Friday, September 10, 2010

Not In Bruges


Last weekend my parents and brother were down for the Skyride - as good a reason as any to try the bottle of Brouwerij Strubbe's Leireken Wilde Vruchten that's been lurking at the back of our fridge for months. I picked it up on our last visit to Paris, when Strubbe's brewer was giving tastings at Cave รก Bulles. His intent, he said, was to create a 'fruit beer which appeals to those that don't like fruit beer'. Well, that's me alright. At the time the brewer looked a bit puzzled when I said it was 'peppery' but some tastings on Ratebeer seem to back me up.

Half a year in storage seems to have changed the flavours markedly - after a sweet, clean nose there were distinct hits of bubblegum, strawberry, cherry and sherbert. Somebody said "moon dust", the popping candy which was once rumoured to give you brain damage. Another gulp brought herbs and even a bit of beetroot and asparagus, all terminating in a slightly sour finish with a backdrop of that original, but fainter, peppery-ness. Odd stuff this - Belgian eccentricity which brought to mind Mary Poppins' magic sweets with a different taste in every suck.

Would I have it again? Probably. But not for a while, eh?

4 comments:

Affer said...

I like fruit beer - not all the time, but when I want something less.....err, beery! I read that Sam Smith make one now which I suppose shouldn't be a surprise. But is!

TIW said...

I think their fruitys are done at Melbourn Brothers in Stamford. If I remember correctly (and I probably don't) this used to be a brewing museum that SS resurrected as a brewery just for this purpose. You can never tell for certain with Sam Smiths though. Such an unusual and often mysterious company.

Scooteria Paulista said...

Nice blog, I'm glad to know it. Beers, Football and Classic Scooters are the best things in the world. sorry my english, I'm learning. Cheers from Sao Paulo, Brasil.

Fidelis
http://scooteriapaulista.blogspot.com

TIW said...

Hello Scooteria Paulista,

Thanks very much for visiting. I've been a bit neglectful of my scooters recently, but I hope to have some updates soon. I'll be reading your blog with the help of Google Translate!

Safe riding!