Jenna's Adventures in Germany!: Friday 1/20

**Sorry these pics got put up to the top and I couldn't figure out how to move them down.

Where the wort is cooled (at Cantillon)

Lambic beer stored in barrels

Friday started with a group walking tour of the city. It was very interesting; we saw the exact center of Belgium (which was marked by an obelisk inside a building that was closed), and the exact center of Brussels which you will see in the photo. The city center was pretty cool as well, all of the houses that represented different professions, and the capital building itself were all so cool. We climbed to the top of the “mountain” which is the highest point in Brussels. I don’t think they know what a mountain is here… There was a café in a museum at the top, which was 10 stories up. We went there and got some coffee. It was pretty awesome.

After the tour we went to Cantillon brewery. They brew lambic and gueze beer there and the process was similar to the other breweries that we have been to, but there were a few big differences. Once they have mashed and boiled the wort they cool it in a big square flat bath overnight. In order for the wort to cool to the appropriate temperature it needs to be a specific temperature outside. This is why they can only brew their beer in the winter season. They brew three times a week for only a few months, and their goal is usually to brew 31 times a season. The wort is inoculated in the cooling process due to the bacterias in the air, and then it is put into barrels where it is starts to spontaneously ferment, and where it will stay for up to 3 years. Lambic beer is kept in the barrels for three years or more, and gueze is a mixture of one year old lambic and three year old lambic. After the tour we were able to try some of their beer, which was very interesting. I had never tasted such a sour and fruity beer before, it tasted a lot like champagne. It was comparable to the beer that I had the night before, but still very different. It dried out my mouth, but not in a bad way. Lastly we tried a kriek which was a lambic mixed with cherry, which was good, but I think I liked the regular lambic better.

On the train back from Cantillon Gudrun, or professor, explained how she had gotten pick pocketed on the train and lost 200 euros (which she had just gotten from the bank), so sketchy. Turns out people wait outside of banks and follow people out until they find the right moment to pick pocket them. Now we are all very paranoid, and keeping our possessions close.

At night our group went to Delirium again, which was pretty fun. Downstairs was much more upbeat than upstairs. When I ordered my beer I said I wanted a blonde and wasn’t sure what type. He asked first “how bitter” and second “how much alcohol content,” which I thought was hilarious because I’d never hear that in the states. Met a couple of people who spoke English and we were all pretty excited to talk to other people here that could understand us. After the Delirium we went to this Irish pub that was awesome because there was a big dance floor upstairs.