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An interview with Pierre Tilquin, owner and master blender of Gueuzerie Tilquin
As Gueuzerie Tilquin approaches its tenth anniversary this March, there can be no question that the esteemed lambic blendery has seen great success in its first decade. I paid a visit to Founder/Owner/Master Blender Pierre Tilquin in late August 2018, to catch up on how things are going, and to discuss the new beers that…
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Pure Kriek Cantillon 1996: The inspiration for Brasserie Cantillon’s Lou Pepe Kriek
Brasserie Cantillon’s Lou Pepe Kriek is one of the most sought-after fruited lambic beers in the world. It has intense notes of sour cherries, with a noticeable lambic funkiness, especially with bottles with at least several years of age. Lou Pepe Kriek is made by using two year old lambic, much of which has been…
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Two brew days at Brasserie Cantillon
I visited the hallowed Brasserie Cantillon in Brussels in early February and late November 2017, to photograph and video two brewing days…and to sample quite a few of the magnificent beers brewed on site, of course. There’s no point in doing this kind of work if you can’t enjoy it! I have included lots of…
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Weekend of Oude Geuze, Vini, Birre, Ribelli, and the Day of the Lambic
The last weekend of November and the first weekend of December 2017 will feature several superb events centering around beer (and wine) in Belgium, where lambic is either the main focus, or is an important part of the event. Read on for the details. On November 25-26, the city of Brussels will host an important…
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Belgian Beer Me’s “Wild and Spontaneous Beer Tour of Belgium” 2015
When Stu Stuart of Belgian Beer Me! Beer Tours of Belgium (BBM!) asked me to be a guest host on one of his “Wild & Spontaneous Beer Tour of Belgium,” I gladly accepted. I normally plan my own tours to Belgium and can safely say that organizing them is a very intricate, time consuming process.…
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Toer de Geuze article in Celebrator Beer News
I have a 1,200+ word article in the June/July issue of Celebrator Beer News on the 2015 edition of Belgium’s Toer de Geuze. In fact, you might as well call it “Toer de Geuze Weekend” from now one, as there are so many events taking place at the lambic breweries in the days leading up…
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Brasserie de Waterloo: Brewery, Visitor’s Center, Restaurant, and more….
On June 18, 1815, Napoleon Bonaparte met his final defeat at the battle of Waterloo, a small hamlet of villages located about eleven miles south of Brussels. Now, an old farm that was set up as a field hospital by The Duke of Wellington, who led the English and their allies to victory that day,…
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Meet Anne-Françoise Pypaert, the first female Trappist brewmaster
Step aside, guys. The lady is in charge. Welcome to Brasserie d’ Orval, Anno 2014. Things have changed a lot in the male-dominated world of the Trappist Abbey breweries in the last few decades. A significant number of women now work at these hallowed places, mainly in the area of lab work, marketing, and quality…
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Brasserie Cantillon set to expand and double production
Jean Van Roy released some big news today: Brasserie Cantillon has found a space where they can add lots of extra barrels and increase production by double over a four year period. The building is just 300 meters from Cantillon, and was the site of another lambic blendery, Brasserie Limbourg, which closed in the 1960’s.…
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The Belgian brewery: fifty shades of grey
This is a guest post by Carl Kins. 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 Beer Judge, and has…