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Thursday, April 15, 2010

Day 105 Drink: Straffe Hendrik Bruges Triple Ale


The Halve Maan Brewery is in the amazing Belgian city of Bruges. I was lucky enough to visit the brewery with my daughter, Brittany, in 2002 and have a beer fresh off the tap.

Bruges is a bit like a European time capsule. When it comes to development, things pretty much stopped in the West Flanders city about 400 years ago. The city used to be a major commercial trading center, but when the Zwin channel filled with silt, Antwerp became to dominant port.

City records first mention the brewery in 1546. It has been operated by the Maes-Vanneste family since 1856. Straffe Hendrik Bruges Triple Ale is a 9 percent alcohol by volume beer that pours a golden color with a thin white head. The nose has a slight orange citrus touch. The flavor opens up on your tongue and is very lively. Citrus, slight banana and a finishing sweetness all come together very nicely.

1 comment:

Steve said...

Great beer. I just had one of these for the first time a couple of weeks ago at Brasserie Beck in D.C. It went very well with the Belgian mussels I was eating.