Karmeliet on the Kust

You know how, when you venture into foreign parts, sometimes you just get stuck on a particular beer? Well - that. 

This little adventure was a short three-day hop over to Belgium. Ostend, specifically. The plan? Ride the legendary Kusttram—basically a scenic tram that glides up and down the Belgian coast from De Panne near France to Knokke-Heist near the Dutch border. It's supposedly one of the longest tram routes in the world, and it sounded like just the kind of gentle, beer-accompanied exploring we needed.

Our journey began in different ways. The other two lads came to London on Tuesday for our Eurostar 13.01 departure, while I came down the night before to check our flat was still in one piece. This allowed me to have a lie in and have the chance to be fleeced of seven of your British pounds for a substandard pint of Landlord - but that's another story.  It also allowed me to have a full English breakfast and a couple of leisurely pints in the Betjeman Arms in St Pancras Station. As an aside, it might be pricey, but what a grand place that is inside and a good spot for people watching outside. Worth it as a treat, for sure.  

Eurostar is fab, but the check in area is far too small, but we had decent seats on the train and soon were belting through France at an agreeable number of kilometres per hour. On time and comfortable. Excellent. On arrival in Brussels, we did the only sensible thing: found a bar, ordered beers, and toasted our escape. Sunshine, Hoegaarden in a comically large glass, and that undefinable hum and buzz of a city not our own. We just enjoyed it and watched the goings on, going on. Eventually, we grabbed our (very senior-discounted) train tickets—just €8.50 to any station in Belgium!—and made our way to Ostend. Our accommodation was on the 7th floor, with views of the casino and, somewhere beyond, the North Sea. But before we even found the place, there were the inevitable wrong turns and a pit stop for more beers

It was there, in the friendly and very pubby De Klokke - just round the corner from our abode as it turned out - we encountered what proved to be a bit of a nemesis - for two of the company at least - Tripel Karmeliet. Now, this Abbey beer is rather easy to drink. Brewed with three grains - wheat, barley and oats, it is as smooth, presumably from the oats, as the smoothest of smooth things, but hides its 8.3% brilliantly.  But it has a deadly kick for those that choose to sup it with a degree of recklessness. Fortunately, it wasn't entirely to my taste and I settled when in De Klokke - yes we went more than once - for a boys beer - Leffe Blonde at a mere 6.6%.  Full of common sense, me.  

We only had a couple, then found where we were staying, dumped the bags and went straight out. It turned out there was a decent seam of pubs nearby, so we tried a few, drinking various Tripels, until somewhat predictably, we ended up in a kebab house at midnight, necking Duvel from the bottle.  We, also predictably, slept like babies and were up in decent shape for the main event: the Kusttram.

It would be pretty boring to relate all our activities, but we did try a variety of beers and places. If your Belgian drinking has been mainly in big cities such as Antwerp, Brussels and Ghent, I observed it was rather different on the North Sea coast. We were disappointed with Blankerberge, both as a town and as a place to drink. Graham and I had been there before, and we had fond memories of it. But we found ourselves in a town which bore no comparison to our recollection. At all. Everything seemed to have been modernised beyond recognition - shiny and sterile, not charming and cosy. We were armed with pub recommendations from our good friend Mr Protz, but couldn't find the first at all - we think it had closed - and the second, the Terminus, by the main tram stop, was just generic and nondescript. So modern it looked, that we asked if it was new, but were advised it had been there for over a hundred years. Oh. Really? Like the UK, it seemed things had changed in the many years since our last visit, but not for the better.

We liked De Haan though. A charming and traditional looking small town, where we watched some pretty fast cycling - something the Belgians take very seriously, with closed roads, marshalls, police, and crowds. We slaked our thirst in interesting Bar Roger, which sported plenty of breweriana, and a decent beer list. Gueuze Boon for me and Tripels for the lads. A couple more in a modern place where more Karmeliet was consumed, and back to Ostend, and our local area, with lots of Karmeliet for my companions, and a variety, mostly Leffe Blond, for me. The night was topped off by another kebab at a different place at silly o'clock, of which only one of us had any recollection at all. As I'm writing about it -  me  - of course. Mr Sensible.

On the next day, we fared rather better heading south towards France, where the tramline ends.  Interesting views of miles of sandy beaches, and a plethora of what seemed to be holiday lets, as one small town rolled into another. At least on this coast, architectural merit didn't seem to be even on the planner's distant thoughts. On the way, we chatted to an old Belgian man, wondering if, as we neared the French border, would the language change from Dutch to French. He assured us, proudly, it would not.  Alighting in De Panne, in our first pub, oddly named as Itz a Pub, we were greeted with a cheery "Bonjour" from the owner and all we heard everywhere after that was French, which helped us communicate. So much for Flemish pride.

The town itself was nothing great to speak of, but we could imagine how busy it would be in the summer, as indeed we could see elsewhere. At the time of our visit, not much was open, but you could see preparations being made everywhere. However, as in Ostend, pubs/bars were all busy considering it was midweek and we had great conversations in both La Grand Place where we went by mistake and in the one right next door, Café des Bains, where we had intended to go. Table service was the norm in most places with beers, generally priced around €4.50 - €5 or a fair bit more for exotics.  Not bad at all, really.  Each order was accompanied by a small snack such as nuts or crisps.

We approached the last evening with more caution, as we had to be up and out early to get back to Brussels. The Eurostar Terminal there is more comfortable than St Pancras, and we had an uneventful journey back, with my two jaded companions eschewing a last drink in Euston Station. Maybe they would have been tempted by Karmeliet? Or maybe not! 

Would I recommend Ostend and the Belgian Coast? Well, yes - the tram is fun - but I'd likely say go in summer when things are in full swing and a lot more lively. What about Tripel Karmeliet?  It is certainly a well-made beer, but a bit hefty for swigging, though I should probably ask my friends about that.

My £7 pint was in the Hoop and Grapes in Aldgate, a Nicolsons house. Really poor it was too. If you are going to serve £7 pints, make sure they are in the toppest of condition, or at least display the price clearly.

It was also good to see Hoegaarden widely available in the North Sea Coast area. It may be big brewery beer, but it is still a classic of the Belgian Witbier style, and too rare a beast in the UK these days.