Tournai : brewed to perfection

Tournai : brewed to perfection
Extrait du Le petit site de Jurgen Izltot
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Tournai : brewed to perfection
- Langues
- Anglais
- Thierry's corner
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Date de mise en ligne : vendredi 26 avril 2013
Le petit site de Jurgen Izltot
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Tournai : brewed to perfection
Boasting a fine array of bars and restaurants, the town of Tournai is also the perfect base
from which to explore the area's breweries
Ce texte a été écrit par Monsieur Detournay dans le cadre de son cours et pour ses élèves voir
http://thierrydetournay.be/index1.php
Brewed to perfection
Aux Amis Réunis is a friendly bar that has changed little in the last century.
Tournai is known as the city of a hundred bell towers : the five square towers of the massive medieval cathedral,
visible from miles away, competing with the spiky turrets of the oldest belfry in Belgium (both now Unesco world
heritage-listed). But it could just as easily be called the city of a hundred brewers as I peruse the shelves at Le Moine
Austère ( http://www.le-moine-austere.over-bl... [http://www.le-moine-austere.over-blog.com] ). It is a far-from-austere
beer shop stocking 300 different beers, as well as many of the shaped glasses created to go with them (if you can't
make up your mind from the sheer choice of beers, they also put together mixed gift baskets).
At Cave St Jacques ( http://www.cavestjacques.be ), you can find pretty much everything except beer, with good
wines (mainly French) and a huge range of whiskies, including two Belgian ones. Manager Pascale Guillier also
introduces us to spirits and eaux de vie from nearby Distillerie Gervin, including bitter, herb-based Amer Gervin,
Peket Père Gervin and recent invention Liqueur de Chicon (chicory), which, Pascale says, she likes to use in
cooking.
As with most Belgian towns, Tournai is centred around its Grand Place, with the belfry, the elaborate Renaissance
drapers' hall - now used for exhibitions - and gabled houses hung with guild signs, many of them now bars and
restaurants. I lunch at Si Jamais ( http://www.sijamais.be), where the typical striped red-brick and grey-stone facade
hides a quirky modern bar and restaurant that has become a culinary hotspot thanks to its good cosmopolitan
cooking, from flambéed prawns to succulent roast pigeon served with purple carrots.
Other bars cluster along the quai du Marché au Poisson beside the river Escaut, which flows through the town
centre, with a steel bridge that rises to let through the occasional barge. Tournai native Antoine tells me those in the
know cross the river to Le Corto Malté ( http://www.cortomalte.eu) - for its south-facing terrace.
Tournai's belfry is the oldest in Belgium.
I'm lucky to be in town on Friday afternoon, when there is a small farmers' market beside the river that includes a
couple of cheese stalls, fresh veg, a guy making pungent maroilles tarts and toasted sandwiches, and the Ferme de
la Roussellerie (http://www.lafermedelaroussellerie.be). Here the woman selling bags of wheat, rye and spelt flour out
of a white van to a queue of bread making regulars extols the virtues of stoneground flour. "We have been organic for
42 years," she says.
Around the corner, in a 16th-century house that is shortly to benefit from a welcome urban restoration programme, is
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Tournai : brewed to perfection
the venerable Maison Favot tea and coffee shop (rue de l'Hôpital Notre-Dame 9). It was recently taken over by Rudy
Kuser - a computer engineer turned coffee-maker - who roasts his beans in a vintage machine on the premises.
Later I head to art deco Pâtisserie Quésnoy, on Place Crombez, in search of ballons de Tournai : hard, black,
all-sugar gobstoppers which were once popular with quarry workers, who used them to soothe dusty throats, and
which are still made on a cast-iron press at the rear. The shop has sold out of gâteau Clovis (a reminder to the
French that, for all its sleepy provincial air, Tournai - birthplace of King Clovis - was once the Merovingian capital of
the Franks), so I try another specialty, a small, conical brioche with a gooey, sugary centre.
However, it's in rue des Maux, leading off the Grand Place, where I discover the real foodie heart of Tournai. On one
side are an upmarket bakery, Italian deli, butcher-charcutier and the wonderful Fromagerie De Lille (at no 15), which
has a window stacked with oozing cheeses, including several local ones, some washed with beer, from either side of
the Franco-Belgian border.
Across the street, humble-looking Au P'tit Bedon and L'Impératrice, a spacious cafe-brasserie with endless rows of
tables and bentwood chairs, serve the quintessential lapin à la tournaisienne (rabbit stewed with prunes and raisins)
that is always eaten on Lost Monday (the first Monday after Epiphany) - and, as far as I can tell, pretty much all the
rest of the year as well.
Two streets away I discover Aux Amis Réunis (rue Saint-Martin 89), a friendly bar that has barely changed since it
opened in 1911. It has art nouveau tiles, a polished marquetry bench and a long, narrow jeu de fer table in one
corner for playing the local game - a cross between bar-billiards
[http://www.google.be/search?hl=fr&q=shove+ha%27penny&bav=on.2,or.r_qf.&bvm=bv.45645796,d.d2k&biw=1301&
bih=630&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&ei=HC56UaqZD8ix0QWg2YHoCQ#um=1&hl=fr&tb
m=isch&sa=1&q=bar-billiard&oq=bar-billiard&gs_l=img.12...985123.986383.0.988369.3.3.0.0.0.0.197.375.2j1.3.0...0.
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QDw] and shove ha'penny
[http://www.google.be/search?hl=fr&q=shove+ha%27penny&bav=on.2,or.r_qf.&bvm=bv.45645796,d.d2k&biw=1301&
bih=630&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&ei=HC56UaqZD8ix0QWg2YHoCQ], played with flat
metal discs. Whereas in many towns such a bar would have become a piece of fossilised heritage, here it is definitely
a living local, with regional brews and a cheerfully eclectic clientele : an electrician in blue overalls, students and two
businessmen who tell me about local politics, their trips to go game hunting in Scotland, the delights of lapin à la
tournaisienne and the fact that gâteau Clovis is really rather heavy.
Five of the best ... local brews
Cuvée des Trolls
Personified by a mischievous looking troll in a wispy, green hop hat, this pale yellow, slightly cloudy blonde ale tastes
light and refreshing, with a tang from dried orange peel added during brewing. It is brewed using natural, traditional
methods without additives at the Dubuisson brewery, run by the same family since 1769. The brewery, at Pipaix to
the south-east of Tournai, is open for tours on Saturdays at 3pm (groups by appointment) and you can eat on the
spot at the Troll & Bush (Tuesday-Sunday).
http://www.br-dubuisson.com
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Tournai : brewed to perfection
Tournay Blonde
This frothy, golden-coloured, non-filtered ale was the first beer to be made by the Brasserie Cazeau when it
relaunched in 2004. It uses a double fermentation process, first in vats and then in the bottle. It also produces dark
Tournay Noire, new Triple Tournay, special Christmas beer and a summer beer with elderflower.
http://www.brasseriedecazeau.be
Quintine Ambrée
This lovely, deep-amber malty beer, named after a local witch, is one of five artisanal beers produced by the
Brasserie Ellezelloise in the Pays des Collines, north-east of Tournai. Made from local hops, this is a fruity, spicy ale
that comes in bottles with traditional swing-top porcelain stoppers. The brewery has a tavern where you can taste
beers and regional dishes (Friday-Sunday)
http://www.brasserie-ellezelloise.be
Abbaye Saint-Martin
A yeasty pale ale made at the Brasserie Brunehaut south of Tournai. It follows a medieval recipe developed by
monks at the Abbey of St-Martin. The brewery makes several beers from its own cultivated barley and wheat, using
traditional techniques on modern premises.
http://www.brunehaut.com
Orval
An authentic Trappist beer, the production of which is supervised by the monks at the Abbaye Notre-Dame d'Orval.
The brewery was created in 1931 to help fund the reconstruction of the abbey, which had been ransacked in the
French revolution. With its distinctive hoppy aroma, it has become a cult beer you either love or hate. It is produced in
a skittle-shaped bottle, and served in a glass that resembles a gothic chalice.
http://www.orval.be
Q&A : a local's guide to Tournai
Founded in 1753, the Brasserie de Cazeau is a red-brick farm-brewery in the countryside near the French
border. It stopped brewing in 1969 before being brought back to life by Laurent Agache, who, despite still
working part-time as a civil engineer, now produces five beers and exports 60% of his production.
How did you become a brewer ?
I grew up amid these buildings and it was always my dream to revive the brewery one day. In 2003 I found a cousin,
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Tournai : brewed to perfection
Quentin Mariage, who was ready to try the adventure with me. We went and found the equipment in the north of
England, near Hull, we renovated the buildings and we got started on 1 May 2004.
What is the one Tournai specialty not to be missed ?
The famous rabbit that we cook at the beginning of the year, on the first Monday after Epiphany, is the great local
specialty. This is the lapin à la tournaisienne with prunes, that we accompany with salade tournaisienne.
What is your favourite place to eat in Tournai ?
I like Le Chemin de Table on the Chaussée de Lille. It is a little restaurant that serves my beer and the owner is trying
out recipes with it. It's a good-value family-style place, run by two people who are about 60 : Madame is in the dining
room, Monsieur is in the kitchen and there are just a few tables. It is authentic and they choose their ingredients well.
Tell me your local foodie secret
We have a summer beer called Saison Cazeau that has fresh elderflower blossom added to it.
Vocabulary
english
french
array = collection
ensemble impressionnant
barge = boat with a flat bottom, used for carrying goods and people on canals and rivers > a bargee
péniche
barley
orge
bentwood
bois courbé
deli = fine foods shop
épicerie fine
elderflower blossom
fleur de sureau
extol (to) = to praise
faire l'éloge de
frothy < froth
mousseux
gabled < gable = the upper part of the end wall of a building, between the two sloping sides of the roof, that is shaped like a triangle
à gâble = pignon
gob = mouth
gueule
gobstopper = a very large hard round sweet/candy
bonbon
gooey
visqueux
hop
houblon
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Tournai : brewed to perfection
mischievous = malicious
malicieux
oats
avoine
oozing < to ooze
suinter > coulant
peruse (to) = to examine
parcourir
prawn
crevette
pungent = sour
aigre
purple
violet
quarry
carrière
quirky = bizarre = original = odd = weird
original
ransacked
pillé
rye
seigle
sheer = pure
pur
shove ha'penny
jeu de palet de table
skittle
quille
soothe (to) = to relieve
calmer
spelt
épeautre
spiky
pointu
stall
étal
stew (to)
mijoter
stewed
en ragoût
stoneground < to grind
moulu à la pierre
stopper
bouchon
striped
rayé
tang = strong taste
goût
upmarket = [US] upscale
haut de gamme
vat
cuve
wheat
blé
wispy < wisp
effilé < petite mèche
yeast
levure
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Tournai : brewed to perfection
Post-scriptum :
More to come ...
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/d... [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destination/belgium/103107/36-hours-In...Tournai.html]
et retrouvez tous les documents de Thierry sur http://thierrydetournay.be/index1.php
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