Every two months, a group of our friends meet up to eat lots of fish and to drink lots of Belgian beer. Most recently, it was our turn to host the evening and our friend, ‘visman’, who spends most of his time on a boat off the Belgian coast with a net, arrived with a large bag of sole.
The fish arrived in plastic bags straight out of the sea so we the ‘vismensen’ (fish people) rolled up our sleeves and got to gutting, skinning and cleaning the fish in our small kitchen. Working for your supper. Our apartment was subjected to a serious helping of raw fish smell. We’ve had the windows wide open now for a week to try and air the place.
We cooked on a grill with no small amount of butter, garlic and pepper. The accompanying vegetables were as Belgian as they were winter: witloof, roasted potatoes, carrots and onions, together with a creamy fish sauce.
FISH AND BEER? REALLY?
Traditionally, fish has been the realm of white wine. Increasingly, however, beer has eased its way into the picture, and Belgian beer – with its versatility and variety of flavours – is a great option for pairing.
Sole is a white, flaky, delicate fish, with a wonderful mild flavour. The challenge in selecting a beer to accompany the meal was to ensure we didn’t pick one that would overpower the sole’s subtle taste. Something too hoppy would horse overpower with bitterness. Something too heavy might bury the fish altogether. So which Belgian beers go with fish?
WHICH BELGIAN BEERS GO WITH FISH?
There are many options. In their signature seafood dish, the Belgians cook their mussels in a broth of Geuze beer, a blend of lambics.
Saisons are farmhouse ales that were traditionally brewed to quench the thirst of farm labourers during the summer months and are highly regarded for their refreshing nature.
In the end, however, we looked at the fish and we took stock of our guests and plumped for the following:
1. RODENBACH GRAND CRU
From the West Flemish town of Roeselare, the Rodenbach Grand Cru is the classic example of Flemish red-brown ale. It derives much of its flavour from the oak wood of the ceiling-high foeders in which it matures for 2 years after primary and secondary fermentation. What it gives us with fish is a tartness which opens the palette for the flavours of the sole to get to work.
The famous beer writer, Michael Jackson, called it ‘the most refreshing beer in the world’. Praise indeed.
It’s a red-brown beer with a modest off-white head and an aroma of red fruits (berries and cherries) and a hint of green sour apples. The taste is sweet and sour and it has a medium body with a warming 6.0% ABV.
The sour character and red fruit sweetness of each of the regular beer, the Grand Cru and the Vintage intensifies the higher up you move on the Rodenbach chain. The Grand Cru delivers the most suitable balance to compliment the white flaky sole.
2. HOEGAARDEN GRAND CRU
This was selected for its ‘whiteness’. Being a white beer, it has a substantial proportion of wheat in the grain as well as being spiced with coriander and curaçao orange peels.
It pours a hazy whitey-orange with a large dense head with a fruity (peaches and oranges) and spicy (coriander) aroma. In taste it is mellow and soft and it hides its 8.7% a.b.v. very well. Overall, its quenching nature and light fruitiness match up well with the flakiness of the fish.
3. SEEF BEER
Launched in Belgium in March 2012, this new beer is modeled on an old Antwerp beer of the same name. Searching almost two years to find the right recipe, former Duvel/Moortgat Marketing Director Johan Van Dyck developed a Belgian Pale Ale which is cloudy enough that it might be mistaken for a white beer. Why not try it with fish?
It pours a hazy golden colour with a sweet and spicy aroma. I found it to be quite mild with some subtle spices and fruit in taste. There’s a bit more bite than you would expect at 6.5% a.b.v. and the low levels of bitterness allow it to bring the best out of the sole.
4. LA CHOUFFE
We wanted to mix it up and chose this beer for its pleasant spiciness and fuller hop character.
It’s an unfiltered blonde beer, bottle-conditioned and pouring a hazy orange/lemon with tight bubbles and a generous head. The aroma is subtle with fruity, spicy, hoppy and citrusy characteristics which all come together at the same time under a pronounced carbonation profile.
We drank it mostly at the end of the fish evening and it did a great job of teasing out the lingering flavours from the sole.
NEXT ‘VISAVOND’
And so the countdown to the next ‘visavond’ begins, moving to the next household and the next host. It has been suggested that we attempt a ‘sushi night’ for the next edition so we will have to get our thinking caps on to track down a suitable Belgian beer.
It’s good that it won’t be at our place. It will take us a while to get rid of the fish smell.
