An immediately recognisable brand, Liefmans has gained a reputation for brewing world class beer, and the Goudenband is no different. First known as Ijzereband which translates to Iron Band as a reference to the band around the beer barrel, it later changed its name to Goudenband, meaning Gold Band. One of the most distinctive dark beers around, it is made by masterfully blending matured beer of 12 months with younger beer, to merge the complexity of old with the sharp edge of the new batch. This restarts the fermentation process, resulting in a beer brimming with quality. It appears dark red with notes of caramel, fresh fruits and malt on the nose.
The palate isolates hints of apple and cherry followed by wood with nuts and raisins to finish. This can be stored for years as it improves while it ages and in perfect conditions can be fresh after a decade or more. It can be paired with blue cheese as well as an excellent after dinner beverage just on its own.
Bacchus Kriek is a sour beer from family-owned Van Honsebrouck in West Flanders, Belgium. The brewery makes a range of beers in the local style of the region. Pouring an amber red, Bacchus Kriek is a full-bodied beer with an enticing, fruity aroma. Balanced on the palate with sweet and sour notes, it has a touch of rich caramel from the roasted malts and a kick of sour from Morello cherries. In fact, this beer is created with 15% cherries on a Bacchus Oudbruin base – the brewery’s original 1995 brew. Each bottle of Baccus Kriek is hand-wrapped in decorative paper. Buy Bacchus Kriek as a refreshing, thirst-quencher with 5.8% ABV and sweet and sour notes, perfect for cold desserts such as a Baked Alaska.
A version of Belgium’s “wild-fermented” wheat beer, which is the result of blending Lambic of “one summer” with old Lambic and chaptalized with candy sugar.Faro is an intriguing balance of wineyness and sweetness. This was probably the beer being served in Breugel’s paintings of Flemish Village Life.Faro is a delicious accompaniment of a whole assortment of desserts.
A sweet and fruity beer with a pleasant, fresh oak, sour after taste.Brewed with deep roasted barley malt and hops with a slight bitterness. After the primary fermentation and the second bearing, the beer undergoes a third fermentation of approximately 18 months in oak vats. The tannins present in the oak give the beer its fruity character.After this, the ‘Duchesse’ is blended with younger from 8 months old. The result is a full and sweet flavour.A ruby red jewel of 6.2% which is best served between 8 and 12 degrees. A perfect beer!
Nowadays, Lambic on draught is hard to find. Only in a few pubs in and around Brussels you still can taste the curious sherry-like flavoured beer. Nevertheless, since 1880, Lambic was bottled to simplify transport but also for conservation properties. This method was the birth of Gueuze: Before the bottling of the Gueuze, a blend is made of 2/3 young Lambic and 1/3 old Lambic. The right ratio young/old is depending on the maturation degree (end attenuation) of each of them. The bottles, with the wild-spontaneous yeast flora, are refermented in the cellar (Method Champenoise).After 6 months the Gueuze obtains a golden colour and a cidery, winey palate; reminiscent, perhaps, of dry vermouth with a more complex and
natural flavour. It is often served as a happy hour drink in Brussels. It
is the traditional beer for carbonade, as well as a beautifully based
beverage with seafood or other salty meals. It is also delicious with cream sauces.
Bourgogne des Flandres Brune, produced at the legendary Timmermans brewery, benefits from a unique, ancient brewing technique known as ‘lambic infusion’. In this process, a selection of the best lambics is blended with a top-fermented brown ale. After months of maturation in oak barrels, the result is a full flavoured brown ale topped with a creamy foam.Similar to the Flemish brown ales, but without the acidity, with an aftertaste that draws attention to its distinguished character.
Petrus Aged Red is the perfect blending of a prizewinning dark beer, a beer
aged in oak barrels and the taste of sour cherries. The result is an
exceptional, complex ruby-red jewel which is sweet and sour at the same
time.
Petrus Old Brown beer is a blend of the brewery’s Aged Pale, aged for up to two years in huge oak casks, with a fresh dark beer. During this aging process, just like in wine, lactic acids develop. These acids are
responsible for the refreshing sourness in the taste. Only tasting on a
regular basis can tell the brewer when the beer is ready to come out of the oak barrels and to be blended with fresh brewed beer. This blend is then bottled.Petrus Old Dark ripens for 24 months in oak barrels, this gives its vinous, noble taste and slightly sour in character.
Welcome to the East Anglia CAMRA Regional Pub Of The Year and the Norfolk CAMRA County Pub Of The Year. Find us at 94 Blackfriars Road, Great Yarmouth. Postcode: NR30 3BZ. WhatThreeWords: ///hopes.spoken.richer
