This week, we welcome guest writer Carl Kins back to the site. Carl, an internationally known beer judge and author, lives in Kortrijk, West Flanders. You can read his full bio in this article here. Below is Carl’s take on all the recent press predicting the demise of the Trappist breweries in Belgium. From Carl:…
No, I didn’t say Belgian beer and chocolate. We all know they pair well, but how about putting Belgian beer inside chocolate? Let’s talk about chocolate. Because I like chocolate. So do a lot of other people, too. People with good taste. Yes, sounds like a great idea? In fact, Belgium-the greatest producer of artisanal…
There have been a number of articles in the last few weeks in several well-known media outlets that have sounded the alarm about the status and viability of brewing at the world’s Trappist breweries, primarily those in Belgium. One article, in Forbes.com, here, even went so far as to claim that the Orval Trappist brewery,…
A little slice of Belgium will soon open in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. Since I live here, well, I thought I’d tell you about it. Just because I like beer. Belgian beer, especially. If you’re reading this article, you probably do too. (If you don’t, maybe I can convince you.) The much-anticipated De Kleine Duivel (“The…
The monks of the St. Joseph’s Abbey in Spencer, Massachusetts received the “Authentic Trappist Product” designation and logo on December 10, making them the first official Trappist brewery in the U.S.A. As to the reasons for opening this new brewery: “Our brewery project is one of necessity. For over 60 years, we have cooked and…
The Orval Trappist brewery has announced the winners of the 2014 Orval Ambassador program. This from the Orval website: “For the 2014 edition, 325 cafés, taverns and restaurants have been rewarded for serving Orval. 231 establishments throughout Belgium, but also 7 in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, 21 in France, 1 in Germany, 35 in…
There will be a dry-hopped version of Brasserie Dupont’s excellent Saison Dupont once again in 2014. The beer first made it stateside this spring as the Cuvee 2013, and brewmaster Olivier Dedeycker has another batch in the works right now. This from U.S. Importer Vanberg & DeWulf, today: “Every year Dupont’s Master Brewer, Olivier Dedeycker,…
Barrel-aging continues to be all the rage in the beer world, and there are a lot of such projects going on in Belgium right now. A new one involves Brouwerij Fort Lapin of Brugge (Bruges) which just opened in 2012. Brewer Kristof Vandenbussche has teamed up with Ive Mostrey of ‘t Koelschip (“The Coolship”) which…
Today, I welcome Carl Kins as a guest contributor to the site. Carl is very well known in beer circles in his native Belgium, as well as all over Europe and the U.S.A. He is a member of Zythos, The European Beer Consumer’s Union (E.B.C.U.), and other beer associations and groups. He is an International…
Here’s some eye candy for you vintage geuze and kriek lovers out there. An unopened bottle of Kriek from Brasserie Cantillon, dating to about 1960. Note that it’s hard to determine the age for certain of the old Cantillon bottles, as they had no label. There was only a red stripe of paint and a…
