Artevelde Gentse Leute

On our first afternoon in Ghent, the Bitter Wife and I popped into Stadsbrouwerij Artevelde to rest our feet and wet our whistles. The place was stylish, with comfortable seating and Dire Straits on the stereo, so we felt instantly at ease.

I selected a Belgian blonde called Artevelde Gentse Leute. The beer, served on tap at the brewery, is a 6.2% top fermented ale. It’s a lovely orange-gold pop with a healthy crown of bright white foam.

The Gentse Leute has yeasty, fruit-forward aromatics, with notes of sweet apple and fig. The flavour has characteristic Belgian yeast, with some spice and sweetness knotted together. Very little bitterness in this one, but it had a mellow (the Bitter Wife called it “fluffy”) texture.

A decent first touch at Artevelde, Gentse Leute was a decent little ale that left me satisfied and intrigued.

Rating: 7.0 out of 10.

Tripel D’Anvers

After a late night meal in Brussels with new friends, the Bitter Wife and I hit up a convenience store near our hotel and I came home with a bottle of Stadsbrouwerij De Koninck’s Tripel D’Anvers. The effervescent blond ale comes from Antwerp in 330mL bottles, weighing in at 8% alcohol. 

Tripel D’Anvers is a dull golden ale with loads of carbonation. It has a warm, yeasty aroma with notes of clove and banana. The flavour, too, has over-ripe banana notes, in addition to some citrus, spice, and a rowdy yeast profile and a fizzy texture. Perhaps a touch too sweet, but otherwise satisfying.

The fact that this low-key beauty is available at 11:30 PM at a dingy tobacconist is a truly remarkable facet of visiting Belgium.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10.

New Limburg Belgian Blonde

I was recently in Norfolk County, Ontario for a buddy's wedding. First thing I did on arrival was to look up craft breweries, and I found a few. The first I hit up was New Limburg Brewing Company, located in Nixon, Ontario. I picked up 500mL bottles of their six regular brews, including their Belgian Blonde, a Belgian-style blonde ale.

At 7.3%, BB packs a hearty punch. It's a very cloudy golden brew and it pours with a cloudy white head. It has  a potent yeasty nose backed with something a bit spicy. The flavour, too, is quite yeast-driven. As well, there are a few banana notes, and some boozy heft. The finish is quite dry.

Pretty solid offering from a neat little brewery, Belgian Blonde was well worth picking up. Flavourful and strong, but the back end could have used a bit more oomph.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10.