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Cafe Biere, Part 2

For the second week in a row, my friends and I went to Cafe Biere. This time, it was packed. What a huge difference it was from a week ago! Oh no, the word is out that Cafe Biere is a cool spot!

The place is already tiny and cramming twice as many people was claustrophobic. Our lovely friend and owner, Ivan, remembered us (yay!) and we fortunately were able to grab a seat at the communal table.

Free tasting came around and I tried many dark stouts. I'm usually a light ale drinker, but hey, it's free, why not give it a try? ;) Last week was all about the lambic and this week was all about the stout.

My favorite of the night was Scottish Stout from Belhaven. It was full (but not so full where it left you really stuffed), complex, roasted flavor and a little bit chocolatey. It was darn good. I still prefer lighter beers, but if I had to drink a stout, I'd grab this one.

   
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Cafe Biere

A few friends and I went to Cafe Biere for the first time couple of Wednesdays ago. We've all been raving about The Trappist (see post), so we wanted to check out Cafe Biere, another Belgium bar, to see if it was comparable.

Umm....$50 later, yes, it's a pretty freaking cool place

Cafe Biere is much smaller than The Trappist with about 6 tables. The ambiance of Cafe Biere isn't even better, which again, I have to say, I loveThe Trappist's coziness and pub-like atmosphere.

The beer list at Cafe Biere isn't even as comprehensive. The Trappist has 15 rotating beers on tap while Cafe Biere only has about 7. Cafe Biere does hold its ground with many bottled beers from around the world, but again, not as many.

So what's so great you ask.

What trumps The Trappist is the owner of Cafe Biere, Ivan. Oh yes, and the free beer tasting on Wednesday nights.

It definitely helps when the owner, himself, is sitting at your table and having a jolly good time with you....drinking one beer after another with you....and also recommending beer after beer after beer to you.

I tried so many beers, I don't even remember. Kwak came in a funky glass with a wooden stand (image 1), Hitachino (Japanese brewery) had the most awesome beer labels (image 3) and then of course, the $40 bottle of champagne beer, Malheur (image 4).

You want bubbly beer for less than a quarter of Malheur? Try Lindemans Lambic - my favorite of the night. It comes in a variety of flavors - apple, raspberry and peach. My favorite would be raspberry and peach. It's light, bubbly and tastes like juice - something you'd like to drink on a hot day and just relax on the beach.

One other thing that makes Cafe Biere stand out is they serve food. We tried a few things - fried calamari, cheese board, spice nuts and fries. Meh. Nothing spectacular, but at least it's something to munch on.

It was a memorable experience. I know we'll be visiting Cafe Biere again. ;

       
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