, cinnamon, cloves. Then there was lots of big malt flavor, some dark fruit. It had a very rich, complex flavor.
Beer stats
Style: Quadrupel
ABV: 10%
IBUs: Unknown
Rating: Good
Previously reviewed from Fort Lapin
My review of the Tripel
Mr. Blog Named Brew's review of the same
I need some Sunday Funday plans stat! All this reminiscing about the Great Beercycling vacation of 2013 is making me long for more adventure. And right now the only adventure in my future is some shoe shopping later today.
You know who's on one heck of an adventure? Kristof, owner and brewer at Brouwerij Fort Lapin. He cashed in his day job and started a tiny little brewery in Bruges where he makes two beers--a tripel and a quad.
Kristof proving that beer makes you happy.
He shared with our tour group that he just wants to make beer and be happy. He's got the beer covered and I can honestly say that he certainly seemed happy when we met him. The name Fort Lapin references a fort that used to exist nearby and supposedly lapin means bunny in French--thus the cute little ears on the logo.
Clearly beer makes Mr. Blog Named Brew happy! That goofy grin was plastered on his face for the entire ten days!
Today I'm reviewing the tripel.
It pours a bright yet hazy straw color with a full bright white head. It has a very soft beer aroma. The flavor is full and round. There's a little spice in there along with green grass and lemon. The ABV is hidden very well.
Beer stats
Style: Tripel
ABV: 8%
IBUs: Unknown
Rating: Great
Previously reviewed from Fort Lapin
Another take on the tripel
Day #589 Tripel 8 / Brouwerij Fort Lapin, Bruges, Belgium
Previously from this brewery: n/a... this beer is the first out the limo!
As some of you may have read yesterday, this blog has just returned from a 13 day trip to Belgium, which included an awesome ten day bike tour through the Flanders region of the country. For those of you who like cycling, travel, and drinking amazing beers, I cannot recommend the good people at beercycling.com enough! Evan and Henk, our guides, did a fantastic job of putting together itineraries for each day, getting us behind the scenes access at world class breweries, feeding us, and making sure we had a great time.
I don't intend to review every beer I drank in Belgium (sometimes, taking notes is way less fun than just enjoying a beer), I don't intend to review every beer in the order they were drank (not that I even remember what order they came in), and I won't recap every minute of every day spent across the pond (do you really care what I had for lunch in Ghent?). I will, however, highlight a few key points, mention some of the cool things I saw, and OF COURSE review many of the incredible beers I drank. Don't expect the reviews to be overly lengthy; like I said, I had more fun drinking them than I did writing about them.
First up was a visit we paid to Brouwerij Fort Lapin, a newcomer on the Belgian brewing scene. Housed in an old chocolate factory, this brewery was started by Kristof Vandenbussche - a former HVAC specialist who loved brewing beer. Named for the local fort (and Lapin means 'rabbit' in French, in case you were wondering about the logo), this brewery only produces two beers, and doesn't ship outside of their local area. Why? Because Kristof only wants to brew enough beer to pay the bills and be happy. He's not trying to be beer giant InBev. Smart thinking, and I'm sure one that affords him much happiness.
I sampled both of the beers there, and today's review is for the Tripel 8, which poured a hazy gold color with a nice, white, fluffy head. The taste was dry, with promintent notes of grain, and a balance of malt and mild bitterness. A typical but tasty Belgian blonde beer - and refreshing after our ride from Ghent over to Brugge. One interesting thing I noticed; Americans are quick to categorize their beers and create new "unique" styles. In Belgium, unless you're talking lambics or gueuze, you pretty much get blonde and bruin as your styles. They keep it simple, and I like that.
Nice glass....
How's this for good timing? As I write this review, it's Belgian National Day! Basically, that's like their 4th of July, as it commemorates the day Leopold I swore his allegiance, becoming the first "King of the Belgians". Special meaning this year, as King Albert II is abdicating the throne, and his son, Crown Prince Phillipe, is taking over.
Thing to Think About Today:
In honor of King Phillipe's ascendance to the throne, I present America's version of The King, Elvis Presley, in tribute. Long live the new King, the seventh Belgium has ever known.
