A friend and I dropped into Ebenezer’s on Wednesday afternoon to see how the festival was going. The weather was perfect for a drive in the country, and we caught the bar in the quiet lull between lunch and dinner, with just a few other punters present.
Chris’ beer list guarantees that a short visit will be an exercise in frustration: how to pick just a few beers from a long list of rare, not to be missed gems.
Man with a dilemma - which beer is next ???
Lambics seemed a perfect start for a Summer afternoon, and the draught list included six Cantillons and a Boons. We started with the Cantillon Rose de Gambrinus paired with the Cantillon Fou’ Foune. The Fou’ Foune is made with Apricots, and is deliciously subtle. The Rose has an exhuberant aroma that announces raspberries, and follows with flavors that perfectly balance the tartness and flowery fruit. The Boons Mariage Parfait that followed was notably less tart, equally delicious in a softer, smoother style.
A mature Moortgat Maredsous 8 (talk about smooth, this stuff coats the inside of your mouth and makes you forget every other beer you’ve ever had); and a J W Lees barley wine aged in a Calvados cask (and served through a hand pump and sparkler!) capped our afternoon.
There is a beer dinner tonight (Thursday) which is sold out, but the festival continues through Saturday. If you buy a festival glass for $12 you get a two dollar discount on every draught beer throughout the festival.