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In De Verzekering Tegen De Grote Dorst (Insurance Against
The Large Thirst), A truly great Pajottenland bar that specialises in Lambic and its derivatives: Gueuze, Kriek, etc; most aptly, its registered trade mark is "Het huis van de geuze" (The House of Gueuze)
The above photos were taken in September, 2005. The one on the left, of the exterior of this very special bar, was taken by John White. Just coming out of De Dorst are Lorenzo (Kuaska) Dabove, see above, and fellow Italians, Angelo Primoselli and Gabriele Branchini (behind Lorenzo). De Dorst was one stop on a tour of the Pajottenland; click here for details of the tour. The photo, above right, of Yves Panneels and John White, was taken by Angelo. Yves has a glass of Girardin Oude Gueuze 1882; I have its bottle in its serving basket. It will be clear from the introductory write-up associated with the photo at the top of this page that this is no ordinary bar. Although it has some "conventional" Speciality Beers from Belgium, it promotes the beers for which the area in which it is to be found is world famous, i.e. the Pajottenland (Payottenland in English), an area to the South and SW of Brussels. This is renowned in the Specialty Beer world for the production of an ancient beer style: Lambic and its derivatives - Gueuze/Geuze and Beers derived from steeping fruit in Lambic, such as Kriek (Cherries). Lambic is a spontaneously fermented beer, i.e. it is particular air-borne wild yeasts, unique to this area, that convert wort, the sugar solution produced in the brewing process, into alcohol and carbon dioxide (CO2) gas. For conventional beers, their alcohol and CO2 are produced using yeast that is added to the wort at the fermentation stage. Twenty-eight Lambic derivatives are listed in De Dorst's menu, the following prices being January, 2006 for 37.5cl bottles, unless indicated otherwise: Girardin Oude Lambic and Kriekenlambik van 't vat (i.e. on draught, at €2 per glass; Girardin Gueuze 1882 Black (€3) and White Label (€2.50), Kriek 1882 (€3), and Framboise (€3.50); Mort Subite Oude Gueuze (€3); Oude Geuze Boon (€2.50); Boon Oude Kriek (€4); Boon Oude Gueuze Mariage Parfait (€3.50); De Cam Oude Gueuze (€4) and Oude Kriek (€4); Cantillon Gueuze 100% Lambic (€3.50) and Kriek 100% Lambic (€4); Oud Beersel Oude Gueuze (€3) and Oude Kriek (€3.50); Moriau Oude Gueuze (€3.50) (from Boon); Hanssens Oude Gueuze (€3) and Kriek(€3); and 3 Fonteinen Oude Gueuze (€3) and Schaarbeekse Kriek (€16 (75cl)). There are also "Eén Meter Tegen de Grote Dorst" (A Metre against the Large Thirst) at €26 (half metre at €16), which is described as a "standard" assortment of Gueuze and Kriek (other selection are available on request at different prices). On the visit with the Podge group, we were first served two rarities from the defunct Eylenbosch Brewery: a 1987 Faro Extra; and a 1987 Gueuze. Note that the Oud Beersel Lambics available are the ones produced by the place that closed down in 2002, but no doubt they will stock the ones from the reincarnation of it, by Gert Christiaens and Roland de Bus, that produced Lambic in 2006, initially, at Boon, in, Lembeek; click here for more details. There are eight other Speciality Beers, including: Duvel, Westmalle Dubbel and Tripel and Orval, all at €2.20 (February, 2006). The Dutch-language menu has much information on Lambic Beers, including how to look after them, should you want to take some home, or order on-line. De Dorst's criteria for selecting the beers sold are given along with star ratings for each beer, these following a summary list of the Lambics available. These are mainly the ones quoted in Tim Webb and Podge's Lambicland Lambikland or Tim's Good Beer Guide Belgium, see below, which can be purchased on the premises, along with T-Shirts. For beers not included in these books, Yves has supplied his own ratings. Most of the Lambics on the list are of the most authentic kind, but Yves has one or two on the list for those who just can't take the sourness of tradional Lambics, so that ,as well as the already mentioned Mort Subite Oude Gueuze (four stars), there is also the filtered, sweetened, Mort Subite Gueuze (one star) (€2.50) and Mort Subite Kriek, this having the description "Zoete kriek voor de (nog) niet ingewijden" (Sweet Kriek for those not (yet) devotees). With regard to buying Lambics for drinking at home, De Dorst's "Het Huis van de Geuze" ("La Maison de la Gueuze", "The House of Gueuze") is a shop selling Lambics, at the place itself or from its website. Genevers, at €2 (February, 2006) include Lenniks Poireke. This is a pear-flavoured Genever (Perenjenever) produced for Huis Vossen, an excellent Wine and Spirits Merchants in Lennik (Alfred Algoetstraat 2B, tel 02 532 42 20, www.huisvossen.be). Huis Vossen has the alternative name of "Huis met de perebomen" (House with the Pear Trees), indeed the label shows a building with pear trees growing in front of it. To take out, this is €15 a 75cl bottle. De Dorst is in the 2005-6 edition of Bob Hendrickx's 332 Originele Cafés in Vlaanderen (www.bloggen.be/originelecafes). With the latest version of this book in hand one typically gets a second beer free in most of the bars featured. The free drink in De Dorst is draught Oude Lambik or Kriekenlambik. Further details of this essential book can be found on another White Beer Travels Web page, which can be reached by clicking here. During my first visit, in August, 2003 visit, with a group, see above, we were served a very nice meal consisting of soup followed by a cold buffet, which was pre-arranged for the group. Without booking in advance, food is limited to Chocolate Bars and Crisps (which are Chips in Dutch), plus the packet Soep listed with the Tea, Coffee, and Chocolade (Hot Chocolate). In the main bar there is a stone floor and an old stove. On the walls there is a growing collection of old beer plaques, but see below. The outside gents urinal is quite famous, being extremely primitive and in the open air, see www.urinal.net/dorst.
The above two photos were taken by John White, in September, 2005. In the one on the left, Lorenzo Dabove is showing his book, Le birre, to a famous Belgian photographer, Ronald (Rony) Heirman, who happened to be in De Dorst on our visit. In the background are cyclists, who are members of ATF De Echte Geuzen (www.deechtegeuzen.biz) (ATF = Alle Terrein Fietsersclub (Mountain Bike Club). Above them on the wall, was the photo on the right, which shows members of their club, taken some time ago. Madrid resident, Rony has a Canon EOS 20D digital camera. Looking on is Yves; the bottle pointing at him is a magnificent 1984 Gueuze, from Eylenbosch Brewery, which, despite closing in 2001, De Dorst, as can be seen, has the correct glasses for. This was followed by a 1987 Eylenbosch Faro, which was also top class. Rony is a friend and works closely with the famous Belgian Museum curator, Jan Hoet, formerly of the renowned Museum of Contemporary Art (Stedelijk Museum voor Actuele Kunst) (S. M. A. K.) (www.smak.be), in Ghent, but now with an important museum in Germany, that opened in 2005, Marta Herford, www.marta-herford.de; the latter website includes some of Rony's photos. Note that presently, Insurance Against The Large Thirst, opens when there is a service on at the St Ursula Church (Sint-Ursulakerk), i.e. on Sundays between 10am and 1.30pm. It also opens on National Holidays, and for funerals, etc. Note that, as already stated, the place is in Lennik as far as the post office is concerned, but the church, which is just across the road, is in Eizeringen! An excellent website, Eugeen Coen's "Een Reis Door Het Pajottenland" (A Journey Through The Pajottenland), is linked to from De Dorst's Links page; click here to see it. On this Dutch-language site's Home page, click on Eureka Horeca for a list of interesting looking bars and eating establishments in the Pajottenland. The Night of Large Thirst (De Nacht van de Grote Dorst) This is an event, that was born out of what was initially going to be a one-off event, in March, 2004, the full details of which are given below, along with some information from the follow-up event in 2006. Its alternative title is The International Gueuze and Kriek Festival (Het Internationale Geuze- En Kriekfestival) (www.nachtvandegrotedorst.be, Bookmark). On this night, there is a good selection of Lambic derivatives available. It is a bi-annual event, alternating with an event run by HORAL (www.horal.be), which is an organisation, set up in 1997, by Armand Debelder, of the Brouwerij (Brewery) 3 Fonteinen (www.3fonteinen.be). Clearly, this organisation promotes Lambic beer, i.e. it stands for "Hoge Raad voor Ambachtelijke Lambikbieren", which in English is the "High Council for Artisanal Lambic Beers". The event in question is called the Toer De Geuze, the next one being on Sunday, the 22nd of April, 2007, when the following places can be visited: Boon (www.boon.be), in Lembeek; De Cam (www.decam.be), in Gooik; De Troch (www.detroch.be), in Wambeek; Mort Subite (formerly called De Keersmaeker) (Scottish Courage Alken-Maes (SCAM)), in Kobbegem; 3 Fonteinen, in Beersel; Oud Beersel (www.oudbeersel.com), in Brersel; Hanssens Artisanaal (www.proximedia.com/web/hanssens.html), in Dworp; Timmermans (www.john-martin.be), in Itterbeek; and Lindemans (www.lindemans.be), in Vlezenbeek. In other words, all HORAL members, apart from Girardin, in Sint-Ulriks-Kapelle. A ticket that allows a tasting at all eight locations cost €5. or €10, the latter including coach transportation between each venue. See the HORAL website, www.horal.be, for more details. There is much cooperation between HORAL and De Dorst, so that on the Sunday of the Toer De Geuze, De Dorst is open all day. Furthermore, HORAL is the co-organiser of De Nacht van de Grote Dorst (The Night of Large Thirst). As per the 2004 and 2006 events, there is full support for the 2008 Night of Large Thirst from the local community and its Mayor, and the police (from the "zone Pajot"). After the 2004 event there are two marquees, with the brewers/blenders split between the two, as many more attendees were expected (who duly arrived) once the word spread about the marvellous 2004 one, when there was just one marquee. Of course, lessons are learnt from each festival, for example, in 2006, one marquee became very muddy underfoot, so for subsequent festivals, wooden boarding wil be put down. For the event, information on accommodation is provided on the festival website. Note that on the night of the event, beer is not actually served in the pub's bar itself, i.e. to quote the organisers, the event takes place "Op het pleintje van Eizeringen" (on Eizeringen's [Little] Square); the pub itself simply is not big enough to handle the numbers of people who attend the event. The brewers and blenders are typically in the marquees serving their beers. All the HORAL members, see the previous paragraph, are represented. Note that the timing of The Night of Large Thirst is superb, as the next day is the first day of the two-day Zythos Beer Festival (www.zbf.be), Belgium's best beer festival, which is covered in a White Beer Travels Web page that can be reached by clicking here. Also on the Saturday, there is an Open Brew Day, at Cantillon (www.cantillon.be), these being wonderful, world-class, and absolutely don't-miss. Cantillon and its Open Brew Days are covered in a White Beer Travels Web page that can be reached by clicking here. Naturally, there will be a White Beer Travels Group Beer Hunt at this time, to cover these three events. This is covered on the Future Beer Hunts page. The Ibis Hotel, in Aalst (Villalaan 1, tel 053 71 18 19) offers a discount rate for the night of the festival and on the previous and the next night. To get this rate, quote "GEUZEFESTIVAL". Aalst, in East Flanders (Oost-Vlaanderen), has a good number of very good bars; it is close to Eizeringen. Click here for a White Beer Travels Web page covering Aalst.
If coming by bus, the nearest bus stop is on the N8 national road from Brussels to Ninove, the bus being a De Lijn (www.delijn.be, click here for a White Beer Travels Web page giving details of how to use this Dutch-language site) one from Brussels to Ninove, the number 128. Note that the 126 and 127 buses also go between Brussels and Ninove, but do not stop near De Dorst. The timetable for the 128 bus can be loaded from De Dorst's website and De Lijn's site, or you can click here to get it. The journey typically takes forty-two minutes from the terminus stop in Brussels (Gare du Nord/Noordstation) or thirty-two minutes from a stop in the city centre, on rue des Halles/Hallenstraat, which is near De Brouckère/De Brouckere Metro station. The cost is €1.80, or €1 per person for a group of five or more (March, 2004). Note that, for some reason, there are three 126/127 and 128 stops on the short rue des Halles, but the bus tends to stop at the one at the Western, rue du Marché aux Poulets (Kiekenmarkt), end of it. En route, it passes the former Belle Vue Brewery. The required stop in Eizeringen (well on the edge of Eizeringen) comes a few minutes after leaving Schepdaal, the first one after crossing the N285 national road; it is around 300 metres/yards from De Dorst. After leaving the bus, cross the N8 (called Ninoofsesteenweg) and go down Luitenant Jacopsstraat (this can be seen running North to South on the top left of the map on De Dorst's website (follow the "Quo vadis?" link), on both sides of the N8/Ninoofsesteenweg). Take the second left (the first left is called Carnaalstraat) onto the required Frans Baetensstraat. De Dorst is on the left just before the church in Eizeringen. One can also get off at the stop just before the N285, which is called "Eizeringen Kruispunt". After getting off here, cross the N285 and take the next left, Boschstraat, which soon leads to the required street, with De Dorst on the right. The last bus back to Brussels is 23.18, but this may be very popular (the earlier ones go at the same time past the hour) (2006 times). On the map page just mentioned, there are instructions on how to get to De Dorst by road. The nearest railway station is Ternat, a short taxi ride away; it is advisable to book these in advance, De Dorst having a recommended number. Train times can be obtained from www.b-rail.be. The last direct one is 22.26, and there is one at 22.35, which requires a change of train (2006 times). Note that for the 2006 event there wil be a free-of-charge bus service provided by the event organisers, which will pick up Ternat station and return peopel to it. This service will also be provided for Sint-Martens-Lennik, Sint-Kwintens-Lennik, Gooik, OLV-Lombeek and Pamel. Fire in De Dorst and follow-on Special Event: The Night of Large Thirst (De Nacht van de Grote Dorst) It was very sad to learn of the fire that took place in De Dorst on the early hours of Christmas Day, 2003, in which four rare Lambic brewery/blender plaques were destroyed. These can be seen in the photo on the above right, which was taken by Steve Watson, a couple of days before the fire, in December, 2003; it features Yves Panneels with his twins. The fire was in the stove that is featured in both the photos; the one on the left was taken by John White, in March, 2004. Yves has been able to find replacements for the Heyvaert Vieux Kriek and the Caves Brueghel plaques, but not the two Van Der Perre Gueuze ones. Yves would be very grateful to know the whereabouts of repalcements for these; his contact details are on De Dorst's website. Thankfully, there was a determination that the very special place would survive. Indeed, the event which resulted from it, has not only guarantee the future of the place, but played a big part in the survival of Lambic itself; this is truly how important the event became, as will be quite evident from the description of it that follows. Part of the event was an auction, see below; early contributions can be seen on the right of the left hand photo. It is clear how much the place is regarded in the Specialty Beer world and by the producers of artisanal Lambic beers, when one learns of the special event that was organised at the place, as a result of the fire: "The Night of Large Thirst" (De Nacht van de Grote Dorst). This took place, in March, 2004, on the evening before the first day of the 2004 Zythos Beer Festival, in Sint-Niklaas, click here for a White Beer Travels Web page giving further details of this superb, world-class festival. For the special event, in the pub itself, there was a tutored tasting of five Lambics and derivatives by Lorenzo (Kuaska) Dabove, see above and below, a breweriana auction organised by the Burgundian Babble Belt message board, see below, and outside, in a heated marquee, the Pajots bierproeversfestival (Pajottenland Beer Tasting Festival), which featured live music. This Lambic Beer Festival included a HORAL stand, manned by HORAL's founder, Armand Debelder, see above. There were also beer on sale from stands, some of which were manned by HORAL members, also see above: 3 Fonteinen; Brouwerij Boon; Geuzestekerij (Gueuze Blender) De Cam; Brouwerij De Troch; Geuzestekerij Hanssens; Brouwerij Lindemans; Mort Subite (formerly called De Keersmaeker); and Brouwerij Timmermans. Non-HORAL member, at the time, Brouwerij Girardin, also had a presence; in April, 2004 they joined HORAL. Also represented was a Pajottenland Products Shop, the excellent, must-visit Streekproductencentrum (Regional Products Centre) (www.streekproductencentrum.be), from Halle, who had beers on sale from the defunct Oud Beersel, which ceased production in late 2002 (but was resurrected in 2005 by Gert Christiaens and Roland de Bus, who, in 2006, produced Lambic, at Boon, and, hopefully, in the future in Oud Beersel, and will produce Gueuze and Kriek from it, see www.oudbeersel.com), and non-HORAL members, Cantillon (www.cantillon.be, White Beer Travels Web page), from the Anderlecht suburb of Brussels. The Streekproductencentrum, along with 3 Fonteinen and Hanssens, are covered in detail in a White Beer Travels guide to the Pajottenland which is available from the Downloads page. There was a Frites stall outside the marquee, and Hot Dogs were available inside; as stated above, De Dorst does not ordinarily do food.
The above two photos, which were taken by Joyce White, at the special event, in March, 2004, feature John White, with: on the left, Steve Beaumont, the well-known Canadian Beer Writer, who has the famous "World of Beer" website, worldofbeer.com, and is the author of Stephen Beaumont's Great Canadian Beer Guide; and, on the right, Danny Van Tricht, who has an excellent website covering Trappist Beer, www.trappistbier.be. Other beer writers present included Tim Webb, of Good Beer Guide Belgium fame. In fact, Tim made a speech during the evening, as did Kuaska, and others such as Yves Panneels and Armand Debelder, the HORAL Chairman. Note that we are all holding HORAL glasses in the two photos above. Yves and Armand, were also interviewed for Belgian TV, see a photo of Yves's interview below left, which was taken by John White. One should not enter Belgium without Tim's Good Beer Guide and, likewise, one should not venture into the Pajottenland without the truly excellent LambicLand LambikLand, a May, 2004 book on Lambic brewers, blenders and bars, that includes details on how to get to them. It is co-written by Tim and Podge. More details are to be found on Tim's "books about beer" website, www.booksaboutbeer.com, and in a White Beer Travels Web page featuring it. The book can be purchased from Tim's site along with his Good Beer Guide Belgium, which can also be purchased from CAMRA (www.camra.org.uk).
The event was sensational; there was a massive crowd of over 700 people. The picture above right, which was taken by John White, shows part of the crowd in the bar. On the right can be seen Americans Jan Williams and Fred Waltman, regular contributors to the Burgundian Babble Belt (www.babblebelt.com), a message board that covers Belgian Beer. It organised a breweriana auction at the event; the proceeds being used to support the Lambic brewers/blenders. Attendees included a Belgian Minister, see below, and Piet Vantemsche, Director-General of Belgium's Federal Agency for Food Safety (FAVV, www.favv.be), this being important for the survival of Lambic, as there is a controversy over wooden beams and barrels, from a food safety point of view, indeed, Piet is the boss of Dominique Dekeyser, the inspector whose visits to Lambic brewers/blenders has caused so much concern. Thankfully, the problem with the use of wooden barrels has been resolved, although there are some other issues to sort out, but the Lambic producers are having regular meetings with the FAVV. An interesting beer server was Dr Luc Beaucourt, who is a well-known promotor of not drinking and driving; clearly he sees no problem with Lambic and its derivatives, beers that are to be savoured and partaken of in small quantities. A superb time was had by all and they sampled some truly great beers. Further details, including the beers that were available can be obtained on the following Web page: drink.to/grotedorst. These beers were available on the night and to take-away. Subsequent to the event, the Minister who attended, Herman De Croo, the Chairman of the Belgian Federal Parliament and Minister of State, wrote to Yves Panneels about Kuaska's speech at the event, as follows: " ... I have already seen many things in my life, but the fact that a very skilled Italian beer connoisseur praises the beers of the Pajottenland in English to beer lovers from London and Washington, is unique ... ". Of course, comments like this from a Belgian Minister can only help the survival of Lambic. This single event will really help the survival of Lambic; it was a real tear jerker to see the huge crowd. What an important event this truly did turn out to be!
This special event thankfully led to a follow-up, in 2006, which was also truly marvellous. I just can't wait for the 2008 event. Apart from its importance with regard to saving Lambic, the event is also a superb place to sample an unprecedented number of world-class beers. One also meets up with both the brewers and blenders but also visitors from around the globe. The above two photos were taken by White Beer Travels Beer Hunt Regular, brewing technologist, Chris Marchbanks, at the March, 2006 event. In the one on the left, I am renewing acquaintances with Frank Boon. It is wonderful bumping into Frank, as he is always willing to answer questions on Lambic, and a couple of technical points on Lambic were niggling me, which Frank gave very detailed and interesting responses to. In the photo on the right I am with a group from Finland.
John White (1945-), |
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