Brussels is one of those places in the world where a beer lover could become very disoriented. Not simply because there is an immense pressure to gorge oneself on high-alcohol beers but because there are only so many hours in a day and choosing where and what to imbibe in is a little...challenging. I made some choices while in Brussels; one beer over another, a visit here over a visit there. One choice I did make that I am sure was the correct one was visiting Moeder Lambic. Its one of those places that if you seriously love challenging and hard to get beers, you must...absolutely must, stop there when in Brussels.
Moeder Lambic is pretty much right downtown Brussels. Its sort of in between the main tourist area and the Cantillon brewery, so for beer geeks it is perfectly located. The bar itself is extremely well decorated in a modern (think lots of stainless steel mixed with urban lodge) decor. Lots of seating with a long bar.
The draft menu is fantastic. Plenty of rare and unusual finds along with a few staples. The on-tap and on-cask lambic menu is really great; you do not find this stuff everywhere. The bottle menu is even more special with some very rare offerings. Plenty of vintage lambics.
Off the bat I jumped into Drie Fonteinen's Straffe Winter. It is slated as a faro-lambic created for the special open brew days at the brewery. The presentation was perfect; a nice high pour into a tall glass and a wicker box to keep the bottle at a perfect angle to keep the yeast settled.
This was a pretty funky beer on the nose with some mild lactic sour notes. Lots of hay / horse blanket with a little citrus tinge at the end. The taste was much more mellow in terms of sourness than I expected from the smell. I found this much more dry than I would expect from a faro. The head retention and lacing were awesome for the style. Overall very enjoyable.
Next round I went a little more adventurous; Cantillon / De La Senne collaboration brew called Zwarte Piet. As far as I know Moeder Lambic is the only place this beer can currently be purchased. Of course because this is a fairly limited one-off, the bottle came with no label. 'Black Peter' is a mix between a lambic and a stout. I little strange no doubt but how could I not give this a try.
This beer looks like a light bodied stout. Black with brown around the edges, plentiful carbonation and a really nice off-white to beige, foamy head. Lacing is killer. Looks more like a stout than a lambic. Sour up front on the nose with a little roasted malt at the end. The taste is similar with acidity and sourness at the start followed by roasty coffee and chocolate notes. For some reason this reminds me of a Cascadian Dark Ale (or black IPA or whatever you want to call it)....must be the contrast. Pretty different but very drinkable.
The real hidden gem on the bottle menu is the Wadesda #1 from De La Senne. Apparently a cross between a lambic and a triple. If you have access to this beer you should get some and horde it.
This legit tastes like a mix. The smell is literally half triple and half sour lambic. Amazing flavor. Very hard to describe but it is deadly drinkable, watch out for this one. This is a sparse review but all I can say is wow, so good.
Go to Moeder Lambic, drink beer there. There are actually two locations. See info:
Moeder Lambic Original
68 rue de Savoie, 1060 Brussels
Tel.: +32 2 544 16 99
Open from 04:00 P.M. until 03:00 A.M.
Moeder Lambic Fontainas
8 place Fontainas, 1000 Brussels
Tel.: +32 2 503 60 68
Open from 11:00 A.M. until 01:00 A.M.
(friday and saturday until 02:00 A.M.)
http://www.moederlambic.eu/
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