Photoblog: Belgium - Beer, camping, rain, old tanks and F1

Seven of the guys set off to Spa with two goals in mind: watching some F1 racing at the best circuit in Europe and drinking some of the world's best beers, not necessarily in that order.

First stop Brouwerij St. Bernardus, just inside the Belgian border in Watou.

Marco Passerella, the marketing manager, arranged a tour of the brewery. A great host and full of useful information.

As on all good brewery tours, a sample or two was presented. A triple (above) and the Westvleteren-like Abt 12.

Negotiating some purchases before we left.

Next stop a little tavern on the way to Spa for food and of course more beer.  The driver's on the lighter stuff.

The passengers (soon to be asleep) on the slightly heavier beers.

 The next day in Spa: some ominous skies.

We got slightly wet on our walk back to the campsite.

Still, we were soon off to Achouffe to the Brasserie d'Achouffe and a glass of the Chouffe Houblen. Supposedly the original Belgian IPA, forerunner of Raging Bitch and Queboid perhaps? Regardless, probably my favourite beer of the weekend.

Other beers were consumed including a Royal Chouffe, which I think was La Chouffe with a large shot of Creme de Cassis.

The brewery tour was a slight disappointment when compared to the St Bernardus on the previous day. Still the Houblen was so good that two were downed in quick succession.

Beer was sourced for the evening at the campsite, including (possibly) my first taste of a Faro, a sweetened lambic with a complex sweet and sour taste. 

The next day at the circuit was a bit damp.

Some of the side races were interesting...this was the 500m pit to pit tyre pull.

The weather did eventually clear up.

Another night another beer or 5. Not sure what the toilet roll was doing on the table!

Next day, race day was much better weather wise.

Side races today included the 500m totter in red high heels, over the same course of the previous day's tyre pull. The main event was a good race: Vettel worthy winner, but barnstorming overtaking from Button gave us Brits something to cheer on.

 

We decamped to Mons for a final night in Belgium. Straight into a "Tanks in Town"  event.

Not unlike the UK, the beer choice in the restaurant was poor: Leffe was the the best choice, the rest being Carlsberg and Juplier. Still, tasted good after a long drive.

But some good beer was sourced back in the main square.

Maison De Brasseurs is an atmospheric little bar. A reasonable beer selection served well in the correct glasses. Worth a visit if you are in Mons.

Final day and back to Watou and a trip to Noel Cuvelier's Farm Shop. Noel is close to retirement and he doesn't normally open on Mondays, but we happened to arrive just as he was accepting a delivery, so he agreed to open the shop for 30 mins. 

Some people got excited by this news....

...others shopped. We spent 700 Euros in about 45 mins so I'm sure he was glad he opened.

Some of the beers: a surprising number of sour beers there. Still if I can't get IPA's I have to get by kicks somewhere.

Anyone heading to Belgium, go to Watou. The Brouwerij St Bernardus and Noel Cuvelier's Farm Shop are two must-see attractions for any beer fan.

Beer Recipe: Chilli Con Carne the Dredpenguin way.

Everyone knows how to make Chilli Con Carne.

Everyone thinks that their Chilli Con Carne is the best.

I'm no exception ;-)

Dredpenguin's Chilli Con Carne

Serves 6

INGREDIENTS:

500g Lean beef mince
2 Beef oxo cubes

Zest and juice of a lime

Pinch of dried chilli flakes

1 Tsp cumin seeds

1 Tsp dried oregano

1 Large onion finely chopped

1 Large garlic clove finely chopped or crushed
1 Tbsp hot smoked paprika (use sweet smoked paprika if you want to tone the heat down)

1 Tbsp mild chilli powder

Small dash of chipotle Tabasco sauce

Large dash of Worcestershire sauce

1 Bottle Ale. I'm using Adanam's East Green.

2 Tins chopped tomatoes

1 Tin kidney beans  in water (drained)

1 Tin kidney beans in chilli sauce

75g Dark chocolate broken into pieces
1Tbsp brown sugar


METHOD:

1: Over a high heat, dry fry the mince with the chilli flakes, cumin seeds and lime zest, in a large pan or wok, until browned.

2:  Add crumbled oxo cubes and the dashes of Tabasco and Worcestershire sauces. Continue frying for a minute or two.

3: Add the onions, garlic, oregano. Cook for a further 2 minutes then add the chilli and paprika and stir.

4:  Add the bottle of beer, it will foam nicely to start, stir well and scrape any caught caramelised bits from the bottom of the pan.

5: Cook the beer and mince mixture for about 5 mins until some of the beer volume has reduced.

6: Add the two tins of tomatoes and stir well.

7: Add the two tins of kidney beans and stir again.

8: Bring to rolling boil for 5 minutes.
9: Add the sugar
10: Reduce the heat to the lowest setting and gently cook for at least another 30 mins. The chilli will improve with longer cooking but remember to top up some water to ensure it does not catch on the bottom of the pan. You are looking for a thick sauce.

11: 10 minutes before serving add the chocolate and stir in well as it melts.
12: At flame out add the lime juice.

13: Taste (you were doing so all the way through, right?) and season if required. If it needs more heat add some more chipotle Tabasco.

SERVE:

Will eat well with rice, tacos, baked potatoes, even pasta (make the sauce a bit more liquid as the pasta will absorb some of the water and the dish will end up dry). For perfection serve with a big dollop of sour cream and some chopped coriander.

TASTING NOTES:
It should taste smoky, meaty, rich from the chocolate, sweet from the tomatoes and have both a good chilli kick and a slight sharpness from the lime.

BEER MATCH:
Goes down a treat with a nice strong IPA.

Photoblog: A Morning in the Rake.

Slightly off piste for my latest photoblog, on the back of some of my other photoblogs, Glyn asked me to come and take photos of the Rake Bar for their website. For obvious reasons I can't really put all the photos up here but here are a few of the out-takes. 

Nice sign - shame about the birdshit!

Chris and Daniel were the barmen for the day. Nice chaps and a good laugh...

...but perhaps not the most photogenic...

...any resemblance to Legolas is in the eye of a drunken hobbit.

When I arrived Glyn was working hard in his office.

 Some photos were nearly good....this one has the reflection of a pesky barman again!

The walls and posts are covered with some great stickers and posters.

However this one has been graffitied.  Can you spot where?

A decent shot, but it is keg lager so CAMRA would not approve.

The fridges in the Rake are things of joy and wonder....

...but the bottles don't look quite as good empty.

This is one of the most interesting shelves...except the Tusker perhaps.

One of the best beers around...and one of the worst taps.

 

 A delivery arrived mid morning with some awesome beers

and was used by some CAMRA regulars for an impromptu table...are you sure that is real ale, son?

"Oh well Glyn, I'm off to the Old Fountain" (true story)

The cellar makes for some interesting drops.

And some major pain to get the big kegs in.

A pigeon basking on the deck...right before Glyn aims a kick at it. (And missed before the animal-lovers out there get grumpy!)

Final couple of arty shots.

Good fun was had and some good pictures were taken, however these are being saved for the Rake website so won't appear here. Thanks to Glyn, Chris and Daniel. It was good to see how the bar runs for a few hours.