BELGIAN BREWERIES

Traditional brewing in every drop

Geuze Boon

FOUNDED BY: Frank

Boon

ORIGIN: Lembeek, Belgium

Oude Geuze is what started it all.

Based on the lambic style, and synonymous with Brussels brewing, it was a beer that a 21 yearold Frank Boon loved. So much so, that when Oude Geuze started to fall out of favour, he was determined to keep it alive. He bought Rene De Vits’ geuze in 1978, acquiring the building, an arsenal of oak lambic barrels and a whole lot of dust and cobwebs.

didn’t take too long before realised Boon needed more A new brewery hall, built Lembeek, was quickly followed first true lambic brew. from then things went from strength to strength, mastering blending, mixing and ageing are the hallmarks of a truly lambic. The delicious balance of old and young, augmented by fruit if you like, never simple. Never basic.

Traditional geuze brewing got EU protection (with Frank heavily involved!), new warehouses were built and, in 2017, another new brewery hall was built, this time tripling capacity. And all because of one man’s love of geuze.

Dupont is a brewery with deep roots. It all started with a Belgian farm dating back to 1759. The farm became a farm-brewery, producing seasonal honey and saison beers for summer sipping. Then along came Louis.

In 1920, Louis’ father Albert Dupont wanted to head off a potential move to Canada. So he bought his agronomist son the same farm-brewery, and Brasserie Dupont was born, along with their take on the popular farm beer - the now iconic Dupont Saison.

Since then, the old farm has weathered wars and depressions that sunk many a small Belgian brewery. And it gained some shiny kit along the way.

Dupont is still family run, with a line stretching through nephews and daughters, and they still produce the Dupont Saison that’s so beloved by brewers and drinkers worldwide.

An archetypal farmhouse style, true to its rural roots.

BRASSERIE-DUPONT

ORIGIN: Tourpes, Belgium

FOUNDED: 1920

CHIMAY

FOUNDED BY: Scourmont

Abbey

ORIGIN: Hainaut, Belgium

The monks of Scourmont Abbey have been brewing for over 150 years, producing world-class Trappist beer in their austere, peaceful monastery on a wild plateau in Hainaut, one of Belgium’s southern provinces.

For many years, the work of the monks was the cultivation of their fields but, in keeping with other historic Trappist monasteries, the passing of time increased the demands of self sufficiency.

This led the brothers to develop cottage industries producing cheese and brewing beer, the latter of which flourished into something rather larger in scale.

FOUNDED: 1862

And what beer they brew. Chimay’s recognisable bottles are differentiated by coloured caps, with a red Dubbel, a blue Dark Ale, and a white Tripel, alongside a Gold ‘Patersbier’, intended to be drunk by the monks themselves but now enjoyed by many outside the monastery’s walls.

In their own rather poetic words... ‘Here, in this heaven of peace and silence, where since 1850 Trappist monks have dedicated their life to God, heart

At bottling, Orval is characterised by lemony fresh hops and pronounced bitterness but, as with other Trappist beers, the taste and depth continue to develop as the nectar ferments in the bottle over time. It can pack a punch too, with ABV rising alongside the flavour profile.

But what of the Abbey itself? As legend has it, 1000 years ago an Italian Countess was visiting the region and dropped an ornate, jewelled wedding ring into a bubbling spring.

The ring was returned to her by a helpful trout, leading the Countess to name the area the Val d’Or (Golden Valley), from which Orval derives its name. Funds given in thanks paid for the monastery’s foundation.

And the trout? He didn’t receive

ORVAL

ORIGIN: Abbaye Notre-Dame d’Orval, Belgium

FOUNDED: 1931

ORIGIN: Brussels, Belgium

Timmermans is a Belgian institution, taking the title of the world’s oldest lambic brewery. Originally founded as De Mol (The Mole), in 1702, Timmermans have been perfecting their craft in the Flemish village of Itterbeek ever since.

After a sideline in exporting artisanal Belgian beer to the Sultan of Constantinople, the brewery became Brouwerji Timmermans in the early twentieth century, when the owner’s youngest daughter married a brewer from the nearby village of Zuun named Frans Timmermans.

FOUNDED: 1702

The region has always been famous for the Lambic style, where malt-heavy beers are allowed to ferment through contact with wild yeast and native bacteria, giving gueuze and kriek their unique sour and wine- or cider-like flavour.

Timmermans have always been famous for fruit-forward brews, using fresh peach or raspberry to cut through the beer’s natural acidity, and recent small-batch bottlings of protected lambic styles like Oude Kriek and Oude Gueuze have taken things to the next level.

In 1900 there were around 300 lambic breweries. A century later there are ten left, so here’s to Timmermans for keeping those sour fires burning.

BTL Framboise 4.00% 24x330ml

BTL Framboise RB 4.00% 24x330ml

BTL Peche 4.00% 24x330ml

BTL Peche RB 4.00% 24x330ml

BTL Kriek 4.00% 24x330ml

BTL Kriek RB 4.00% 24x330ml

BTL Strawberry 4.00% 12x330ml

KEG Strawberry 4.00% 30L A

KEG Kriek 4.00% 30L A

KEG Peche 4.00% 15L A

Lambic Fruit Beer - Raspberry £26.50

Lambic Fruit Beer - Raspberry £48.50

Lambic Fruit Beer - Peach £27.50

Lambic Fruit Beer - Peach £48.50

Lambic Fruit Beer - Cherry £27.00

Lambic Fruit Beer - Cherry £44.50

Lambic Fruit Beer - Strawberry £26.00

Type Lambic Fruit Beer - Strawberry £148.00

Type Lambic Fruit Beer - Cherry £145.50

Type Lambic Fruit Beer - Peach £90.00

The brewery uses mineral water from the abbey’s well, combined with a unique yeast strain and, unusually, a direct flame brewhouse that causes beneficial caramelisation during the brewing process.

1856 saw the introduction of the Westmalle Dubbel, perhaps the monastery’s true claim to fame. A chestnut brown beer with stunning complexity, it is considered the first of its type, a now iconic Trappist style defined by dark candy sugar, which imparts a toffee-like flavour with a surprisingly light body.

But the monks weren’t done yet. From the 1920s, Westmalle beer was sold commercially to support the monastery. In 1934 a strong pale ale Tripel was added to Westmalle’s line-up, another much-imitated beer which has defined its own style and taken its place as another undisputed world classic.

The monk’s first priory was founded in 1794 at a farm named ‘Nooit Rust’, or ‘Never Rest’, a moniker that perfectly encapsulates Westmalle’s innovative spirit.

Westmalle Brewery

Origin: Westmalle, Belgium

Founded: 1836