Back to Brussels, London Calling

The train to Brussels the next day is uneventful. We pass through Leuven and notice acres of palleted kegs piled high next to the Stella Artois plant, home of beer giant InBev. We see the first rain of our trip and meet an amazing young man who studies piano in Maastricht, but lives in Antwerp, commuting on weekends, Zheng Qiu Chen (check him out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCQ82UDiShM), who guided us on our trip.
We reach Brussels Gare Centraal readily, dump our bags at our hotel on the very busy Charles Buls Square and get into power shop mode. My favourite beer shop for variety and price is Beer Planet http://www.beerplanet.eu so we head there first. I easily manage my 8.5 litre duty free allotment in 19 various sized bottles. We shop for souvenirs next and other things we noticed first time through, then its quick siesta time before we head out for our last night in Brussels.

We visit A La Mort Subite one last time. The atmosphere is relaxed, I order a bottle of Rodenbach (5.2%, classic blended Flanders red ale, tart, fruity, ruby red) while Donna opts for a Grimbergen Blonde (6.7%, smooth and balanced, fruity nose, yeasty) from the tap. Next up, Chimay Blonde (8%, white label, hoppy nose, fruity palate, classic Trappist)) and Mort Subite Lambic Blanche (4.5%), a new beer from a venerable old brewery. This latter brew is an actual wit beer featuring some caramel maltiness, an understated lambic sourness, frothy head, small acidic nose, pale blond colour, slightly cloudy, hints of candi sugar in the long finish. Next we check out a curious little local 'estaminet' down a dark alley entrance, A L'Imaige de Nostre Dame on our way to dinner, a genuine 16th century cafe, low ceilings, wooden beams, two

tiny rooms. They appear to have no draft this day, so we coax a bottle of Beersel Oude Gueuze (6%, tart, refreshingly sour) from out of our distracted barmaid, take in the ancient atmosphere and move on. After a relaxing dinner, it's back to Delirium Village for one last tour. We start in the Delirium Taphouse, enjoy a Vivien IPA (a hoppy favourite) and an Ename Abbaye Double from the Roman brewery (6.5%, roasted malt, hints of dried fruit, caramel, dry finish) then descend the back stairs to the main room of the Delirium Cafe. The place is packed as always, but we manage to

share a table with a couple from Cleveland, chatting about beer and international travel. I go to the bar and order a big bottle of Augrenoise (6.5%, bottled conditioned, cloudy, straw coloured, citric nose, quickly dissipating head, wheaty and winey with a slight sourness). We finish with a 750 ml. bottle of Saison St. Feuillien (6.5%, traditional golden farmhouse, warm and rich) and decide it's time to stumble home. Instead, we stumble into the Monastarium for one last look around (100 Trappist/Abbey beers, 400 vodkas).

Unbelievably, it's Black Russians we order, chatting up the bartender, who we'd met first time through. The smooth tall drinks are absolutely delicious and go down way too quickly. Now it really is time to go, but our bartender has a parting gift for us, two corked bottles of oak-aged La Trappe Quadrupel (10%) to take with us. Wow! I sure do love this place! Unfortunately, our hotel room faces the busy square and is so hot we have to have the windows open. A cacophony of late night partiers, earlier morning garbage and delivery trucks conspire with all the beer we'd enjoyed and deliver me a tremendous hangover by the time we actually rise late the next morning. What was I thinking?
Double espressos at the train station don't seem to help much. Slowly, we do make it to the airport for our short hop to London Heathrow. Mercifully, our beer laden bags
were checked in Brussels right through to Vancouver, so we easily navigate the free public buses to our nearby hotel. Donna's friend Helen is waiting for us downtown, so we quickly head right back out to the tube and find ourselves in Picadilly Circus in no time. Helen's has done her real ale homework and takes us to the Dog and Duck, featuring four hand pulled tasty real ales. Topaz Gold (4%) seems to be the bar favourite, a golden pale ale from Admans, fruity with medium bitterness and a long dry finish. All too soon they're out. Junga (3.9%) from Itchen Valley, a very dark and roasty, malty mild-like brew, gets my juices flowing and I'm starting to feel human again. Up next, Lamplighter (4.8%) premium bitter, amber, heavier malt but a balanced, dry finish. Reverend James (4.5%, rich fruity palate, aromatic, long

and dry) from Brains in Wales completes our real ale quartet. We enjoy these pints on the sidewalk outside the pub huddled under a skinny awning as sheets of rain pour down on the streets for about half an hour, then stops. We take the cue and make our way to Bodeans, Canadian owned I'm told, serving an amazing selection of pulled pork, barbequed chicken, ribs several ways, coleslaw, you get the picture - delicious and much needed sustenance. I managed a bottle of Spitfire (4.5%) a premium Kentish ale from Shepherd Neame, amber, floral, hoppy, and finely balanced. This really put a wonderful cap on a great meal and a brilliant night out. We made our way back to the tube and said our goodbyes. Thank you muchly Queenie! Back at the hotel I think we both didn't really want to fly home in the morning. Travel is so seductive and romantic, who wants to go home until you have to. Gotta pay the bills. But there will always be a next time. The trick is keeping the time between now and then relatively short. Cheers for now.