The area known as Pajottenland is 
situated
to the west and south-west edge of Brussels, including the Zennevallei
(Senne Valley). It's.an area of farmlard and quiet hamlets, where
it's possible to find unspoilt old bars and drink lambic, gueuze
and kriek made in the traditional hand-crafted way.
No visit to this area would be complete without a trip to the
small town of Beersel where Henri Vandervelden single-handedly
runs the OUD BEERSEL BREWERY and adjoining cafe bar In
't Bierhuis.
Lambic beer is brewed using only water, wheat, malt and aged hops. No sugars or yeast is added, as the beer spontaneously ferments with the help of' 'wild yeasts' which are present in the brewery air and wooden storage vessels. Lambics of varying ages and tastes are then blended and refermented in the bottle to produce a beer style called gueuze.
Available only on draught at the cafe bar are the 
5.7%
OUD BEERSEL JONGE (Young) LAMBIC and OUDE (old) LAMBIC, a flat,
opaque, slightly musty beer, delightfully unusual. On my last
visit I preferred the young version. POESY (Sherry Poetry) is
the kriek (cherry) beer. It is one of the few-Belgiwi beers to
use real fruit, Norwegian black cherries. This 7% beer is strongly
acidic, with the fruit almost absent from the taste and aroma.
Not at all sweet, an acquired taste for most!
The brewery is open on Saturdays for sales of beer and is home
to a small brewing museum (visitors by appointment only). In 't
Bierhuis is open from 10.00 to 20.00 daily, and until 14.00 on
Saturdays (closed Tuesdays). It is situated at 228 - 232 Laarhcidestraat,
Beersel.
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