Hi,
A big surprise awaited us last Sunday, when we visited Ostend based beer bar Botteltje for a good beer.
It's always a struggle to browse the largest (litterally), and heaviest beer menu of Belgium.

The Botteltje beer menu is always a true pleasure when exploring.
Alot of humour inside with jokes and for instance this drawing.  Hilarious :)
Indeed, we recognize Belgian politicians Yves Leterme and Bart De Wever, here being exposed as the comics of the year.
The resemblance is striking.

Suddenly my eyes catched something special:The promotion of the moment - Aged "La Vieille Bon-Secours Blonde" at € 6.00 per bottle.
Wow, if that isn't some bargain, knowing what's been written in this article World's most expensive beer costs £700 a bottle.
First, I was very suspicious about this beer still being in optimum state.
It's only 7.5 vol% strong, and blond colored. Not precisely the best characteristics for good ageing.

Well, let's have some taste...

Poured out gave a hazy orange blond beer with a still acceptable white head.

After a while the head disintegrated into a small layer.

Best before date: May 2008.
Presuming that 3 years is used as conservation limit(?), this would mean that this beer is at least 5 years old.
I say at least, but I'm convinced it's much older.
By the way, putting a best before date on beer is quite nonsense really.
Beer doesn't get bad with ageing !
On the contrary, the La Vieille Bon Secours we had at Botteltje can be considered as one of the best beers I had this year.
Already with uncorking, an amazing flowery-estery aroma filled my nose.
The flavour of this beer is still sweetish, malty and surprisingly still hoppy.
The hop bitterness merely present in the after taste.
More went on. Ageing made this beer very complex, perfumy, fruity, yeasty, and above all still so drinkable and digestible.
Folks, this is a true vintage delight, brewed at bry Caulier.
Ageing has done so much good to this beer.

One thing keeps intriguing me: The alcohol percentage.
The label states 7.5 vol%, which is quite weak.
But Katrien and myself were convinced that this 7.5 vol% couldn't actually be correct.
We experienced something much stronger in the range of 9 vol%.

Makes it al that more intriguing........

I can everybody recommend to try this bar when hitting Ostend.
300 beers to choose from, and excellent food to pair with.
The pictures shows their big, tasty, and filling spaghetti, and the delicious lasagna.
There's also a hotel connected, i.e. Hotel Marion.

Already for ages has this  place being mentioned inside the www.beerpubmap.be website.... well deserved.

Cheers,
Filip

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