We’ve spent a good deal of time this weekend trying to keep a nest of baby black birds safe from marauding magpies. The parents are doing the best they can, and we come out to help when we hear their alarm call. Still, it’s been pretty brutal: two chicks gone already, one cowering in the honeysuckle. Nature can be pretty ugly.I am thus not instantly impressed by products that proclaim their “all natural” or “organic” ingredients. Magpies are completely natural. So is cyanide. Doesn’t make it right.
When Brasserie de la Lesse announces their beers are mostly organic, therefore, I remain to be convinced. We put two of their offerings -- a blonde and a brune -- to the taste test.
La Chinette is the blonde beer. It’s quite light in character, which is a bit surprising for 6% alcohol. There’s a mild honey note, and a gentle hop. It’s not sweet but rather refreshing, and it reminds me somewhat of the Wadesda #3 I tried a couple weeks ago. Fiona loves La Chinette, and we’d definitely look for it again.
La Rouge Croix is the dark one, and though the mouthfeel is a bit thin, I like it right away. Burnt wood, dates, chocolate and iced coffee with a hint of black cherry... but it’s not very sweet at all, happily. Excellent. Buy it if you see it.
The beers of Brasserie de la Lesse are not easy to find, however. We came across ours at Flagey market here in Brussels -- at one of the organic stalls, naturally.
Up until this post I'd never known there was a European variant of the Magpie - they're a head-swooping pest of a bird in Australia, now I have to be on the look out here in Belgium too!
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