BÜZE Magazine debuts, with Antwerp Province article

Another day, and another magazine debut.

With a Belgian beer article.

Gotta love it. Happy Friday.

BÜZE Magazine: A Modern Drinks Resource, in the works for
a number of months, is now live and available for download at
the iTunes store here:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/buze-magazine/id570210741?ls=1&mt=8

BÜZE is digital only, and issue 1 is compatible only with iPad
and iPad mini.

With issue 2, Amazon's Kindle Fire HD will also be supported.

BÜZE Magazine is the world's first digital, interactive, all-drinks
magazine.

I have a 1,000 word piece on breweries in Antwerp Province,
including De Koninck; Den Hopperd; Dijkwaert; Duvel-Moortgat;
Het Anker; 't Hofbrouwerijke; and Trappist Westmalle.

BÜZE's Director is Cary Hyodo, who I used to work with at
Taps: The Beer Magazine, as he was Art Director there. Cary
left Taps to work with BÜZE.

Taps, a Toronto, Canada-based magazine, pulled out of the USA
market and back to Canada early this year, and is concentrating
more on Canadian stories and less on international ones than in
the past.

BÜZE has articles from all over the world, as you will see in
the first issue. Writers such as Melissa Cole, Steve Beaumont,
and others provide fine editorial.

I'll be doing a series on breweries in all of the Belgian provinces
over time, and other pieces on beer fests, distilleries and cafes
are also possible.

If you are interested in advertising in BÜZE Magazine, please shoot
me or Cary Hyodo an email.

I look forward to working in this exciting new digital format.

Beers of the World Magazine returns, with Limburg Province article

I'm happy to report that a great beer magazine has been
resurrected after a more than three year hiatus.

Beers of the World, of the U.K., which stopped publication
in 2009 after four years, has been purchased by a new
owner. It re-debuted in the UK with issue 26 in November,
and is now available in the USA at bookstores such as Barnes
and Noble.

Former editor Sally Toms is back at the helm, and excited is
to return to the world of craft brewing.

I have a 1,500+ word piece on breweries and cafes in Limburg
Province, featured on the cover of the magazine.

I cover several breweries in the story, including Ter Dolen;
Anders; Wilderen; Den Toetëlèr; and Stadsbrouwerij Au Phare.

Other locales include Het Middelpunt; De Bierkaai; and Daniel's
Drinkmarket.

I'm not the only American with a Belgian beer article in the issue,
either: Joe Stange, co-auther of "Around Brussels in 80 Beers"
has a piece on Cafe De Kunstemaecker in West Flanders as well.

See: here for subscription information. Beers of the World is also
available for iPhone and iPad via an app at the iTunes store.

Beers of the World gave excellent coverage to Belgium's beer
scene in the past, and it seems that is going to continue with the
resurrected mag.

Cheers to that.

Brouwerij Timmermans: new beers, new artisanal direction

When I first visited lambic brewer Brouwerij Timmermans
of Itterbeek in November 2008, I was impressed.  Belgian
reporter/photographer Danny Van Tricht and I tasted several
different vintages of lambic and kriekenlambic right from
their oak barrels; these had from a few months of age to
several years, and were as good as other straight lambics
I had tasted from other well known lambic breweries and
blenderies.

Photo, above: Dimitri Demol pouring a 

Timmermans Oude Gueuze in 2008. 

Our guide, Key Account Manager Dimitri Demol, then
mentioned that Timmermans had blended an Oude Gueuze
for the first time in many years. We tasted it, and found it
a very pleasing, tart, refreshing brew. An unsweetened,
proper Oude Gueuze.

A sample of Timmermans lambic, right

from a barrel.

When Dimitri commented that an Oude Kriek was in the
works, I knew this would be a special one, as I greatly enjoyed
the one year old kriekenlambic we had tasted.

A crock of Timmermans kriekenlambic from

an oak barrel. Yum!

The Oude Gueuze had matured well by the time I attended
Toer de Geuze in April 2009, and now it is a one of the
brewery's year-round brews, and is available in the USA.

I'm happy to say that a batch of Oude Kriek is headed
stateside sometime in early 2013, and I highly recommend it,
having tasted it in Belgium several times now.

Timmermans has been experimenting a bit more in the last
few years, and for the first time sent a pumpkin infused
lambic to the U.S. this year, called Pumpkin Lambicus.
I will openly state that I am not a big fan of pumpkin beers,
but this one really pulled it off well. The pumpkin flavor and
spices are very mild, and a very pleasing tartness makes for a
well-balanced brew with minimal sweetness. At only 4% abv,
it is a great session beer. This one was a big hit at "A Weekend
of Belgian Beer" at Hudson Street Stackhouse in late October.

Timmermans also has a lambic-wheat beer blend, called
Timmermans Tradition Lambicus Blanche. This brew has
a base of malted wheat, with coriander and orange peel
added as spices. The lambic adds a light tartness to the
blend. This beer is very easy drinking, with a touch
of sweetness and 4.5% abv.

In addition, the brewery offers several other lambics
blended with various fruits.

I look forward to more innovation on the part of this
venerable, photogenic brewery, which was founded
in 1702. See: here