Discover Benelux | Issue 11 | November 2014

Page 17

2_2_DiscoverBenelux_11_November_2014_Q9_Scan Magazine 1 06/11/2014 23:04 Page 17 Discover Benelux |  Special Theme |  Benelux Cuisine

Antoine Bosteels is a seventh generation brewer and has enormous passion for his craft. Thanks to the optimal balance between tradition and modern brewery processes, the top quality of Brewery Bosteels’ beers is maintained.

One  of  them  is  the  popular  Kwak  beer, blessed  with  a  particular  story.  In Napoleon’s  time  coachmen  would  pass by Pauwel Kwak, a Dendermonde brewer, and despair at the fact that they were not allowed to follow their passengers inside for a drink. Solving the issue in literal balance  with  creativity,  Kwak  had  special glasses blown that could easily be hung from  the  coaches.  Still  today,  the  beer holds  the  name  of  the  18th  century brewer and is served in the same glass, preserving its distinctive and recognisable taste.

expected, however, that upon finishing our brew, we’d find an almost identical recipe for the beer in the nearby Monastery Karmeliet. Calculating  the  recipe  we  found  out  that the monks of the monastery had invented a brew 90 per cent like ours in 1679.”

A historic reincarnation

The “beer from heaven”

As far as stories go, Bosteels’s other beers offer  them  plentifully.  Few  match  that  of the tri-grain brew Tripel Karmeliet, a tale, however,  Bosteels  himself  found  difficult to believe upon discovering it.

Perhaps not historical, but equally exclusive,  is  the  delightfully  sparkling  Deus. Hailed by experts as “stunning” and “unmatchable”, this beer is the closest you will ever get to Champagne, while still retaining a rich beer-like barley flavour. Ideal as an aperitif out of the ordinary, and named by Bosteels as a “beer from heaven”, the drink is a splendid choice for a night of celebra-

The year of 1679 was given an honorary spot on the beer’s label, as a tribute to the first recipe. “It was amazing, surprising and astonishing. Even calculated through modern technology, the recipes are this much alike.  It  makes  the  beer  historical,”  says Bosteels.

tions – especially if you know some of the story behind its making. “A  horizontal  fermentation  process  gives the beer its distinctive flavour, achieved by gradually tilting each bottle to release yeast from  the  bottle  walls  and  collect  all  the sediments in its head. The whole process is carried out by expert brewers in France, which does have an effect on the price,” Bosteels says, pausing slightly before continuing: “But if there’s something we don’t do, it’s compromising on quality.”

History, quality and orginality

“Tripel  Karmeliet has a very characteristic taste, supported by a proportioned mix of wheat, oats and malt,” he says. “We never

The  high  standard  of  quality  Brewery Bosteels stands for has naturally kept the production local, limiting export to keep a good balance between authentic tradition and  the  modern  brewery  processes.  Although Brewery Bosteels invests much of its revenue in cutting-edge technology in order to perfect their products, the heart and soul of the brands will always remain in their history – and their provenance. “It’s important to me that my beers are enjoyed  in  Belgium,”  says  Bosteels.  “Even though the demand for our beers abroad outdoes our current production capacity, I wouldn’t want to change anything. Growth is  not  a  purpose.  Quality  and  growth  always have to go hand in hand, and they have to follow each other organically.” Staying  true  to  their  philosophy  “history, quality and originality”, there is little reason to believe that Brewery Bosteels will lose any of its popularity. www.bestbelgianspecialbeers.be

Issue 11 |  November 2014 |  17


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