For the three days prior to Ash Wednesday towns in the southern Netherlands celebrate Carnival. It is basically a three-day-drunk filled with crazy costumes and bizarre behavior. So I took the four hour train ride south in order to get a taste of the madness.
While the madness of Carnival was very tasty, the beer being pilfered on the streets was not so great. A 250ml glass of Bavaria Lager will only get me so far. In proper form I took to the web to see what the geeks were saying about Maastricht. Take One was at the top of the list and deservedly so.
This place is a cozy little cafe located on the east bank of the River Maas. Owned by a husband and wife team, Take One has been serving top shelf beer in Maastricht for more than 25 years. The walls of the cafe are literally coated in beer related signs, posters, lights and clocks. A long bar with a string of taps runs from the door back to a comfy seating area. The on-tap and bottle menu are written on a marker board behind the bar.
This isn't a place that has popped-up due to the growing enthusiasm of the craft beer scene. The owners and locals that frequent Take One are serious beer lovers and the beer knowledge in this little cafe is enormous.
In fact, I think the most enjoyable part of this place was the company that filled the bar stools. All the locals here were very enthusiastic to have so many international visitors and they were by far the friendliest people I have met in Europe. There are not too many bars on this continent where the locals will buy you a glass of beer and have you in stitches with their jokes. Top notch. Special shout-out to Jack, Tom and Camille (see pic below-right) for really making our visit a blast.
The beer selection at Take One is also fantastic. There was no problem finding beers that I had never tried of even heard of before. One particularly great (and apparently underrated IMHO) triple that I tried was the Kempisch Vuur Tripel. Very clean with plenty of complexity. Fruity with some spice, a nice slightly sour citrus and a mouthfeel to die for. Looks pretty nice in the glass too.
I will leave you with a couple pics of Carnival. It was crazy. I'm not sure I could have mentally prepared myself for such debauchery even if I knew what to expect ahead of time. I wish everyone had the opportunity to experience one of these events at least once in their lives. Truly joyous.
Info:
Take One Beer Cafe
Rechtstraat 28
6221EJ Maastricht
043-3216423
http://www.takeonebiercafe.nl/index.php
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