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A day in the Payottenland and Zenne Valley with Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen
Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen has long been among the most well-respected lambic producers in Belgium. 3 Fonteinen was founded by Gaston Debelder in 1953 in Beersel, as a cafe and lambic blendery. The blendery was later taken over by Gaston’s son, Armand, and there have been a lot of changes since then. The detailed history of…
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Brouwerij Eylenbosch joins The High Council for Artisanal Lambic Beers (HORAL)
Brouwerij Eylenbosch, which had been one of Belgium’s best known lambic breweries until it no longer brewed around 1989, has been reborn. This famous old landmark is on the road from Brussels to Ninove, in Schepdaal. In 2018, Erik De Keersmaeker, the fifth-generation of the De Keersmaeker lambic brewing family, which includes De Keersmaeker and…
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A visit to De Brouwerij VAN ’T Pajottenland and Distillery De Cort
Belgium has a brand new lambic brewery, right in the heart of the Pajottenland (Payottenland) and Zenne valley. De Brouwerij VAN ’T Pajottenland in Pepingen has actually been producing lambic for about 18 months now, and the site recently opened to the public. There is also an existing distillery on the same site, De Cort.…
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Oud Beersel selects exclusive new U.S. importer, Winter Dog Cellars of Virginia
Oud Beersel, the venerable and highly-respected lambic blendery in Beersel, Belgium, has selected a new importer for the U.S.A., Winter Dog Cellars of Fairfax, Virginia. The deal was announced in a press release by Winter Dog Cellars on September 28, 2022. I was aware of the impending import agreement for some time, but was unable…
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Cantillon Quintessence 2022
Brasserie Cantillon of Brussels continues to be the world’s most beloved lambic brewery, and for good reason. Brewer Jean Van Roy has been producing an amazing and growing array of lambic beers for quite a few years, many of which are aged with wine and/or matured in former wine barrels. The pace of the releases…
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Trappist Westvleteren adds labels to their revered beers; plus a look at the brewery and In de Vrede cafe
The beers of De Sint-Sixtus Abdij van Westvleteren, usually referred to as Trappist Westvleteren for the last couple of decades, are among the most highly coveted in the world. The Westvleteren beers-which currently number three-are Blond, 8, and 12. These are Belgian Trappist brews of a very high quality, that I am very familiar with.…
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Lambiek Fabriek selects U.S. importer, Winter Dog Cellars; beers headed stateside
There is great news for lambic beer lovers in the U.S.A.: Lambiek Fabriek, the highly regarded new lambic producer that I first covered in these pages in 2017 in this previous article, has selected a U.S. importer for their beers. Winter Dog Cellars of Fairfax, Virginia, has inked an import deal with Lambiek Fabriek, which…
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Brouwerij and Cafe Den Herberg: gems in Belgium’s Lambic Country
What should become one of Belgium’s premier breweries and brewery cafes, Brouwerij Den Herberg of Buizingen, in the Province of Flemish Brabant, has just been given the great honor of joining HORAL, The High Council for Artisanal Lambic Beers. Den Herberg has been making great lambics for several years now, and just released their first…
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Het Boerenerf Eylenbosch: Belgium’s new lambic blendery
Belgium once again has a new lambic blendery, and it’s a really good one! The blender and owner, Senne Eylenbosch, comes from a family of lambic makers and farmers in the heart of Belgium’s lambic country. The new place is called Het Boerenerf Eylenbosch. Their Facebook page is here. I visited the farm, lambic blendery,…
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Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen and De lambik-O-droom: updates for 2022, and beyond
I recently talked with one of the owners of Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen, Werner Van Obberghen, to see how things have been progressing with the brewery and the lambik-O-droom expansion that I wrote about in this previous article here. A lot has happened in the beer world during the pandemic that began in early 2020, and…