In collaboration with the Fort Lapin brewery Frituur Bosrand, a chippy in Bruges (West Flanders), has launched a new brew: ‘chip beer’. The beer is partly brewed using potatoes. The chippy hopes this will help to use up current potato surpluses.
Flemish farmers are looking at a potato surplus mountain, and every week there’s an initiative somewhere across the land to get to rid of it. Some farmers are simply giving their potatoes away free of charge, but there are also more original ways of using up excess Bintje potatoes.
The Bosrand chippy in Bruges has now added a chip beer to its menu, explains owner Cindy Sanctorum:
“The initiative came about as a result of the potato crisis. We’d discussed the problem with our potato farmer. We already have our own beer, so I went to our brewer and asked him to make one with potatoes, and he was up for it. Potatoes are actually already being used to make certain types of vodka.”
‘Customers always say chips are getting no cheaper, even though potatoes are almost free. And then we thought: we have to do something with this surplus. We also wanted to do our bit to help the farmers.’
Subtle potato flavour
It is not known exactly how many potatoes go into a litre of the new beer. That’s the brewer’s secret, says Cindy: “We put the potatoes in large containers. I can’t say exactly how many there are. The potatoes are boiled, then water, barley and wheat malt, hops and yeast are added. It’s a rather unusual beer. If you don’t know there are potatoes in it, you won’t taste them!”
A hit with the public
The chip beer is a lager with 5.7 per cent alcohol content, a slightly higher percentage than the ordinary pint. At the moment, it’s only available at the chip shop, but if it’s a success, it could be distributed via retail outlets.
‘Belgians love chips and beer, so it’s a brilliant combination, isn’t it? Tourists think it’s a great idea too. It’s something different and it’s a hit.’