Friday began with a riverboat tour of Bamberg. It provided a different look at the architecture of the houses and buildings that line the riverbanks. After the tour a walk through the farmers market before a beer dinner at Cafe' Abseits in Bamberg. This restaurant has the largest list of beer in Bamberg including 6 beers made at the Weyermann malting house which is also located in Bamberg. During our dinner we met with local beer writers and a women's beer appreciation group called Barley's Angels all with the mission of furthering beer appreciation and education in this region.
Farmer's market in Bamberg
The houses on the river in Bamberg have not settled evenly. We noticed the ballconys have a slope.
Dinner at Cafe' Abseits had more than beer FYI, but having the beer made at Weyermann was a treat.
Saturday began with a train trip from Bamberg to Brussels with train changes in Weurzburg and Frankfurt. Eurail is definitely the way to travel. It's easy, affordable, and relatively fast and a great way to see the European countryside. A very civilized way to travel!
Station in Frankfurt
Our train to Brussels
Being in Brussels is like being a kid in a candy store for a brewer looking for inspiration, especially our first stop when we reached the city. As it is closed on Sunday, we quickly dropped our luggage and navigated our way to Cantillon Brewery. Cantillon is special because it is a lambic brewery. The lambic style is derived from natural fermentation when the wort (sweet liquid post boil) is set in a shallow "cool ship" and the airborne yeast inoculates the wort and spontaneous fermentation begins. The result is a very tart flavor and a musty aroma. Lambic breweries will often add fruit to the lambic beer for flavor while the sugars in the fruit may also cause a secondary fermentation. At Cantillon fruit is added to the barrel aging to create their Kriek (sour cherries added), Rose de' Gambrinus (framboise with raspberries added) and Fo Fum (apricots). We enjoyed this brewery and the beers immensely.
Our next adventure took us into the old city square and a search for dinner of Mussels and Frite's. Desert was a belgian waffle covered in belgian chocolate. Brussels is a fun city with high energy, buskers performing everywhere and restaurants and pubs open late into the night.
Today we explore a bit more here before heading to Brugge this afternoon.
Brewhouose at Cantillon
Barrel room at Cantillon
The good stuff coating the barrel at Cantillon
Kathy enjoying the lambic
The Manekin Pis was dressed to honor Portugal in traditional Portugese clothing today.
Night scene in Brussels
Enjoying the Geuze from Oud Beersel at the Delirium pub in Brussels.
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