The venerable Brouwerij Timmermans of Itterbeek (Kerkstraat 11) will be open Sunday, May 7th from 10 am till 5 pm. The brewery normally offers many different beers on draft and in bottles, as well as several food stands.
Timmermans sign inside the brewery
Timmermans was founded in 1702, and has been undergoing an artisanal lambic renaissance since around 2008. Willem van Herreweghen, who founded the De Cam lambic blendery in 1997, was brought on in 2009 to consult and develop the lambic program. The brewery has invested in many foeders in the last several years, and is experimenting with different lmabic and fruit lambic blends.
Willem Van Herreweghen drawing a sample of lambic from a barrel
One of these recent special beers is Brasserie de la Taupe Brewer’s Desire, which is described by the brewery as: “A 100% malt beer (pale malt and lightly roasted malt) brewed with aged hops and boiled for an extended period of time. Different yeasts from the Pajottenland region, that have been isolated and then cultivated, are added to the cooling vessel. The famous Brettanomyces enter also into action, and do their secret & mysterious work.
Timmermans itself is a living museum and the large site is loaded with old brewing equipment and breweriana. See here for more information from a previous article.
The limited edition Brasserie de la Taupe Brewer’s Desire, brewed by Willem van Herreweghen.Back label of Brasserie de la Taupe Brewer’s Desire.
This unique brew is allowed to mature for 2 years in oak barrels before being bottled, unfiltered, to undergo a final secondary fermentation with the same yeast. A single precious batch has been produced, to be shared among demanding connoisseurs.”
I tasted this delectable brew recently with friends stateside, and we agreed that it had a classic lambic funk character, moderate tartness, and a fine complexity. The beer is lighter bodied and with a higher alcohol (7.5% abv) because there was no wheat used in the brewing process.
Left, brewing legend Willem van Herreweghen, and right, Timmermans owner Anthony Martin.The new emblem of Brouwerij TimmermansFiltration vessel plaque, Brouwerij Timmermans.Filtration vessel, Brouwerij TimmermansThe coolship full of hot wort at Timmermans.A glass of hot wort, taken right from the coolship at Timmermans.Whole cherries (krieken) taken from a barrel, Timmermans.Cherries in a barrel and a glass of kriekenlambic, Timmermans.Dries Lemmens, a brewer at Timmermans, adjusting the filter taps at wort is pumped through them.Wort flowing through the filter taps at Timmermans.Brewing hall at Brouwerij Timmermans.The old mash tun at Timmermans.Steaming kettle at Timmermans.Hot wort being pumped into the coolship at Timmermans.Another shot of hot wort being pumped into the coolship at Timmermans.and another…steaming up now.Very steamy coolship…Wort in the coolship, Timmermans.Brewer Kloris Deville at the coolship at Timmermans.Coolship room was so steamed up, it was time to leave it.A room with barrels of lambic at Timmermans.An old beer wagon at Timmermans.Smaller barrels on the left and foeders on the right at Timmermans.Brewer Kloris Deville pulling samples of lambic from a foeder.Brewer Kloris Deville pulling a glass of lambic from another foeder. This was a really good day of tasting at Timmermans!Brewer Kloris Deville pulling some lambic from a barrel.Glass of lambic on a barrel, Timmermans.Brewer Kloris Deville pulling samples of kriekenlambic at Timmermans.Kriekenlambic on a foeder at Timmermans.Brouwerij Timmermans of Itterbeek.
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