It’s one of the “white whale” beers of the world. It’s considered by some to be one of the top lambic brews ever produced. Millennium Geuze, a collaboration beer between Willem Van Herreweghen, former owner and blender of Geuzestekerij De Cam in Gooik, and Armand Debelder of 3 Fonteinen of Beersel, is one of the…

I was honored to be invited to attend the first ever Belgian Family Brewers Press trip, held from 6 to 10 November. We visited eight breweries, and had presentations and tastings about all 21 brouwerijen and brasseries. Among the 21 are some of the best breweries in Belgium, including several of my favorites. The Belgian…

Anyone that knows me well knows that I love tart, sour brews, especially the balanced, refined lambic beers of Belgium’s Payottenland and Zenne valley, the area to the south and west of Brussels. Visiting lambic producers, whether it is a brewery or blendery, is always a special privilege. And an exciting one, at that! The…

There are a lot of very interesting projects going on in the Belgian beer world right now, and I’ve had the privilege of visiting many of them in the last couple of years. One that really stood out during my December 2012 and April 2013 trips will be a major destination spot for beer lovers…

Photo: The old Achel Abbey, dating to 1846 The  Achel Trappist Abbey, more formally known as St. Benedictus Abdij de Achelse Kluis, in Hamont-Achel, Limburg Province, was founded in 1846 by monks from Abdij der Trappisten van Westmalle, better known simply as Westmalle. Hence, Achel is a “daughter” abbey of Westmalle. Meaning, it is under…

New brewery officially christened on March 23, 2013 In March 2011, I mentioned on the pages of my blog, belgianbeerspecialist.blogspot.com, that 3 Fonteinen was likely to brew again, sometime in the near future. Brewer/blender Armand Debelder didn’t give me a specific time frame, and I’ve been waiting patiently for the day to come. When I…

While I primarily write about Belgium’s great beers and beer culture, when the opportunity arises, I do enjoy artisanal liquors. With a number of Belgian breweries, such as Pirlot, Craywinckelhof, and Wilderen now also having distilleries, the opportunities to indulge, and research artisanal spirits, have been frequent during my last several trips to Belgium. Brouwerij Het Anker of…