Dispatch from the City of Light (Beer)

Tonight, Catherine and I enjoyed an aperitif or two (or four) at Au Trappiste, a Belgian restaurant with a great beer selection in the middle of town. Just the thing to take the edge off of a day well spent in the Louvre...

Yes, you're correct, that sign above the name, "Au Trappiste," says "Royaume de de la Biere," or "Kingdom of Beer." That's my kind of oppressive totalitarianism.

So we pulled up some seats and found beers among the 20 or so on tap (not to mention the 100 or so in bottles) that we hadn't seen before. In the end, we had ourselves a Bush Prestige (at times this brewery releases in the US under the name Scaldis, or so BeerAdvocate tells me, even though this wasn't a Scaldis tripel), a Hanssens Gueuze, and an Angelus, a sweet little biere de garde (as well as a Duchesse de Bourgogne, for old time's sake.)

Here's the man pulling the pints.

Two things come to mind:

1. This is a great place - a nice, laid-back atmosphere, fantastic location in the middle of ancient Paris, etc. - but, even objectively, it's no Brick Store. The Belgian selection was great, but it made me that much more proud of our little Atlanta treasure. We've got more Belgians on tap and in the bottle than the best Belgian beer bar in Paris. I think that's saying something.

2. French craft beer is on the up-and-up. It's amazing that there are local producers out there who make something delicious but aren't to be found in most Parisian bars. Instead, everybody is drinking lighter, boring-looking beers (Kronenbourg's 1664 is everywhere). I mean, it's better than Bud being the staple beer, and Leffe is basically a low-tier beer here, appearing in 40-ounce cans in grocery stores, but the better French stuff is so hard to find. For example, the Angelus is really good - a bit sharp, but a full and complex flavor, quite a counterpoint to the French mainstay right now (called Desperado; and I hear it's quite awful, like kid-friendly beer, but French people can't get enough of the stuff. ) The Gueuze was really wonderful, had a kind of cider-like taste, and was a great sumer beer without sacrificing flavor or body, and the Bush is an excellent tripel - not something I'd order again if St. Bernardus or Karmeleit or Golden Carolus tripels/quads were on the menu, but really very good. And, of course, the good duchess was tasty as always.

So I'm still hopeful at this point in our trip. Haven't gotten to Cave à Bulles yet (that should be the high point, beer-wise, of our Paris leg), but it's on the agenda for tomorrow. Cheers!