Troubadour Blond is one of our favourite beers, so when we learned that the boys had made adry-hopped blond, we were excited. Then they explained that the beer was only for the American market, but after a little pleading we managed to get some.
There is an inviting aroma of fruity and grassy hops. This follows through in the taste, initially fruity though giving in to hop bitterness and yeast spice for a drier in the finish. The alcohol is higher than the normal blond, so the Troubadour brewers refer to this beer style as a ‘double blond’.
Antigoon was a mythical giant, who controlled a river in Antwerp, exacting tolls from those crossing the river. For any who couldn’t pay, he would chop off a hand and throw it in the river. One day a Roman soldier named Silvius Brabo slew the giant, cutting off his head and hand. The Brabo Statue stands in front of the city hall, and depicts this event; said to be the origin of the name Antwerp. ‘Hand and Wearpan’ (which in old English meant to throw).