Once again, lambic is in the spotlight in the Province of Flemish Brabant, which is home to most of the lambic breweries and blenderies in Belgium.

For the second straight year, the Tourist Office of the Province of Flemish Brabant (Vlaams-Brabant) is organizing a month of events to celebrate the beverage native to their province in Belgium.

This is from the tourist office press release: “The Month of the Lambiek (De Maand van de Lambiek en de Provincie Vlaams-Brabant) once again puts the spotlight on the ‘champagne among beers’ which is lambic. To put the unique Lambic culture in this region in the spotlight, Tourism Flemish Brabant has developed an extensive tourist offer for this. The breweries, breweries and pubs offer a varied program that you can discover through the various walking and cycling tours.”

If you want to eat and drink well, Thomas Debelder, Manager of the beloved Restaurant 3 Fonteinen in Beersel, which I wrote about in this previous article here, had this to say: “Restaurant 3 Fonteinen will have various classic lambik dishes on the menu the whole month, like venison with Kriek selection by Boon, pork stew with lambik, oysters & geuze, and more.”

I highly recommend eating and savoring lambic beers at Restaurant 3 Fonteinen!

There will be a lambic tasting at the superb beer specialty cafe, De Bascule, which I recently visited and wrote about in this previous article here, on Monday, October 17, starting at 8 pm. Owner Jef Koolen has told me that the list of lambics to be poured will have some interesting surprises, including some vintage ones. To reserve a spot, call 32 477/45.67.37 because places are limited.

On October 26, another beer speciality cafe, the great ‘t Paddenbroek in Gooik, which I covered in this previous article here, will organize a lambic tasting beginning at 7:30 pm. The cost is 35 euros and ten drink tastings are included. Lambic beer expert Patrick Van der Spiegel will be guiding the tastings. See more about Patrick towards the end of this article. “The Land of Geuze and Lambic Beer Tours, and Rock & Roell Experience is the perfect blend for a lambic tasting,” says Paddenbroek manager Roel Janssens. Please email Roel to make a reservation at roeloeloespub@gmail.com.

On October 29, Brouwerij Oud Beersel will hold lambic blending events at 11 am and 2 pm where ten different lambics can be tasted. This is from Gert Christiaens, master blender and owner of Oud Beersel:

“During this event, you will be guided through a tasting of 10 different Lambics of Oud Beersel that will showcase the many traits and profiles of these different beers. The Lambics, both young and old, will be hand-selected from different demi-muids, pipes, and foeders, and will help you discover how these special beers mature over time. This is one of the few chances we offer to taste a suite of Oud Beersel Lambics that are as varied as this, so you won’t want to miss it! This event is limited to 20 people. The details: Where: Oud Beersel Brewery, 230 Laarheidestraat, 1650 Beersel Language: Dutch. Register here. Price: €27.

The the same night and the night before, on October 28-29, Oud Beersel will also hold a nighttime visit to the blendery, starting at 8 pm. This from Gert Christiaens:

“Visit Oud Beersel on a dark autumn evening. Wander through the blendery in the dim light of candles, use your nose and ears to discover the brewery building in a different way, warm up by the fire pits and taste our surprising glükriek and winterlambiek. Bring your own flashlight to light up or use the light from your phone. Afterwards you can linger in the Bierhuis. Where: Oud Beersel, 230 Laarheidestraat, 1650 Beersel. Language: Dutch
Register here Price: €10.”

Gert Christiaens is also President of HORAL, The High Council for Artisanal Lambic Beers. The organization describes its aims as: “The main objective of the association is the promotion of traditional lambic beers, in particular Oude Geuze and Oude Kriek. The association also takes initiatives to protect these beers. Every two years, HORAL organizes the Toer de Geuze, the open brewery day of the Pajottenland and the Senne valley.”

At Brouwerij Boon in Lembeek, their new beer tasting cafe and retail shop have been open for just over a year now, on Fridays and Saturdays, from 10 am to 6 pm.

Boon will organize an Oude Kriek tasting on the night of Thursday, October 27, starting at 7:30 pm. This tasting will be led, only in Dutch, by Frank Boon and Chris Lauriers. For more details, see here.

Boon will also be hosting a “Cellar Days” event on October 28-29, where some of their rarest vintage bottles of lambic can be tasted in their beer cafe, or purchased for taking home. There will also be brewery tours offered on both days, with an English tour scheduled for 4 pm on Saturday the 29th. For full details see here.

De Maand Van De Lambiek en de provincie Vlaams-Brabant will culminate with ones of its premier events, and one of the must do’s of the lambic beer world: De Lambikstoempers 16th Annual “Days of the Oude Geuze” on October 29-30.

De Lambikstoempers are the premier lambic beer appreciation and promotion club in Belgium’s Payottenland, Belgium’s lambic country. The venue is the Streekproductencentrum (Regional Products Center) in Halle, eight miles south of Brussels. Halle is linked by frequent trains from Brussels, and the journey only takes about 20 minutes. You could base yourself in Brussels, or even a hotel or B&B in Halle.

Such B&B’s include the well-located Kaai 16 at Kaai 16, near the train station, as well as Flemish Home at Brusselsesteenweg 138. There are hotels as well.

From De Lambikstoempers: “For the Days of the Oude Geuze this year, we will provide an extensive range of spontaneously fermented beers! Beers from the following breweries / distilleries can be tasted:

Boerenerf Eylenbosch (Huizingen)
Boon (Lembeek)
Brouwerij VAN’T Pajottenland (Pepingen)
Cantillon (Anderlecht)
De Cam (Gooik)
De Troch (Wambeek)
Den Herberg (Buizingen),
Eylenbosch (Kobbegem)
3 Fonteinen (Beersel)
Girardin (Sint-Ulriks-Kapelle)
Hanssens (Dworp)
Kestemont (Sint-Gertrudis-Pede)
Lambiek Fabriek (Ruisbroek)
Lindemans (Vlezenbeek)
Mort Subite (Kobbegem)
Oud Beersel (Beersel)
Tilquin (Rebecq)
Timmermans (Itterbeek).”

I attended the “Days of the Oude Geuze” in 2013 and 2017, and can confirm that this is a must-visit event for all lambic lovers!

Patrick Van der Spiegel, a resident of Halle, has lived his life savoring and enjoying lambic brews. Patrick has two projects, “The Land of Geuze” and “Lambic Tours” which both have Facebook and Instagram pages. The Lambic Tours website is here.

Patrick Van der Spiegel organizes tours to lambic breweries, geuze blenderies, and traditional Belgian pubs in and near the Pajottenland and the Zenne Valley. Patrick guides these tours himself, and can do so in English, Dutch, and French. In addition, there is the possibility to pair these tours with guided tours at breweries or blenderies, with professional tour guides, or lambic brewers/blenders. These tours typically include tasting samples of multiple beers, and an optional lunch or dinner for the whole group.

If you are interested in these custom guided tours, feel free to fill in the contact form on their website (lambictours.com) or send an email to patrick@lambictours.be. It is also possible to send private messages through their Instagram and Facebook pages.

Patrick’s lambic tours can be summed up in one word: Marvelous!

See here for more info from the tourist office about lambic in the Province of Flemish Brabant.

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