It’s been quite a few weeks since I posted a beer blog, but it certainly feels good to get another one under my belt. I had the pleasure of visiting this country back in 2015, so researching this blog I hope will bring back many happy memories. Firstly though before I start looking into the history, I think it’s time to drink some beer!
Clausel – Gezwickelten
A massive Thankyou needs to go out to @hoppy_steve who contacted me through Twitter and said he was going to Luxembourg in a couple of weeks. He only had hand luggage and so was going to be limited to things he could find in Duty Free. Well he came up trumps and located me 2 beers. At times like this it is always a tough choice as to which beer gets the limelight, so I referred to Untapped to see which was the rarer of the 2. I came to the conclusion (based on number of ratings alone) that this beer was far less widely spread and so I chose to blog about it. Fear not though. The other beer is still in the fridge and certainly won’t go to waste! This 250ml can, comes in at 5.2%!
What a lovely crisp beer. It is described as a zwickel special! Zwickelbier refers to a style of beer that is unfiltered and unpasteurised. It has a wonderful slight haze to it too. It has a slightly tart flavour which adds to the atmospheric nature of the beer. It would be fair to say this beer is very yeasty. I guess this is down to the type of malt that has been used. Head retention on this beer is very much lacking, however the carbonisation of the beer is very good. It gives an odd, acupuncture like sensation on your tongue when each bubble bursts. As Central European beers go, this has been a highlight, compared to some of the lagers which we had from other countries.
The brewery is based in Luxembourg City. It is the capital of the small European nation of the same name. Built amid deep gorges cut by the Alzette and Pétrusse rivers, it’s famed for its ruins of medieval fortifications. The vast Bock Casemates tunnel network encompasses a dungeon, prison and the Archaeological Crypt, considered the city’s birthplace. Along ramparts above, the Chemin de la Corniche promenade offers dramatic viewpoints. Luxembourg City lies on the southern part of the Luxembourg plateau, a large Early Jurassic sandstone formation that forms the heart of the Gutland, a low-lying and flat area that covers the southern two-thirds of the country.
Luxembourg American Cemetery and Memorial is a Second World War American military war grave cemetery, located in Hamm just outside the main city area. The cemetery, containing 5,074 American war dead, covers 50.5 acres and was dedicated in 1960. It is administered by the American Battle Monuments Commission. The cemetery was established on 29 December 1944 by the 609th Quartermaster Company of the U.S. Third Army while Allied Forces were containing the German Ardennes offensive in the winter of 1944/1945. General George S. Patton used the city of Luxembourg as headquarters. The new headstones were cemented onto concrete beams that run for more than six miles under the lawn of the grave plots. The 5,076 headstones are set in nine plots of fine grass, lettered A to I. Separating the plots are two malls radiating from the memorial and two transverse paths. Two flagpoles overlook the graves area. Situated between the two flagpoles lies the grave of General George S. Patton. Twenty-two sets of brothers rest side-by-side in adjacent graves. During the 1950s, the original wooden grave markers were replaced with headstones made of white Lasa marble. Not far from the cemetery entrance stands the white stone chapel, set on a wide circular platform surrounded by woods. It is embellished with sculpture in bronze and stone, a stained-glass window with the insignia of the five major U.S. commands that operated in the region, and a mosaic ceiling.
Back in 2015 I was able to visit Luxembourg and enjoy its delights first hand. The purpose of my visit was to watch a European football game between Differdange and Bala Town. Differdange is an industrial town that was home to much of Luxembourg’s steel production, much of its development occurred during its heyday. Today, Differdange still remains an important industrial center, with ArcelorMittal, the world’s largest steel producer, retaining an important steel factory in the town.
There are 130 castles in Luxembourg, however most are the equivalent of English fortified houses. The most impressive castle is Beaufort Castle, which is located in the East of the Country. It was probably in the 11th century that the castle began as a small square-shaped fortress on a large rock protected by a moat and a second wall above the valley. A reference from 1192 indicates that Wauthier de Wiltz et Beaufort was its first lord. During the first half of the 12th century, a keep was added and the gate was moved and enlarged. In 1348, the property came into the hands of the House of Orley after Adelaide of Beaufort married William of Orley. The Lords of Orley made significant extensions overlooking the valley. In 1477, Maximilian of Austria transferred the castle to Johann Bayer von Boppard after Johann von Orley-Beaufort committed a breach in trust. In 1539, Bernard von Velbrück became Lord of Beaufort through marriage and added the large Renaissance wing with cross-framed windows on top of the medieval walls. The castle then came into the hands of Gaspard de Heu who had married Velbrück’s granddaughter. A partisan of the Dutch resistance and the House of Orange, de Heu was captured by the Spaniards, accused of heresy and treason, and publicly executed in Luxembourg’s fish market in 1593. Philip II of Spain confiscated the property and entrusted it to Peter Ernst Graf von Mansfeld, the governor of Luxembourg. Through marriage, the castle became the property of Henri de Chalon and then Gaspard du Bost-Moulin who had to sell it after being ruined by the Thirty Years War. Acting on behalf of the Spanish king, Johann Baron von Beck, governor of Luxembourg, bought most of the property in 1639. He initiated the construction of the Renaissance castle in 1643 but after he died of injuries from the Battle of Lens in 1648, the work was completed by his son in 1649. After various changes in ownership including Pierre de Coumont and Jean Théodore Baron de Tornaco-Vervoy, the castle was abandoned, fell into disrepair and at the beginning of the 19th century was even used as a quarry. In 1850, it was listed by the State as a national monument. In 1893, the new owner Henri Even restored the new building and, in 1928, Edmond Linkels cleared the rubble away and opened the medieval castle to visitors. In 1981, the property was acquired by the State.
Well that’s another little corner of Europe ticked off. Another massive Thankyou to @hoppy_steve who was able to assist with this beer. I have no idea when the next beer blog will appear. I have been toying with splitting up Germany and doing a series of blogs around that country, but, I can only really locate Bavarian beers and so it would turn into another struggle very quickly. I think I’m just going to hold out until another country just falls into place and go with it that way.
In other news I’m running another orienteering event this weekend so expect a map/route blog In a couple of weeks. Apart from that maybe I need to start doing golf course reviews or the equivalent? If you have any thoughts please let me know in the comments.
