Another fabulous Friday

We will finish our beer tour of the Circles of Hell today with Fraud and Treachery.

For fraud, I propose Brugse zot. Brugse Zot is a Belgian high fermentation beer brewed by Brewery De Halve Maan in Bruges. Brugse Zot Blond is a golden blond beer with an alcohol content of 6%.  The nickname of the Bruggelings is “(Brugse) zotten”. They got this nickname when they imprisoned Maximilian I of Austria for a time in their struggle for autonomy. As a result, he forbade the holding of an annual fair and other festivities. In an attempt to appease him, Bruges held a great feast for him and then asked permission to hold another fair, collect taxes and ... to build a new madhouse. He replied: “Close all the gates of Bruges and you have a madhouse!”. The "zot "is also the word for jester. The designation zot, nar, and the English word joker (for example, in card play) are sometimes used for the jester. The joker in card play can represent any value. This card also often depicts a jester. So, a fiting symbol for a fraud, someone pretending to someone else...

For Treachery, we turn to Kwak. The Dutch word kwak (verb kwakken) means the same as the Enqlish quack, both in resembling the sound a duck makes as in a quack, a snake oil salesman (kwakzalver), but it can also mean to chuck down or to spill. Pauwel Kwak is an amber Belgian special beer with high alcohol content (8.4%). It is brewed by Bosteels brewery in Buggenhout. Pauwel Kwak is a high fermenting beer, amber in color, with a light malty aroma and a fruity finish. It can be served in a distinctive glass in a wooden holder, a quaffing glass. There is a story about a mythical brewer Pauwel Kwak who is said to have invented the glass back “in the time of Napoleon.” As manager of coachman's inn De Hoorn in Dendermonde, he is said to have invented a way for coachmen to drink on the road. One had a clamp in the carriage, and the convex, heavy bottom of the glass ensured that it always hung upright. 

The actual origin of the coachman's glass lies in 17th- or 18th-century Britain, in drinking games where a glass passes from hand to hand. When an air bubble enters the bulb, so much beer suddenly gushes out that the drinker is overwhelmed. Very treacherous! In Britain, these types of glasses are known as yard-of-ale, or yard glasses: a reference to their exceptional length. So the quaffing glass is nothing more than a handheld version of this.

Finally, to finish this tour of Belgian beers, something a little special. Those who are intolerant to gluten cannot usually enjoy a glass of beer. However, there may be a solution.  Brewery Slaapmutske (night cap) produces a traditionally brewed high fermentation beer with refermentation in the bottle. It is a dark brown ale with an alcohol content of 7.4%, and a full soft taste with a touch of caramel and color malts. In the lagering process, the gluten has been removed from the beer, making the beer gluten-free.

Well, drink responsably and enjoy todays offerings by the Friday Crew!