The Mad Brewer
24 Hours of Kim
November 3, 2000
24 Hours of Kim
Achel
Achilles
Angeric
Brugge
Brussels
Cantillon
De Dolle
De Fagnes
De Ryck
Gent
Hasselt
Heikant Beerlovers
Heikant
Kerkom
Lier
t' Smis
At the Duff we made several attempts to get a commemorative picture of Kim with the above post card strategically placed next to her open mouth. I know it's hard to believe, but she did not want to cooperate with this historical effort.
In case you didn't notice, Paul is a bit of a gamer, fascinated with gambling, actually. So where would we pass on the streets of Antwerp, but Las Vegas? Coincidence? I don't think so. All that is missing is the Elvis impersonator.
Did I mention that it was Kim's birthday? Of course it was. November the 3rd, to be exact. And as is customary in these, and all other parts of the civilized world, it calls for a celebration. The day started at 7 AM, with a trip to Oodenarde, to visit the De Ryke brewery. Of course, this required a short stop in the tasting room for a couple of brews, followed by a longer stop at the pub across the street to take it all in. After returning to Heikant, we enjoyed a very nice 1991 Cantillon Motzart, courtesy of Fons. It's 100% Raspberry Framboise, tart, very aromatic, and dry. Yum.
We followed up of the Framboise with a Hansens Gueuze, which was tart, but not as dry. Then it was off to Antwerp for dinner. Well, we needed to stop for refreshment in a pub along the way, called "Paters Vaetje", which means "Father's Cask". Kim had a St Bernardus 12 (120 Bfr), at 9.5% an ideal seesion beer for her, with a sweet carmel flavor, alcoholic aftertaste, and a long finish. I had Judas (100 Bfr), and 8.5% blonde. As for dinner, it was quite good, but I forget the name of the restaurant. But I did not forget to go to the Kulminator for an after dinner drink or two.
Even though it was not my birthday, I brought my postcard for a free beer: Carmelite Tripel from the tap. A noticeable warming effect. Then a De Cam gueze, softer flavor than Cantillon, but very good aroma, lots of carbonation. Finally a McChouffe, dark brown, with a slightly sweet finish. It's getting late, the Kulminator is closing, so Dirk tries to give Paul directions to the Oud Arsenal. After 20 minutes of discussion, I start to get the feeling that we won't find our way to the end of the street, let alone to the pub. So we bade our farewell, and blazed a trail to the next pub. Which was closed.
Well, it was 2 AM, so you have to expect these things. The important thing is that Paul actually found the Oud Aresenal, at least that was the story he told me. So what to do now? Well, there was a nice pub we passed a few minutes ago...So off to a local's flemish pub call Duff, just like the beer. We proceeded to drink, sing, and dance, until closing time, at 6 AM. Then a cab back to the train, where we all proceeded to fade. Make that double for Guy, who had to be pried out of his seat for our stop. I wish I had a picture of Lisette, laughing at all of us stumbling out of the train. Many thanks for the ride home, arriving at 7 AM, to conclude the 24 hours of Kim festival.
