| The
Quest for the Holy Grain - Best Beer Bars |
| Belgium |
 |
 |
A la Mort Subite The Mort. A restaurant and beer bar with long communal tables that can hold scores of thirsty patrons. Imagine the conversations here over the past eighty-plus years. Sit in one of the Mort's well-worn chairs and feel the history seeping through your ass. Better yet, drink from the six taps of house beers: gueuze, faro, kriek, framboise, peche and lambic blanche. We made several stops here and tried them all. All very good, except the peche which was better; one of the very best on-tap beers of any style we have ever tasted. Seriously. Period. Get over your girly-beer fears and sip this liquid peach of a brew. You may never go back to whatever goofy hop bomb you've been swilling.
|
 |
Delirium Cafe We found the Delirium Cafe off an alley (Impasse de la Fidelite) about mid-day. We went downstairs; floors above would open later. It was not busy, rather quiet. I saw taps - 14 in all - nice. In my best Questing-voice I asked if there was a beer list. "What language?" came the question. English would be fine, thanks. Now I knew we were in trouble. The list is a 233-page soft cover book (had to have it - 5 Euros). Ya see, according to our bartender, this place guarantees that the number of different beers on-hand and chilled will at least equal the current year. That would be 2,010 on our visit. Not to worry; we were told there were about 2,500 in the cooler if we were up to it. Where to begin? Ah, a Silly Pink Killer on-tap to start (and a few more later). Then, what's this, Cookie Beer? Gotta have that - served with a cookie, but not a repeat. And so it went. After an hour we met a young American couple doing the continental tour thing. Later another couple from Long Island joined in. There were rounds and rounds of never-before-tasted beers with too many consonants in their names for a Georgia boy to pronounce. The place turned jack hammer loud and packed like a rush-hour subway. My last legible note said something about this being a required ticket punch for all Questors. PS - It was very dark outside when we climbed those steps back to the alley. Very, very dark. PPS - Although you must walk the Rue des Bouchers to get to the Delirium Cafe's alley, avoid the rip-off restaurants that line both sides of the street.
|
 |
 |