Brussels- Drie Fonteinen
Our second day in Brussels Mr. T was feeling a lot better and actually left the hotel room. YAY!!! I had been so worried he would miss out on a trip to the countryside, more specifically to Drie Fonteinen, a brewery I was absolutely ecstatic about visiting.
Drie Fonteinen is about a 30 minute drive from Brussels in the center of Beersel. It began in 1887 as a geuzestekerij, a place where old and new lambics are blended together to produce geuze, and still operates as that today with the addition of a brewery to produce lambic.
We began our day in the Drie Fonteinen brasserie where the motto is "the ideal place to get away from it all and recapture the spirit of yesteryear". I have to say after about 10 minutes lounging in the garden staring at the gorgeous fourteenth century church out front I was definitely a million thoughts away from anything 2014 or NYC based.
The menu consisted of local Belgium dishes like a hearty Flemish Stew, Rabbit cooked in Geuze sauce and thick Cheese Croquettes served with a wedge of lemon and fried parsley. Everything tasted so homey and delicious...the kind of food that makes you all warm and happy inside.
Then we split of bottle of 1997 Oude Geuze. The bottle was old and dusty with a missing label but the beer was wonderful...bright fruity nose and lots of toasted sesame flavor.
Then we had the opportunity to tour the brewery itself and meet the owner Armand! Our guide showed us all the new equipment like the mash tun, boiling kettle and coolship, then down into the barrel room where we checked out some seriously awesome funky barrels.
Then we got to taste a one year old lambic they just brewed along with a special occasion Faro. We finished out the afternoon at the picnic tables out back basking in the glorious sunshine.
I told Mr. T if Armand asked me to stay on and blend geuze the rest of my life I would agree in a heartbeat. Of course he didn't offer, but this place really tugged at my heart strings. In a trip filled with complete and utter amazing moments this lazy afternoon in the countryside was one of the biggest highlights.
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