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FEATURES


The New Brewers of Belgium

Eccentric Entrepreneurs

by Tim Webb

Portland Brewing Picture

The cafe in the old seminary.

One way to overcome the problem
is to open a brewpub.

From Sheds in Achoufffe • Another Kris, Different Character • Latecomer to the House Brewery Business • Products of Distinction
• Not Abbey Beers • Holy Ales • Day Jobs and Night Jobs

 

Latecomer to the House Brewery Business

As everywhere, there are almost as many deceased new breweries in Belgium as there are surviving new ones. In most countries, new ventures underestimate the extent of the commercial stranglehold that massive brewing corporations have on beer distribution networks. This is not yet an unbeatable problem in Belgium, where cafés and privately owned beer shops can usually buy in what they want, provided that they still sell enough Mammon Corporation Euro-Pils to keep their sponsors happy.

One way to overcome the problem is to open a brewpub.

Belgium came quite late to the house brewery business. The first, Domus, opened in 1985 at the university town of Leuven (8 Tiensestraat), between Brussels and Liege. The only other breweries in the town are massive Interbrew factories, spewing a river of mediocre lagers in the direction of couch potato man. Not much competition on the flavor front.

More than a decade later, 1996 saw Antwerp get the Pakhuis (76 Vlaamse Kaai), and the urban sprawl of St. Eloois-Winkel, north of Kortrijk in West Flanders, got the Old Bailey (5 Kerkplein). But for adventurous spirit, you have to single out Les Artisan Brasseurs in Namur (2 Place de la Station).

Where an American brewpub will generally look to producing beers in a variety of styles at a strength of 4 to 5.5 percent abv, the company that does the brewing at Les Artisans Brasseurs produces an ever-changing range of white, blond, amber, brown and black beers, with or without spicing, seasonal brews, and a number of contract ales for future Wallonian brewers.

Anything called Marlagne or Aldegonde comes from them, as does a high proportion of the French-sounding beers in those stubby 33 cl, Duvel-style bottles. Occasionally awful, but rarely dull.

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This story originally appeared in All About Beer Magazine in August 1999.


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