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Brasserie des Carrières

No spices are used in Dîole, which is unfiltered and unpasteurized, and is the only beer that Carrières currently produces. “In fact, at the moment, we only have one format: corked and caged 75 cl bottles. But we plan to also do 37.5 cl bottles in the future, also with cork and cage,” François added.

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The direct-fired brewkettle heats the wort to 200 degrees Celsius (392 degrees Fahrenheit) and therefore adds a caramelization to the beer, as at Brasserie Dupont. “We boil for about 90 minutes, and then later send the wort through a plate cooler. Primary fermentation lasts about seven days, at 25 degrees Celsius (77 Fahrenheit.) After that, we lager (cold-condition) Dîole for 3 weeks, at 2 degrees Celsius (35 Fahrenheit) François told me. The beer then undergoes a secondary fermentation of two weeks.

Two batches of beer (40 hl) are then blended together, and sent to a bottling tank. Some sugar and yeast are used at bottling to spark a refermentation in the bottle, after the bottles are placed in a bottle machine that can fill 900 bottles per hour. The bottles are then placed in a warm (maturation) room for two weeks. Dîole is then ready to be offered for sale.

Since my visit in late April, two additional 55 hectoliter lagering/cold-condiitoning tanks have been added.

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“We plan to brew about 600 hl in 2013,” François remarked. All the beer is sold within a 10-kilometer radius of the brewery at present. “Our goal is to be a local brewery,” François commented.

As to the name Dîole, it relates to the local history of the area, and also a local slang word. François said: “There was a lot of stone quarrying in this village in the 19th century, as well as stone cutting and polishing. A stone that was difficult to cut and caused problems was called a Dîole. It was also the name for a tool used to polish stone. Now, it’s also a word used in this region to describe a difficult, unruly child who misbehaves a lot.”

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Dîole is a well-balanced dark blonde/amberish brew with fruity notes, noticeable spiciness from the yeasts used, evident hopping, and a medium body. It’s a well-made beer, worth seeking out.

The brewery is open for sales (and probably a tour if you ask!) on most Saturdays from 8 am to 6 pm. The address is: 62 rue de Condé, Basècles, Belgium. Telephone: 32 473 82 38 57, and E-Mail: brasseriedescarrieres@skynet.be.

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