Cheese and Beer
No matter if it tastes subtle or strong; it's been a long time cheese has shown that it wonderfully blends with wine...
But it also perfectly blends with all kinds of our Belgian lambics. The lambic is composed of 35% of raw wheat and 64% of malted barley and 5 g. dried hops (three years old) per litre of beer. Then they pump the beer into oakwood or chestnutwood barrels for a period of 1 to 3 years. There are many kinds of lambics : some are bitter (Gueuze), some are fruity with a touch of Schaerbeek cherries (Kriek), or of apricots, among a lot of others... From then on, Comté cheese and Cantillon lambics obviously go together and form a perfect union, as complementary as exquisite.
Gueuze and Indevilliers
The Gueuze, a brew of May, is a blend of one-, two-and three-year-old lambics. Russet blonde, it presents a distinct acidity in the mouth followed by a bitterness that is reminiscent of chicory. The Indevilliers makes the Gueuze a little friendlier, softens its acidity and almost does away with its bitterness.
Fou' Foune and Narbief
The Fou' Foune is a two-year-old lambic in which Bergeron apricots macerate for six weeks. A touch acid, refreshing, one can discern a hint of the apricot kernel in it. As for the Narbief, this is an initiation to the pleasures of forbidden fruit. It still smells of milk, and is ready to be crunched with any passing fruit.
Bruoscella Grand Cru and Bief du Fourg matured at Fort Saint Antoine
This lambic results from a selection of the most vinous, the softest and fullest of beers. It is non-fizzy and dark blonde, scented with orange and apricot peel, hardly sweetened, slightly enhanced with sweet spices. The cheese offsets the bitterness of the beer and hints at touches going from chocolate ice-cream to the refreshing quality of the pine bud. Those successful unions, in which the actors go perfectly together and highlight each other, are just a summary of the great range you can test... Jenny Poelaert (St.)
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