Just a reminder....check out DrinkBelgianBeer.com!

It's been a couple of months, so I thought I'd repeat it again: My new website,
DrinkBelgianBeer.com, is now live.

This blog will not be updated with any new material any more...so please point
your browsers to the new website!

Cheers,

Chuck

DrinkBelgianBeer.com is live!

I haven't been posting much here of late, and there's a good
reason for that.

It's called drinkbelgianbeer.com. Yes, my new website is finally
live. Please head on over and take a look!

I probably won't be updating these pages much in the future,
but I'll likely keep it active as an archive of past articles.

Or, maybe we'll move 'em to the new site. I haven't quite decided.

Thanks for years of reading and viewing....and I look forward to
being far more active with DrinkBelgianBeer.com!

Cheers,

Chuck

Stillwater Artisanal and The Brewer's Art craft new collaboration beers

Photo: Brian Strumke, smelling the wort

Brian Strumke, the gypsy brewer behind Stillwater Artisanal Ales,
and The Brewer's Art have teamed up again to produce a couple
of new beers.

"This is sort of a 'remix' of each other's beers," Strumke told me
on Tuesday, September 17, during the collaboration brewing day
at Brewer's Art, in Baltimore's Mt. Vernon neighborhood.

"I came up with a take on their Green Peppercorn Triple. It's going
to be Green Peppercorn Single. It's a golden ale using Tettnang,
Styrian, Hallertau, and Sterling hops, with dried green peppercorns
added. It will come in at around 4% abv," Strumke remarked. "It
should debut during Baltimore Beer Week in October," he added.

Photo: some of the sage from Steve's garden

Brewer Rob Perry of Brewer's Art stated: "We brewed a beer called
'Down Bar Door' which is our take on Stillwater Cellar Door. It's
brewed with Amarillo and Citra hops, and sage from my colleague
Steve's back yard. It will clock in at 4.5% abv, so is very sessionable
as well. It should on tap here next week."

Photo: Rob Perry (left) and Brian Strumke

Around eight barrels of each beer was produced.

Both beers should be available at Brewer's Art and Of Love
and Regret, Strumke's bar/restaurant in Canton.

Ebenezer's Belgian Beer Dinner 2013

Below is a link to photos from a fabulous beer dinner at Ebenezer's
Pub in Lovell, Maine, last week.

I'll be writing about the dinner in various publications. I'll
post info here about that when it happens.

See here for the photos. Click on the arrow button inside the
rectangle in the top right corner to play as a slideshow.

Enjoy!

Cheers,

Chuck

Lambic experts to speak at Ebenezer's Belgian Beer fest August 23

(Photo, above: Gert Christiaens, 

Oud Beersel)

Gert Christiaens doesn't get away from his Oud Beersel lambic
blendery very often. The demand for his excellent lambic,
Oude Geuze, Oude Kriek, and other beers far exceeds supply,
so he's usually in Belgium, slaving away, producing more lambic
so we beer lovers can be happy. He also runs the business, with
the help of his father, Jos.

Good news, though: Gert is headed stateside in less than two weeks.
You'll have to go to Maine to meet him, and hear a talk from one of
Belgium's hardest working lambic makers. Gert will be there with Yves
Panneels, one of the two brothers that run and own In de Verzekering
tegen de Grote Dorst, one of the Payottenland's premier lambic cafes.

(Photo, above, left-right: Yves and Kurt

Panneels, In de Verzekering Tegen de 

Grote Dorst)

Yves is also in charge of Public Relations for HORAL, the group that
helps protect and promote lambic beer in Belgium. Yves is also an
expert on lambic beer, and is Chairman of the "Geuzegenootschap" a
Gueuze Society that organizes several special lambic events at his cafe:
Night of the Great Thirst; Day of the Kriek; and Day of the Lambic.
I have been to all of them. See here for more info about the cafe.

(Photo, above: In de Verzekering tegen de 

Grote Dorst, Eizeringen, Belgium.)

In fact, this year's Night of the Great Thirst (Nacht van de Grote Dorst)
will be on Saturday, August 24th at Ebenezer's Pub in Lovell, Maine.
"I'll be bringing a special blend that the Gueuze Society made last
December. It's drinking beautifully right now," Yves told me today.
Night of the Great Thirst is held on even years in Belgium, hence
the date in Maine for this year.

(Photo, above: Chris Lively, right, in black

shirt, of Ebenezers Pub, Lovell, Maine.)

Yves will give a lecture titled: "The Typology of Lambic Beers"
at Ebenezers on Friday evening, August 23. Gert will give a talk
"The Revival of Oud Beersel and Authentic Lambic Beers" that
same evening. Contact Ebenezer's Pub directly for details and
ticket availability. See here for their email address and telephone
number.

Ebenezer's owner and lambic lover Chris Lively is organizing
the events. As if anyone needed another reason to celebrate, Chris's
40th birthday celebration is also the same day as
the Night of the Great Thirst, Saturday August 24th. It surely
should be a day of great enjoyment.

(Photo, above: the bar at Ebenezers Pub,

Lovell, Maine.)

There may be a slideshow to accompany the talks. This is sure to
be a special event and sell out quickly!
Ebenezers Belgian beer festival will run from Friday, August 23,
through Sunday, August 25.

Four Fabulous Cafes in the Payottenland-Celebrator Beer News

Well, looooong time no post here. Moving for the first time in five
years, and writing content for a new website will do that to you.

New website, you say? Yep. More on that later this summer.

Meanwhile, here's a link to a piece I just had published in Celebrator
Beer News. It's about four great lambic cafes in Belgium's lambic
country.

Cover page is here

Article here

Continues here

I just received the sad news that one of them will be closing soon,
but I'll leave it to them to make the announcement.

Cheers,

Chuck

Dry-hopped Girardin Oude Lambik to debut at Zythos Beer Fest this weekend

ZBF, Belgium´s biggest beer festival, begins in two days.

There are lots of special brews that will be offered, such as
the unblended version of Liefmans Kriek.

There will also be 200 liters of Girardin Oude Lambik, run through
a randall filled with Nelson Sauvin hops.This should be a great beer!

Better get to the Girardin/Brouwerij Montaigu stand early. I know
I will...