Orval Trappist article in Celebrator Beer News-online now

(Photo, above: the new brewhouse at Orval, with

stained-glass windows in the background.)

Sorry for my absence lately. It's been a very busy few

weeks.

I'm happy to say that I have a 1,000 word feature article about

Orval, one of the seven Trappist Abbeys that brew beer,

in the December issue of Celebrator Beer News.

I'm even happier to say that you can read the entire issue

on-line now, for free, here. Enjoy!

(Photos, above: The new Guardian Angel Cafe, and the new

Petit Orval on draft there.)

You do have to have Adobe Flash player installed.

Simply click on the page image to zoom in and read.

(Photo, above: a very old enamel plate in the Orval

brewery offices.)

Coast to Coast Toast is in one week

Vanberg and DeWulf's Coast to Coast Toast is just one

week away.

OK, so just what is this event? Well, it's a celebration of

importing Belgian brews into the USA for 30 years.

Don Feinberg and Wendy Littlefield, the husband

and wife duo that are Vanberg and DeWulf, first started

importing Belgian beers stateside in 1982.

They were the first to import Duvel, Rodenbach, and

many other hallowed beers from "The Beer Country"

to our shores.

Currently, Don and Wendy import several beers from Brasserie

Dubuisson, which are labeled as Scaldis in the USA, and Bush in

much of Europe. It's just about time for Scaldis Noel, and Scaldis

Prestige and Prestige de Nuits always hit the spot. Scaldis,

Scaldis Triple and Scadis Refermetee are also fine brews.

They also import the Witkap beers of Brouwerij Slaghmuylder,

as well as several from the new Brouwerij Dilewyns of Dendermonde.

Several other special brews, such as Lambrucha, Hop Ruiter

and Lambickx are also brought in.

Their best known brewery, though, is certainly Brasserie Dupont

of Tourpes, in Hainaut Province. With a dozen world-class Dupont

brews on their import list, including Saison Dupont, Moinette,

Cervesia, and Avec les Bons Voeux, Don and Wendy have an incredible

portfolio from this world-renowned brewery.

As mentioned in the previous post, here, I have produced a movie

and article about the brewery, which publicans can download

and show attendees next week.

In fact, I will be at The Brewer's Art in Baltimore next Tuesday,

where we will show the Dupont movie. And enjoy a few beers,

I expect. Max's Taphouse and Hudson Street Stackhouse are other

local spots for the Coast to Coast Toast (C2CT) here in Charm

City.

There are already about 350 bars, restaurants, and shops across

the USA signed up to be hosts for the event.

and....a trip to Belgium will be given away to some lucky (pair)

of beer lovers! You heard right. Untappd, Vanberg and DeWulf,

and the Belgian Tourist Office and Delta Airlines have teamed

up on this.

See: Belgian trip

For more details on the C2CT event, see the Eventbrite and

Vanberg & DeWulf websites....and enjoy!!

Brasserie Dupont movie and article

(Photo, above: Olivier Dedeycker, brewmaster,

Brasserie Dupont.)

Looooong time no post here. Ten days in Belgium at the end of

September, then ten days of Baltimore Beer Week, and then

several article deadlines soon after will do that to a beer writer.

Yeah, I know. Excuses, excuses.

(Photo, above: the brewhouse is in this building)

But there is good news for all you Belgian beer lovers out

there., especially those who like world class saisons, strong

blonde ales and legendary winter brews.

I've been working on a movie of Brasserie Dupont for some

time now. Using the iMovie program on a Mac, I've taken about

70 still photos I snapped at the brewery, along with an audiotaped

interview with Brewmaster/Director Olivier Dedeycker, and made

it into a six minute movie.

(Photo, above: Dupont's 1920 boiling kettles.)

There's also a nearly 5,000 word article based on interviews

with Olivier, with much of the history of the brewery. Much of

it I had never heard before, so I think it makes for a very

interesting read.

Brewmaster/Brewery Director Dedeycker has never been to the

USA, despite working at Dupont for 21 years, and being the head

honcho for the last nine of those.

Don Feinberg and Wendy Littlefield, the husband and wife team

that runs Vanberg & DeWulf, importers of the Dupont brews and

many others brews, tell me this will one of the first times most

people stateside have seen, let alone heard Dedeycker speak.

He's a soft-spoken, modest, reserved guy, but he's also a serious

beer lover. In fact, Olivier told me he is a fanatic for authentic

lambic and gueuze, such as Girardin Black Label Oude Gueuze.

I picked out some of my best shots inside and outside Brasserie

Dupont, as well as at their taproom, Les Caves Dupont, and the

Cafe La Forge just a hundred meters away.

You can read all about this in the pdf article which is paired with

either a Quicktime movie, or MPEG-4 files.

Each zip file download comes with small, medium and large size

files of either the Quicktime movie (best for Mac users) and

MPEG-4, which will open in newer versions of Windows

Media Player, and also in Quicktime.

PC and Mac users can download Quicktime for free at:

http://support.apple.com/downloads/#quicktime

The price for this content filled, fascinating look into and

article about one of the world's great breweries? Just $2.99

U.S.

You can purchase the movie at the top right hand

corner of this blog page where you see the Visa/

Mastercard emblem.

Cheers, and Sante!