Brugse Zot

For the Belgians beer is the national pastime, national obsession and national sport all rolled into one and, hence, it came as no surprise at all when my favourite Belgian, Kim Debree (local hairdresser and beer fanatic,) came up to me and told me that she knew of some beers that would absolutely blow me away. For Belgium, at least, having good beer is a matter of national pride. She gave me 3 beers, 2 of which were 75cl bottles, along with the branded glasses! She doesn't do things by halves!

The first of the 3 was one I have had before, but never before have I had it straight from the source. I've always managed to find bottles that have festered on dusty shelves, cravenly ignored by people who pass it up for more mainstream tipples. The beer I had before suffered for its travels and had waited around in the light for too long to be spectacular... It was still a gorgeous drink, but this, THIS isn't how I remember that drink tasting.

Brugse Zot, as you can guess from the title... I'm not altogether sure why I was trying to create suspense by withholding the name, is a light coloured, heady, smooth, vision of a beer that has a slight crispness and tastes like malted bread and butter pudding. This is easily at the benchmark for excellent light beer that the people of Munich set and, I believe, is up there with the very best ones (though what the best ones are is a matter of personal taste... Augustiner and Hofbrau. If you disagree then you are wrong.) I remember going to Brussels when I was young and, to my deepest chagrin, only tried 2 beers. I was on a politics school trip, so heavy drinking was frowned upon but not altogether impossible. I had Palm, which I love to this day, and a pils called Maes. I remember thinking that Maes was intensely drinkable but it is absolute pond water compared to this!

Brugse Zot, Zot meaning fool, is anything but foolish. To me it seems to be extremely well thought out, all the way from the fine 2 to 3 fingers of head that sticks to the side of the glass like a shoal of barnacles. It is sweet, sometimes bready, smooth and delicious. A perfect drink to whittle away any evening with. I know, from experience, that this is not the most complex beer the Belgians have to offer but if you just want a lovely, light, drink with some friends then there is no better social lubricant than this.

Food Suggestion: Moules Mariniere! A classic pairing of Belgian beer and Belgian food. Coincidences don't just happen! This would work well with something creamy and buttery with a little something to cut through it and take it to another level. Oh! And some big hunks of crusty brown bread with sea salt and butter! Do it! You know you want to!

Drink this if you like: Curious Brew or any of the Munich 6, I rate it, on a scale involving beers that you can just sit down and drink for days, as high as I rate those.