The other north

I mentioned on Monday that Groningen didn't have much to offer on the beer front, and I was expecting even less of its smaller neighbour Leeuwarden. So I was surprised how much of interest there was when I showed up to spend an afternoon wandering around.

Grutte Pier Brouwerij is in the tiny village of Bartlehiem, to the north of the city, and its beers have a strong presence in the area. I found my first one at De Dikke Van Dale, self-described as a grand café but actually a charming and quite cosy bar, devoid of stiff-aproned waiters.

This was Grutte Pier Tripel, which is on the dark side, being a dense orange colour. It's extremely spicy, even by tripel standards, with lots of clove and nutmeg next to a strong hop bitterness set on a sweet candy base. There's a lot going on and all of it is good. The big surprise is that it's only 7.5% ABV. Ordinarily I would have dismissed such a weak tripel as not getting the basics right but it really doesn't suffer because of it. It was an impressive introduction to the brewery's work.

Beside it is Gulden Draak Imperial Stout, an interesting and very Belgian take on the style. It's 12% ABV and very black. There's no stouty roast or bitterness but instead lots of plums and cherries in with the central chocolate theme. It's pleasant but doesn't really deliver on the promise of the name, being much more like a quadrupel than a stout, and entirely in keeping with the rest of the Gulden Draak range of strong Belgian ales.

I returned to Grutte Pier when we got to Speciaalbier Café De Markies, a rambling mutiroom pub with a sizeable taplist. Elixer is their take on imperial stout, a smidge lighter than the Gulden Draak one at 11.5% ABV. It pours thick and headless, and doesn't just look like a liqueur, it tastes like one too, packed with rich and boozy chocolate, plus bonus measures of strong tea and fruitcake. Again the roast and bitterness are lower than I'd like but it still tastes properly like a stout and makes for very satisfying sipping.

The murky brown beer on the left is Bretttûne (yes, three Ts), part of a series where it seems they've taken beers from the regular range and given them the Brettanomyces treatment. This one, No. 16, started life as a blend of dubbel and tripel but has long since lost any attributes of either. Instead, there's an upmarket vinegar aroma with sparks of citrus peel, leading to an extremely full-on Brett taste, loaded with ripe peaches, tinned pineapple and mandarin segments plus a slight farmyard earthiness. The vinegar acidity scorches the back of the throat a little, but otherwise it's marvellous: a perfect mix of fruit, funk and sourness in a rich and chewy package.

We stick with them for the next round, and another imperial stout, this one called Kracht in de Nacht. It's only 10% ABV and here there's bitterness in spades. It's liquorice in particular, in a way that grows in intensity with each sip becoming herbal as it goes. Dark bitter chocolate notes enhance and complement this, adding a slightly more frivolous sense of hot churro sauce. It's another corker from Grutte Pier, making them an unmissable brewery when in this part of the world.

We'll be getting to De Molen in due course, but one of theirs found its way up here: Quad '20. This tequila-barrel-aged quadrupel was brewed for their 2020 festival which didn't happen and is 11.3% ABV. A deep shade of dark brown, it goes heavy on the cherries and booze with a distinctly tequila-like bitterness, plus lots of smooth and creamy chocolate. Two and more years of ageing has eroded any sharp edges it may have once had, so while it is a little sticky, it's nicely drinkable too.

We didn't go in to In De Brouwerij but it's an impressive space: a pub (or grand café, as they call it) up front with lots of outside seating, and then a sizeable brewing kit tucked in to a back room. I opened on Zaailander Alt, which felt a bit wrong to be drinking from a TeKu. It's dark brown and smells of bourbon biscuit plus bitter rye grass, which is fairly typical for Altbier, as is the 5.4% ABV. The flavour goes in a different direction entirely, however, introducing chocolate and coconut notes making it sweet. There's none of the attenuated dryness of a lagered Alt. Full bodied and creamy is lovely and lots of fun, though Alt purists will be disappointed.

Their Zaailander Tripel looks like a New England IPA, being a sunny and juicy yellow-orange colour. The IPA theme continues in the surprise grapefruit aroma, though there are some spices in here too. It even tastes a little juicy but the Belgian side reasserts itself with a modest funk, some Bretty apricot and then a heavy dusting of clove and cinnamon as a nod to what it's meant to be. Here's another where they've departed from the style specs but it hasn't done them any harm: the resulting beer is delicious.

I don't know what Boskbier is but they had one: Zaailander Boskbier. This is 4.8% ABV and apparently linden blossom is the key feature. It's amber coloured and smells meadowy, of wild flowers and weeds. The flavour opens on honey and perfume leading to an unpleasant rubber and sweat finish. I guess it's another brave recipe, and perhaps it's keeping alive some important local seasonal tradition. As a drink, however, isn't very nice.

And finally from here the bright golden Zaailander Kellerbier. There's a little haze, but not as much as I was expecting. It's surprisingly sweet, from the lemon and pancake aroma to the sickly honey taste. The lack of crispness is unforgivable in something purporting to be a kellerbier. Overall it's quite basic and plain with just that odd sugariness as its chief characteristic.

They seem to be a creative bunch here. Sometimes that works out and sometimes it doesn't.

We finished up in a Mexican restaurant so here are some Mexican beers for you. Tecate Original is an extremely nondescript lager from the same Heineken-owned brewery that gives us Sol and Dos Equis. I still have to describe it? Oh, OK. It's a bit minerally, I guess: mostly dry with a hint of seasalt. That's it though; nothing really distinguishes it from general purpose eurolager.

I hoped for better with Bohemia Oscura, which proclaims itself to be a Vienna lager and is indeed a dark red-brown colour. There's a fantastic complexity in it too, starting on typical bourbon biscuits but also including black pepper and chilli-spiked chocolate. It is most un-Austrian and doesn't really feature the clean green noble hops. Instead it's a lovely full-fat chocolate cookie of a thing and surprisingly characterful for something mass produced by Heineken Mexico.

Thus ends the Leeuwarden leg. It was back home to Groningen next, before heading on to Leiden.