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In addition to introducing innovative new beers, ASN’s Ultimate Belgian Tasting in March showcased five brewers who are breaking new ground in Belgian brewing. The visiting brewers, who traveled to the event at the invitation of Flanders and Wallonian trade commissioners Jurgen Marschand and Gerard Seghers, included both newly- established and long-serving brewers.
Despite different backgrounds, they are all charting a new course that incorporates brewing techniques from countries outside Belgium, including popular trends from the U.S.
The visiting brewers included two young turks, Stefaan Soetemans and Hildegard van Ostaden, who studied together in the late 1990s at KaHo Sint-Lieven in Ghent, the leading brewing school in Flanders. Realizing that head brewer jobs are hard to come by in Belgium, even after years of apprenticeship, Stefaan blazed new trails by partnering with three other classmates in 2000 to launch a start-up brewery, The Musketier Brewery (after the four musketeers). The brewery’s first beer, dubbed Troubadour Blond, was an immediate hit in Belgium and was exported to the U.S. beginning in 2001.
After a period of reorganization, Stefaan and his one remaining musketeer, Kristof De Roo, developed a second beer, a mild stout called Troubadour Obscura. While stouts were popular in Belgium in the 1800s and early 1900s, the brewers were inspired more by the Belgian tradition of brewing very black beers. Troubadour Obscura is a rich tasting stout with added smoothness from its high ABV (8.5%). According to Stefaan, "We were very pleased with the reception to our beers at the Ultimate Belgian Tasting and our U.S. distributor, Global Beer Network, is seeing strong interest in all parts of the U.S."
Hildegard van Ostaden, brewer of Urthel beers, stands out as one of the few women in a profession that in Belgium, as in the U.S., is dominated by men. She fulfilled her long-time dream of brewing her own beers in 2000 by opening Brouwerij de Leyerth, which she owns with her husband Bas, who handles packaging and marketing. He created the brewery’s eye-catching labels featuring his Urthel characters, who are bald, beer-loving gnomes.
Hildegard and Bas were at the Ultimate Belgian Tasting to introduce Urthel Hopit, Belgium’s first imperial pale ale. Urthel Hopit was inspired by a trip that Hildegard and Bas took in January 2005 to the Pacific Northwest, on their way to attend the Great Alaska Beer & Barley Wine Festival. According to Hildegard, she was impressed by the hoppiness of the pale ales she tasted on the trip and wanted to marry that aggressive hop flavor with Belgian malts. The result is an intensely flavorful beer with 80 IBUs of Magnum, Spalt and Saaz hops and the 9.5% of a Belgian Tripel.
Also available for tasting at the UBT were Urthel’s other innovative and cleverly named beers, including Urthel Tonicum Finiboldhus Amber Ale (guaranteed to put hair on your chest, if not your head) and Urthel Hibernus Quentum Tripel Ale (originally designed for winter hibernation but now available year-round). The Urthel beers were definitely a hit at the UBT, and Hildegard said, "The Ultimate Belgian Tasting was a beautiful initiative that put Belgian beers at the right level and is a great reward for the brewers." Urthel’s U.S. distributor, Lanny Hoff of Artisanal Imports, is planning a nationwide push for Urthel Hopit to capitalize on the American desire for all things "imperial."
Another brewer looking to capitalize on American imperialism is Luc Callebaut of Brasserie des Rocs, who featured his Triple Imperiale, a dark triple brewed for the U.S. market only. Brasserie des Rocs is located in a small village, Montignies-sur-Rocs in Hainaut province near the French border. The brewery was founded in 1979 just a few hundred yards from the ruins of a 12th century abbey farm that gave the brewery its original name (Brasserie de l’Abbaye des Rocs, since shortened). While still a small brewery, Brasserie des Rocs is no stranger to the global market, with exports across Europe and strong sales in Japan and North America. The beers may be globetrotters, but Luc commented that the UBT prompted his first visit to New York in many years, and he was struck by the tremendous interest that has developed for Belgian beers.
One of the brewers seeking to capitalize on that interest is Manu de Landtsheer, founder of Brouwerij de Landtsheer, brewer of Malheur beers. Malheur (translated as "misfortune" in French) is a well-respected name in Belgium but has not been distributed yet in the U.S. Brouwerij de Landtsheer was founded by Manu in the mid-1990s to restore his family’s brewing tradition in the small town of Buggenhout, located 10 miles northeast of Brussels near Duvel. The town is located near one of Belgium’s historic hop-growing centres, and Manu’s family was involved in brewing and growing hops for five generations. The family’s original brewery closed in the 1930s and after the death of his father in 1991, Manu dedicated himself to reopening his own brewery. Working with yeasts from the nearby De Smedt brewery, known for its Affligem abbey ales, and with brewers trained at some of Belgium’s largest breweries, Manu built a whole new brewery with new equipment on the site of the old brewery.
At the UBT, Manu offered a sneak preview of a beer that he hopes to begin exporting to the U.S. soon, the delicious Malheur Brut. "We’re excited about opening up a new market in the U.S. for our beers," said Manu. Malheur Bière Brut is made 100 percent in the traditional champagne méthode originale. The result is a sparkling beer with rich malt flavors balanced with a smooth after-taste from the 11%. Manu said, "the cost of producing Malheur Brut with the traditional champagne method is very expensive, but we’re committed to making the highest quality beer."
The fifth brewer at the UBT, Karl Verhaeghe of Brewery Verhaeghe, is also keeping his family’s brewing tradition alive while adapting his beers to current trends. Karl is the fourth-generation brewer at this small West Flemish brewery, whose history goes back to 1982 when it was started by two half-brothers, Adolf and Paul Verhaeghe. The brewery was closed during the First World War after the family refused to brew beer for the German forces, but reopened and was rejuvenated in the 1930s by Paul’s sons Victor and Leon, making German-style lager and then near beer during the Second World War.
The beers brewed by Karl Verhaeghe would never be mistaken for near beer, as he uses traditional methods to brew his West Flemish red brown beers. Karl’s latest beer, which is being marketed extensively in the U.S. by D&V International, is Duchesse de Bourgogne. This ruby red ale gives Rodenbach a run for its money, brewed with deeply toasted malt and year-old hops and then conditioned in French oaken liquor casks for up to 18 months. The secret to the beer’s intense flavor is in the blending, as Karl blends batches from six months, 12 months and 18 months to create a unique flavor profile. Brewery Verhaeghe also produces its version of one of the world’s most recognized traditional Flemish sours, Echte Kriek, a delicious sour cherry beer made with fresh whole black cherries.
The visiting brewers were excited about the response to their beers from the UBT audience and the positive feedback they received. Hildegard von Ostaden said, "The Ultimate Belgian Tasting was for us a little piece of home in New York, and we look forward to spreading the great news about Belgian beer across the U.S."
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