Belgian Spring Beer Fests article in BUZE Magazine

I'm happy to say that I have a nearly 1,000 word piece on
three of Belgium's best spring beer festivals in the second
issue of BUZE Magazine.

BUZE is a digital magazine targeted at tablets like iPads.
The first two issues are available for the iPad, and for issue
3, it should be compatible with Amazon Kindle Fire HD as
well.

I cover the superb Toer de Geuze, the open house where many
of Belgium's lambic producers open their doors to the public
for a day, every two years. It is Sunday, April 21st this year.

The Zythos Beer Festival, Belgium's premier beer fest, is
also a focus. There should be close to 500 beers on offer
on April 27-28 in Leuven.

The Weekend of Spontaneous Fermentation is the third in
this trio. It's focus, as the name suggests, is lambic-based
brews. It will be held May 25-26 this year, in Buggenhout,
East Flanders.

You can read about these fantastic events by downloading
the BUZE app at the iTunes store here

Cost is $3.99 for a single issue or $19.99 for a year.

Enjoy!

Microbrouwerij Urthel and De Hoppeschuur

I'm happy to say that I have a nearly 1,000 word article on
the new project of Hildegard and Bas van Ostaden in the
February/March issue of Celebrator Beer News.

I wrote about Microbrouweij Urthel on these pages in
January 2012. You can read that post here

De Hoppeschuur ("The Hop Barn") restaurant

My first visit was in September 2011, and I returned for
a second visit-and a meal-at the new De Hoppeschuur
restaurant in December 2012. De Hoppeschuur means
"The Hop Barn," and the excellent new restaurant is
adjacent to the brewery.

Inside De Hoppeschuur

You can read about it in on pages 2, 8 and 45 at:
http://www.fricke-parks.com/CBN_Feb_Mar13/#/0/

I urge anyone that can to visit this fine brewery and
restaurant located in the countryside of West Flanders,
Belgium!

A fine meal of spare ribs marinated in

Saisonniere at De Hoppeschuur

Microbrouwerij Urthel as seen from the 

entrance to De Hoppeschuur

One of the beers in a fermenter at 

Microbrouwerij Urthel

3 Fonteinen's new brewery sign....

Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen is almost ready to brew again,
probably sometime this month.

Look for a full report on the new brewery and 3
Fonteinen's future, soon. Meanwhile, check out
the photo sent to me by Armand's wife, Lydie
Hulpiau, yesterday. Lydie is 3 Fonteinen's
Marketing and Sales Director.

It could be brewery co-manager/assistent
brewer Michael Blancquaert, putting the finishes 
touches on a new brewery sign that should be 
visible from far away. 

I look forward to seeing it in person. 

Trappist Abbaye du Mont des Cats cheese makery tour

I know it's not about Belgium, and not directly about beer...
but here's a link to a little slideshow I put together from photos of
my tour at the Trappist Abbaye du Mont des Cats Fromagerie
in northern France. French Flanders, to be exact.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/belgianbeerspecialist/sets/72157632476736028/show/

The Mont des Cats Abbey was, after all, the mother abbey of
Sint-Sixtus, which brews the Westvleteren beers, and
Koningshoeven in the Netherlands, which brews the
La Trappe beers.

One of their four cheeses is made with their beer, which is
brewed at Chimay.

They also have a shop and a tavern/cafe/brasserie on site
where you can purchase both their cheeses and beer. It's
well worth the visit if you love cheese and beer, which yours
truly surely does. The shop's website is here

Danny Van Tricht and I visited on a cold December day. A
day when both the main roads were closed due to construction,
and the last remaining road coming from the Poperinge area,
just 15-20 minutes away, was a winding, narrow country lane at
best. With snow or ice on the ground, it would be nearly impassable.

Brother Bernard-Marie greeted us in the Abbey, where we talked
about cheese and beer. He told us that the Abbey was founded in
1826, and cheese making began in 1849. There was also a
brewery as well from 1848 until the First World War, when the
German army took away the copper kettles.

We then headed to the Fromagerie, where we donned white
lab coats, hair nets and special rubber shoe covers. Tours are
rarely given at this cheese-makery. In fact, I'd say the
workers were shocked to see visitors, especially those toting
cameras.

The tour was quite fascinating, and seeing cheese ripening
is becoming a welcome site for me. The milk is provided by
local farms, and most of the Mont des Cats cheese is sold in the
local region, while a small portion makes it to Paris and also
to Belgium.

The four cheeses are: Dessert des Trappistes, Le Flamay de
l'Abbaye du Mont des Cats, Grands Mont des Cats, and
Mont des Cats à la Bière Trappiste.

For more info about the abbey and their products, see here

"New Breweries Fermenting in Old Belgium" in Celebrator Beer News

I have a 1,300 word article in the December 2012/
January 2013 issue of Celebrator Beer News, titled
"New Breweries Fermenting in Old Belgium."

Brewer Anne-Cathérine Dilewyns with a 

Dilewyns Winter beer

I cover Brasserie de Bastogne of Luxembourg province;
Brouwerij Dilewyns and brewer Anne-Cathérine Dilewyns
of East Flanders; Huisbrouwerij Danny of Erpe-Mere,
East Flanders; Brouwerij Den Triest of Flemish Brabant;
Brouwerij Anders and Brouwerij & Alcoholstokerij
Wilderen of Limburg Province; as well as Brasserie de
Bierkaai in Limburg.

Brewer/Owner Danny Hoffelinck, 

Huisbrouwerij Danny

Marc Struyf, brewer/owner of Brouwerij

Den Triest, in his atmospheric tasting cafe

Luc Van Esch, owner of Brasserie de Bierkaai

in Viverselle, Limburg Province, at ZBF

2012

Bart Durlet, Brouwerij Anders

The article is now on-line where anyone can read it
for free here

I hope everyone enjoys it!!

Cheers,
Chuck

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.