Before we set off a few people said to me how much they wanted to do a beer tour of Belgium by bike. A better place to neck pints of session ale, amend your ferry booking and rain down curses upon Google Maps I could not imagine. We escaped to the peaks and troughs of the A20 across a field whose primary crop was bicycle-clogging clods of clay, then on to the roaring fires and well-kept pints of the White Hart pub in Hythe 71 High St, Hythe CT21 5AJ; A race along the seafront through Folkestone brought us to the suburbs of Dover and the foot of the White Cliffs, where I took a wrong turn then insisted we climb a strange iron staircase to the start of a ft trail up the cliffside.
Then amended the ferry booking. A wonderful little pub at the top of Dover Hill, which we cycled blindly into after scaling Dover Mountain and setting up camp in a nearby field, the staff are friendly, the darts are loud, and the ale Real and very well kept.
No matter! We entered Dunkerque on the motorway. Testament to the greatness of this beer, which was conceived on a bike trip hopefully better planned than our own, was how much we enjoyed it in our sticky trench. A nutty, pitch-dark ale, it rolled dark fruit and coffee; thick like a stout but lifted by a bit of fizz although that might have something to do with rolling down an embankment and zingy hops. Of course, we went straight for the WV So good it invented its own class of beer β the Abt, or darker, quadrupel β and still dominates the league tables for that style.
Be warned: if you drive there nominate a designated driver and then buy them a whole case of the WV12 which you can buy in the gift shop and supposedly nowhere else in the world to make up. We woke with dawn to shake the tent free of some asbestos that had fallen on it in the night and set off for Roeselare β home to Rodenbach. Liz I rode a Ridgeback Speed hybrid really! With cooking gear meths, a single Trangia pan, an Aeropress and a beer can stove and clothes merino everything I reckon I was carrying kg plus bike.
Share this: Twitter Facebook. Like Loading Leave a comment Cancel reply. Comment Reblog Subscribe Subscribed. It Comes In Pints? Sign me up. Already have a WordPress. Log in now. Loading Comments Email Required Name Required Website.
