Can Cantillon be found in Germany?

Here in Michigan we have a lot of German areas.

Frankenmuth still has old farmers that speak German as their first language, and the Families immigrated from Franconia.

Ann Arbor had many German immigrants on the West Side. Those were said to be from Swabia.

 

All my Michigan relatives are Finn. But that's Yooper Land.

 

Yep, lots of Finns in da UP, eh? Real concentration is in copper country.

There are also a lot of Italians in the former iron mining towns, which results in a fair amount of Italian restaurants. I know that as my sister lives near Iron Mountain MI. Iron Mountain Also gives sports teams guys with names of Mariuchi and Izzo as coaches.

 

Yeah -- 2 of the 3 taverns in my adopted hometown (of 150 people) were owned by Pagel and Rossi.

Iron Mountain was real civilization compared to where my great grandparents settled.

Seriously though, gorgeous country -- I'm long overdo for a visit.

 

If you get up to the Keweenaw, stop in at Eagle River and go to the Fitz @ Eagle river Inn. They will open back up in April. Good food, great beer.

 

Protestant Jihadists. These people were (often literally) thrown out of Germany for their extremist views and I seriously doubt much brewing came from those circles. They are likely the ones who applauded prohibition of "the Devil's Urine"...

Yeah, the Napoleonic Wars and the following decades of civil unrest dislodged many people. They did not come for religious reasons but for political and economic ones (shitty government and no hope in Hell for a change to the better) , much like Mexicans today. The only difference is that the Death Squads back then were sponsered by their respective monarch (Absolute monarchy was flailing in it's death throes during those years) instead of drug cartels.

 

You can find several Cantillon beers at bierkompass.de
Beside that sometimes at bierzwerg.de
A shop that sells Cantillon Geuze is P&M Getränke in Bonn

 

I didn't know to which thread to post this bit of info in, and this seemed the closest. This mini-report doesn't warrant its own thread, so here it is, though in an ironic way. First, I found a place that doesn't have Cantillon in FfM. Ok, that's the ironic part. Second, there are now 2 (yes 2!) bars/restaurants in FfM called Le Belge that focus on Belgian food/beer.

This comes from their menu. I thought you might like to see it.

Belgische Biere in der Flasche (Bottled beers)

• Lindemans Peche 0,25 3,00€
• Lindemans Kriek 0,25l 3,00 €
• Applewhite Beer 0,25l 2,80 €
• Chapeau Mirabelle 0,25l 3,20 €
• Lindemans Geuze 0,25l 2,80 €
• Mongozo Coconut 0,33l 3,90 €
• Mongozo Banana 0,33l 3,90 €
• Mandarinen &Citrus fruits 0,25l 2,80 €
• BiolegereBiobier 0,25l 2,80 €
• Blanche d'Ardenne 0,25l 2,20 €
• Grimbergen Optimo Bruno 0,33l 4,60 €
• Grimbergen Double 0,33l 3,40 €
• Leffe Blond 0,33l 3,40 €
• Leffe Bruin 0,33l 3,40 €
• Corsendonk Agnus 0,33l 3,00 €
• Duvel 0,33l 3,90 €
• Delirium tremens 0,33l 3,60 €
• Kasteel Bruin 0,33l 4,60 €
• Verboden Vrucht 0,33l 4,60 €
• Kwak 0,33l 3,60 €
• Palm Speciale 0,33l 2,80 €
• Chimay Bleu 0,33l 4,80 €
• Stella Artois 0,25l 2,20 €
• Jupiler 0,25l 2,20 €
• Hoegarden 0,25l 2,20 €

Les Grandes (Big bottles)

• Chimay Cing Cents 0,75l 9,90 €
• Brigand 0,75l 9,10 €
• Kapittel Prior 0,75l 9,40 €
• Kasteel Bruin 0,75l 10,90 €
• Biere de Mil Biobier 0,75l 10,20 €

Fassbiere (Beers on Tap)

• Corsendonk Paternoster 0,33l 3,20 €
• Mort Sub.Xtreme Kriek 0,3l 2,90 €
• Bitburger Pils 0,3l 1,90 €

Biere aus der Flasche

• Erdinger Hefeweizen hell 0,5l 3,30 €
• Erdinger Hefeweizen dunkel 0,5l 3,30 €
• Weizen/Banane 0,5l 3,30 €
• Köstritzer Schwarzbier 0,33l 2,20 €

• Apfelwein, Possmann 0,25l 1,60 €, 0,5l 3,0 €

Here's what I drank (Vebodenere Vrucht, Delireum Tremens [not pictured], and Lindemans Gueuze), and my g/f stayed with Chimay Bleu:




The food was great, mussels and other stuff. Wow. The beer was great, too, tasted of course extremely fresh and like it would in Belgium. The Gueuze...have to to say I wasn't terribly impressed. Hate to say it, but it tasted like one of my infected beers. I kept thinking if I wanted to have this taste, I could drink one of them from my cellar. It got me thinking... what's the big deal with sour beers in America? Just drink an infected homebrew. Is it just that Lindeman's such a poor example? I've had some outstanding "sour" beers that weren't very sour, but still, I was wondering what y'all think.

So, all in all, FfM now has 2 Belgium beer places. Yeah!

 

“It got me thinking... what's the big deal with sour beers in America?”

Tony, I sometimes wonder the same thing when I see folks drink outrageously priced sour beers at my local beer bars. Having stated that, there are a number (albeit a small number) of sour beers that I can enjoy drinking (but I don’t drink them too often). Below is a small list from memory of the sour beers that I have enjoyed drinking in the past:

Cantillon Kriek (I guess I like sour cherries?)
Gueuze Tilquin
Russian River Consecration
Russian River Sanctification

I will readily admit that for me appreciation of sour beers is a ‘work in progress’.

Cheers!

 

I suppose it's a step in the right direction, but that beer menu reads like a who's who of Belgian macro (that said, there are a few beers on that list that I'd enjoy drinking). The coconut and banana beers don't fire my imagination much, either.

I don't think Lindeman's has a great reputation. I believe they use syrups with their fruited sours and as a result are often thought of as cloying and overly sweet (compared with Cantillon who still uses real fruit in the brewing process). I'm not sure what their Gueuze is like, but I wouldn't be surprised if it wasn't held up as a great example of the style. That said, many people will say that they didn't particularly care for sours until one day it "clicked". I haven't had a lot of sours in my own drinking history but the Cantillons that I have had have been pretty good.

 

Seems to be a trend. There is also a fairly new bar/bistro in Wiesbaden called Le petit Belge. Haven't made it there yet, but it's good to know a place like this exists in an otherwise boring city such as Wiesbaden. Here's what they write on their website for their beer menu:

Unsere Bierkarte umfasst u.a. folgende Sorten:


Stella Artois
Ciney Blonde oder Brune
Hoegaarden Wit, Grand Cru oder Wit Citron
Duvel und Duvel Tripel Hop


La Chouffe, Mc Chouffe und Houblon Chouffe
Bush Amber
Jupiler Tauro
Kwak im Steigbügelglas
Delirium Tremens mit dem rosa Elefanten
Corsendonk Pater Dubbel oder Agnus Tripel
Grimbergen Blond oder Gold
Leffe Blond oder Brune
Maredsous Blond, Brune oder Triple
Palm alkoholfrei


St. Bernardus Abt


Struise Brouwers: Pannepot und Pannepeut, Black Albert, Weltmerz


Trappistenbiere:
Achel blond oder bruin
Chimay Bleu, Rouge oder Triple
Rochefort 6°, 8° oder 10°
Orval
Westmalle Dubbel oder Triple


Manchmal auch Westvleteren Blond, 8 oder 12


Lambic:
Mort Subite Geuze oder Oude Geuze
Mort Subite Kriek (Kirschlambic)


Mariage Parfait
Belle-Vue Framboise (Himbeerlambic)


Andere Sorten (z.B. Cantillon) je nach Verfügbarkeit.

 

I can see it now: "And the number one tourist destination for Americans visiting Germany in 2014 was.....Wiesbaden?!?!"

 

Yeah, Westvleteren and Cantillon!
Due to the 15,000 or so Americans in the army that live here, there already are a lot of American tourists here. And it's only a short ride from the airport and starting point for the tour through the Rhine Valley.
When I was at the Weihnachtsmarkt a few weeks ago, I had the impression I heard more English spoken around me than German.

 

What sort of place is Le Petit Belge? I was doodling around on the website and couldn't figure out if it was mainly a retail spot or a restaurant.

I know a few people who relocated to Wiesbaden after the HD base closed. Time to pay them a visit!

 

It's a bar/bistro located in a mini-mall (they call it Arkaden I think) in Wilhelmstraße, the most representative street of the city.
They also offer beer tastings combined with dinner, sounds pretty good. If you go there with a group of people, they might arrange something for you.

 

Great news for expanding the discovery phase for those looking beyond pils/hefeweizen!

When I clicked on the menu link, I saw the address and recognized it as a former customer of mine. That place used to be a Spanish (themed) restaurant. Nice location, good spot on Wilhelmsplatz. Odd to see this in OF and not FFM proper, but success always has a way of bolstering the me-too effect.

How were the Belgian pommes???

 

A bar/bistro opened about a year ago Weilerbach which is in the Kaiserslautern/KMCC area. I have been to it four times and it is geared towards Americans. US car license plates on the walls and other American decor. I have seen some locals in it but most Americans.

http://www.debelgianbistro.com/

http://www.stripes.com/military-lif...ian-bistro-in-kaiserslautern-germany-1.208521

 

Quick and easy answer there: Thrill seekers having a contest.

Eating the most pies is out drinking the most sour is in. Different stuff, same social mechanism.

 

The place in OF is new to me, since I haven't set foot inside that city for 3 years. I thought it was strange, too, that it was in OF. There are lots of "artsy fartsy" types who live near the Main river and other places because the apt.s and studio spaces are, in comparison in FfM, pretty cheap. That may explain it. However, I went to a brand new branch of the same restaurant in the webpage which opened just after or just before Christmas. Same owner, same name, same menu, same woman in one of the pics at the bar, and similar decor; however, because of it's location, it's about 60 or 70% smaller than the one pictured in OF. In fact, it's quaint, very cozy, a bar that can seat only 4, and only about 6 tables; though in summer it can expand threefold to an outdoor concrete patio that fronts the street. It's on a side street in the Nordend near the Bürgerhospital; if you didn't know it was there, or you didn't specifically walk past it, you'd miss it from the main street in the neighborhood: the Eckenheimerlandstrasse. Nonetheless, at 8 pm it was full on a Saturday, even if it was only for 30 minutes. The sad part is that about ⅓ the customers when I was there ordered the Belgian Fernsehbiers, either Stella Atrois, or Juliper, or a banana beer. Not what you call a audience of "Bierkenner," or "beer connoisseurs." The bartendress/manager had heard neither of Westvleteren nor Cantillon, so I don't have much hope in getting rarer beers to pop up unexpectedly.

Oh, the pommes frites were boring there, tasting as if they'd been frozen and lacking much flavor. Luckily, the mussels and the sauces for this and the other dish I had were outstanding.

 

With the exception of about 4 beers that are decent, the rest of that menu is a very sad interpretation of belgian beer. Granted, in Germany you don't see much of even the bad Belgian beer so it's something. Glad you enjoyed the change of pace though!