So, back to one of my favourite cities for some well deserved rest and relaxation. Also, to meet up with a couple of the 'Jesus and Beers' girls (Les & Jess) for their final days in Europe before flying home to Calgary. Our time was well spent doing some fun touristy things: renting and riding bicycles along the canals and the many bike paths this wonderful city has to offer. We also relaxed on a canal tour boat, getting a glimpse of some of the beautiful areas we missed first time around. In between we even managed to tour the Heineken Brewery, a rather fun experience actually, getting there early enough to beat the crowds. Of course, we fit in a few pubs for a few beers and that is when I discovered it was bock season. I was too early during the first part of my journey to catch any German bock beers while traveling there, so I was quite surprised and exited to find a few here. One of the first ones I came across was the guest tap at the Old Nickel, the wonderfully deep, dark, delicious and strong Weihenstephaner Korbinian Bock (see Beer of the Day, Oct. 11). This was a nice prelude to our last meal together, as it were, at Jamie Oliver's Fifteen restaurant, a short walk from the old town centre. It was a lovely night and even though we had reservations, the restaurant was not full. It was nice to kick back and enjoy some pre-dinner cocktails that were not beers for a change, and then to have a bottle of beautiful deep, red Italian wine with the excellently prepared and well served meal. We took our time and then sauntered slowly back into town, reminiscing about our collective and separate journeys. The girls had been in Europe for a month, me for 6 weeks. They would leave the next day, I had two weeks to go.
The next morning we crossed paths again at the central train station, Les and Jess on their way to the airport, and I was heading out to Bussum, to visit the friends I'd made on our hike in the Austrian Alps, Ulli and Edzer, only about 30 minutes out of town. It was a beautiful afternoon (what luck I've been having with the weather) so Ulli decided to show me this small town by bike and lovely it was indeed. We were to meet Edzer at the Demmers Biercafe in the adjacent town of Naarden, not far from the Vesting wall, the ancient fortifications overlooking the canal, that once was the high ground citizens retreated to during times of war. Here I was pleased to find, not only a traditional Dutch beer cafe, but they had an excellent Dutch beer selection too. Ulli and Edzer knew I would like this place.
On tap was one of their own brews, the Vestingguilde Blonde, a lovely light, pale yellow brew, well balanced and refreshing. Also on tap though, were a couple of excellent seasonal Dutch bock beers, Wilde Bok from Schelde Bruowerij and Brouwerij 't IJ Bok. The first has been voted one of the best beers in the 'heavy bock beer' category in the Netherlands, a dark brown brew with reddish highlights, full malt body with notes of caramel and some nuttiness, but well balanced with a smooth long finish. The second was no slouch either, coming from one of Amsterdam's finest inner city breweries, being 100% organic and unpasteurized. This brew too was big and bold, perhaps a touch darker, perhaps a touch maltier, but strong flavoured with hints of chocolate and a long, smooth finish. Demmers is a wonderful place to while away the late afternoon.
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