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Well I'm sorry to tell you all that you missed an absolutely brilliant weekend in Brussels.

I actually got my arse out of bed and down to the brewery for 6:30 in order to see the whole process from the start. We were given an English language tour and then allowed to roam free about the place.

The cast iron equipment, with mechanical devices driven by clunky giant clockwork contraptions was fascinating. Beer made the Wallace and Gromit way! The barrel stores, where the beer is fermented and aged for three years were everything I expected, with the smell of wood and sour beer everywhere.

The staff were very friendly even offering us a taste of wort straight from the grant. I wilted shortly after 10 and went back to my hotel for a nap.

Feeling refreshed, I met up with the others for lunch and we headed back to the brewery in time to see them filling the cool ship. Now that was an experience. Hot wort cascading into a shallow copper vessel as the air of Brussels wafts over it.

Before we left, a Friend in Mead treated us to a bottle of Rosé de Gambrinus as we sat by the old cast iron stove and watched them burn staves from barrels deemed beyond repair (we didn't manage to pinch any).

After that, it was time for TheBeerNut to demonstrate his encyclopaedic knowledge of Brussels watering holes where among other things, I enjoyed a sweet lambic from inbev, had my first taste of Westvleteren 12 and drank Orval from a skull.

The skulls of Orval were a real highlight for me <!-- s:D --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_biggrin.gif" alt="" title="Very Happy" /><!-- s:D -->

Yesterday Mrs Beer Nut and I got the tram down to Chez Moeder Lambic, which is a wonderful pub and I'd heartily recommend it: run by beer geeks for beer geeks. They have Cantillon Gueuze served from a beer engine and mix their own Faro in-house. Instead of nibbles with your beer they give out little dishes of malt. The menu marks every beer with a little logo designating it as "microbrewed", "independent/family", "trappist" and "industrial", because sometimes it's hard to tell in Belgium.

(Edit: Also, there should be a band called The Skulls of Orval.)

My God! The skulls weren't in La Cerceuil, were they?? Now THAT is a weird place!

Looking forward to the articles and photos already!

I'll have to make a special effort for the next trip. When is that? <!-- s:D --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_biggrin.gif" alt="" title="Very Happy" /><!-- s:D -->

&amp;quot;DrJohn&amp;quot;:2jsjtv5z wrote: The skulls weren't in La Cerceuil, were they??[/quote:2jsjtv5z]But of course. So you're a regular, I take it?

Dr. John on his way to Le Cercueil:

[img:mqsbj70t]http://i242.photobucket.com/albums/ff91/IrishCraftBrewer/goth.jpg[/img:mqsbj70t]