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Brouwerij Timmermans: Artisanal lambic project
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…
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Brouwerij De Kroon and Biercentrum Delvaux
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…
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The Brasserie Dupont Story
The history of Saison brews and Hainaut province Hainaut, the most western province in French-speaking Wallonia, Belgium’s southern half, has long been recognized as Belgium’s saison beer heartland. The area, about an hour’s drive southwest of Brussels, boasts an impressive 25 or so breweries. About a third of these produce a saison or two. Hainaut…
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Trappist Achel
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…
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3 Fonteinen: New brewery, same great beers
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…
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Paira Daiza: Zoo, World Gardens, and Brasserie De Cambron
Some things just amaze. The new brewery at Pairi Daiza, one of Belgium’s top tourist attractions, is one of them. Pairi Daiza is a zoo with over 5,000 animals and several large gardens. It is the number one tourist site in Wallonia, the French-speaking part of Belgium. Over one million visitors pass it gates every…
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Brasserie De La Lesse: a Co-Op is born in Namur province
If you traveled to Belgium in the late ‘90’s, you might remember the beers of Brasserie La Rochefortoise. The brewery only operated from 1995 to 2000, but made several interesting strong, dark ales. When it closed, the brewery building and equipment remained. When several beer-loving friends in the Eprave-Rochefortoise area in Namur province discovered this…
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Stokerij De Molenberg: Het Anker’s new distillery
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…
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Brouwerij and Distilleerderij Craywinckelhof
Louis Schrevens loves Scotch whisky. He also likes other types of distilled spirits, and beer. He’s building what would be a dream to many, a multi-purpose site where both beer and spirits will be born. It is located on the outskirts of Lubbeek, a little town near Leuven, in the Province of Flemish Brabant. “Brewery…