Looking across the huge beurshal at the Bruges Beer Festival 2014, my eye was drawn to two beer drinkers who were in the midst of a conversation, the topic of which – such was the intensity of their expression – appeared to be of some gravity.
It was not their discussion, but their appearance that caught my attention – and I couldn’t help but think that the marketing team from the Huyghe brewery would have slapped themselves on the back for a job well done at the sight.
The two men were wearing fluffy pink hats which had protruding from their front fluffy pink trunks and flopping from their sides two fluffy pink ears. They were wearing the hat associated with the beer ‘Delirium Tremens’ (pink elephant). And they were not alone.
THE SEVENTH EDITION
The seventh edition of the Bruges Beer Festival took place over two days at the beginning of February 2014 (Sat 1st and Sun 2nd). 76 breweries (about a third of those that exist in Belgium) were in attendance, bringing along between them a whopping 370 different beers for tasting.
Hats off to BAB – Brugse Autonome Bierproevers (the Bruges Autonomous Beer tasters), who did a great job in organising the festival. Their €20 package included two tasting glasses, both practical and beautiful, which now take pride of place in our glass cabinet, together with 10 beer tokens, each one giving its owner a taste of one of the hundreds of exciting beers on offer.
THE ARTWORK
The artwork on the glasses came from the hand of a brewer, André Demeulemeester, a fascinating guy who was a Belgian flying ace during WWI (credited with 11 confirmed and 19 unconfirmed aerial victories) before joining the family brewery and then becoming an artist.
His thoughtful, sarcastic and humourous craftsmanship offered a wonderful parallel to the creativity of the brewers in attendance and this artisanal theme was echoed by both the festival graffiti artists operating from the entrance of the beurshal and the six chefs who show-cooked the shit out of the place with Belgian beer.
AN INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL
The place was absolutely packed. And judging by the diversity of languages and accents that I heard at every turn, it was a festival of huge international reach. The underlying babble of hundreds of people sharing stories was interrupted every so often by the huge cheers when inebriation inevitably caused one reveler after another to drop and smash their glass and this provided a unique soundtrack to my fascinating conversations with brewers of all shapes and sizes from right across Belgium.
Another interesting facet of the festival was the way in which BAB divided the brewer stands. For example, on one side of the hall was ‘West Vlaanderen straat’ (West Flanders street) home for the weekend to De Halve Maan of Bruges and Bockor of Bellegem. You could also take a stroll across Waalseplein and Brabanthoek, particularly if you were on the look out for a Trappist or a Geuze.
A TASK IN TASTING
Unfortunately we didn’t make it to tasting all 370 beers. But we did try. Of those we were able to enjoy, there were a few of note. The Imperialist from the Struise Brouwers (in collaboration with Bridge Road Brewing Australia) is a lager which its young brewer, Jorre Vanhemmens, assured us would be ‘like no other lager you’ve tasted’. Out of the tap, it certainly did not disappoint, a golden colour with light citrus aroma and a mildly sweet and moderate hop finish in taste.
We also enjoyed the dark mahogany and roasted malt character of the Troubador Obscura (8.2% a.b.v.) from the Brouwerij de Musketiers and the effervescent and hazy gold Gouden Carolus Tripel (9%) from Het Anker in Mechelen.
One thing is for sure, though. I’ll be at the Bruges Beer Festival next year on 7th and 8th of February 2015.
I have a lot more beers to try.
And I’m going to get myself a hat.
