Glug Glug Brugs!

Ok, so you really pronounce it broozh but I needed a clever rhyme. I sampled this tasty brew this past September in Paris. And you guessed it, another Witbier. I am in love with them. Or I am in love with those magical beer chemist Belgians... As I was starting my research for this review, I kept typing B-R-U-G-E-S, and only information about the city was presenting itself. Turns out, I wasn't so far off, with it's close ties to that very city. This witbier, small in bottle stature, was monstrous with flavor and ease, which is why I am spotlighting it today!

Brugs is a white beer from Western Flanders, based on a traditional Brabant brew. The name comes the Flemish "Brugs Tarwebier", which means "White beer of Bruges". Brugs was first brewed by Jan Hugheins in 1455 in Bruges, Belgium's answer to Venice. The city consists of 40 bridges over the canals, very reminiscent of that certain Italian city. Every bottle of Brugs bears the "golden tree", harking back to the trophy traditionally awarded to the knights that won the tournaments held in the city back in the Middle Ages. How rad, huh? I found this snippet about the tournaments:

In July 1468, Margaret of York, sister to King Edward IV of England, was married to Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy. This great dynastic marriage was marked by processions, pageants and banquets, so magnificent that contemporaries marveled at the wealth and splendour of the Burgundian court. The highlight of the celebrations was undoubtedly the tournament - the Pas d armes de l Arbre d Or (tournament of the Golden Tree) - held in the Market Place at Bruges in the shadow of the famous tower of the Market Hall.
Anthony, Count de la Roche - 'Grand Bastard of Burgundy' - undertook to defend the golden tree against a succession of challengers for eight days, jousting against each one for half an hour, with the winner being the knight to break the most lances in the prescribed time.

Someone tell me please, why is this spectical isn't performed at weddings anymore? It would sure beat seeing old aunts pop hips out to "YMCA". Apparently, in Bruges they've made a pageant around the historical event, one that I might HAVE to go to in 2007. It looks amazing.

The beer is pale yellow, slightly cloudy beer with a refreshing tartness. It's made from wheat and hops and is seasoned with bitter orange and coriander. It's is unfiltered, as with all beers on lees (yeast), which allows it to keep the natural cloudiness given by that very yeast. Often served with a slice of lemon as all my deliscious witbiers, Brugs has very low bitterness and a dense, creamy head. But the main reason why I decided to feature the beer is because on their packaging, they give you coupons to buy MORE Brugs! Now, call me a boozebag, but I think that's just amazing and courteous. One might even say.... chivalrous!

Santé or Op uw gezondheid!