Discover Benelux | Culture | Christmas Beer Festival
ESSEN KERSTBIERFESTIVAL
A Belgian celebration of Christmas and winter beers TEXT: STUART FORSTER | PHOTOS: O.B.E.R. VZW
that beers are served by volunteers in 150 mililitre tasting glasses, something that enables attendees to sample a spectrum of brews.
more spiced, but there are blonde beers, lower alcohol, bitter or sour beers that call themselves Christmas or winter beer as well,” explains Mr Mertens.
Hopefully, beer lovers intent on attending will not make the mistake of heading to Essen’s namesake in Germany’s Ruhr Valley. It will be held in the Belgian town of around 17,000 people, five kilometres south of the Dutch city of Roosendal, near the border. Anyone feeling chilled upon arrival can warm themselves with Glühkriek — mulled cherry beer.
The first Essen Kerstbierfestival was held 24 years ago. “We have an incredible beer list. We try to serve every Christmas or winter beer brewed in Belgium, which led us from 39 beers at the first festival, in 1994, to 217 last year. The list includes a lot of new, seasonal, unique, ‘one-off’ beers from even the smallest Belgian breweries,” says Gunter Mertens, the chairman of O.B.E.R. (the Objective Beer-tasters of the Essen Region), the body that organises the annual event.
Each year, attendees vote to elect the tastiest beer of the festival, and Stille Nacht (‘Silent Night’) was chosen in 2017. The Christmas special was brewed in West Flanders by De Dolle Brouwers, who went home with the accolade of having brewed the event’s tastiest beer for the ninth time. The only other beer to have been awarded this distinction in the current decade is Gouden Carolus Christmas, brewed by the Het Anker brewery of Mechelen.
Last year, more than 2,300 people attended, sampling beers that soared in strength to as high as 15 per cent alcohol. The strongest beer that attendees could taste was the Jule Maelk Rhum Edition, an imperial stout from Denmark. Several of the beers served last year had an alcohol content that could be measured in double figures. No wonder, then,
Christmas beers tend to vary markedly in flavour and character. The principle criteria for selecting beers for the Kerstbierfestival is that they must be seasonal, so not available throughout the year, brewed in Belgium and mention that they are Christmas or winter beers on the label. “In general, Christmas beers tend to be higher in alcohol, dark, sweeter and
Like Rudolf, Santa’s most famous reindeer, perhaps some of the attendees of the Essen Kerstbierfestival will head home with glowing red noses! The festival’s 2018 edition will be held on 17 and 18 December.
Had your fill of traditional Christmas markets? The Essen Kerstbierfestival is an alternative likely to appeal to beer lovers looking to celebrate. Its name translates as the ‘Christmas beer festival’ and serves Christmas specials and winter beers.
132 | Issue 60 | December 2018
Web: www.kerstbierfestival.be