– Comprehensive range includes Tongerlo, the World’s Best Beer –
Brewery Haacht, the leading independent brewery in Belgium, is launching a range of authentic, Belgian beers in the UK for the first time after its Tongerlo Blond abbey beer (6% abv) scooped the coveted World’s Best Beer1 2014-15 award.
A range of top-fermenting certified abbey beers, Tongerlo is brewed using traditional methods including a second fermentation in the bottle, which imparts more complex aromas and refined flavours.
Tongerlo is part of the Brewery Haacht family, with Primus very much positioned as the brewery’s flagship lager. This low fermentation light blond Pilsner beer is renowned for its provenance, being named after Jan Primus, Duke of Brabant in the 13thCentury. Primus has a classic Pilsner taste with a light malt character and a dry hop finish.
The portfolio also includes two fruit beers that are set to appeal to Belgian beer fans old and new in the UK. Mystic fruit beers are based on traditional wheat beers with juices added after fermentation – the juice content is 25% for the cherry and 26% for the peach beers.
Sales agency Windfall Brands is managing the Brewery Haacht brand in the UK, and has announced the first wholesale listing for the range. Nectar Imports, whose customer the South Deep Café owned by Belgian Stephané Rondoz, himself a fan of great beer, is the first stockist of Tongerlo Blond and Mystic in the UK. The range will also be showcased at Imbibe Live in London on 29th and 30th June, marking the first opportunity for the trade to taste Tongerlo, Mystic and Primus on draught, in can and in bottle.
Johan Joostens, Export Director at Brewery Haacht, commented: “We are very excited about launching Tongerlo, Mystic and Primus from Haacht into the UK market. As the largest independent and family-run brewery in Belgium, we are able to continue the authentic and traditional production processes that were laid by our founder, Mr De Ro, in 1898 and are overseen by his grandson and CEO, Mr van der Kelen, today – this has led to our beers being recognised all over the world.
“Scooping the coveted ‘World’s Best Beer’ award last year has given us a real boost in Belgium and beyond, and we are confident that UK beer connoisseurs and novices alike will appreciate the crafted quality and strong heritage of Tongerlo, Mystic and Primus.”
Stephané Rondoz, owner of the South Deep Café in Parkstone Bay Marina, Dorset, added: “As a proud Belgian and a keen beer drinker, as soon as I heard about the Brewery Haacht range coming to the UK, I set my heart on becoming the first to stock Tongerlo and Mystic. If tasting is believing then Tongerlo Blond and Mystic Peach really are the best Belgian beers I’ve enjoyed during my time in Britain. I want to share this beer discovery with my customers and the grand plan is to transform our outside summer bar into the ‘Haacht Belgian Beer Bar.’ I can’t think of a better way to serve and share these first-class Belgian beers with my regulars and new customers alike.”
The Brewery Haacht range of authentic Belgian beers is available in the UK from this month (April) in both draught and packaged 33cl bottle formats.
Join us and sample the Brewery Haacht family of beers at Imbibe Live in London on 29th and 30th June – you can find us at stand G90.
1 Tongerlo Blond was crowned ‘World’s Best Beer’ at the eighth World Beer Awards in September 2014, beating more than 700 beers across eight categories.
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Notes to Editors:
Tasting Notes
Tongerlo Blond: Copper coloured beer with a honey aroma, a full and smooth flavour and a gently evolving aftertaste, 6% ABV
Tongerlo Prior: Golden yellow colour and a white creamy head. It has a hoppy aroma with a spicy and fruity touch, 9% ABV
Mystic Cherry: Clear red in colour with a pink head. Powerful cherry taste. A tart fruit flavour at the onset gently flowing into a subtle and sweet aftertaste that does not cloy, 3.5% ABV
Mystic Peach: Pale yellow with a white, creamy head. The remaining beer yeasts give the beer a slight cloudiness. It tastes like freshly picked, sun-ripened peaches are flowing through the wheat beer. It has a subtle sweetness that does not leave a cloying feeling in the back of your mouth, 3.7% ABV
Primus: Clear, light-blond in colour with a fine head. Delicate hoppy aromas. Initially slightly sweet with a touch of bitterness. Then comes the dry and thirst-slaking aftertaste, 5.2% ABV
About Brewery Haacht
The leading independent brewery in Belgium, Haacht brews a comprehensive range of authentic Belgian beers including Tongerlo, the World’s Best Beer, the Mystic range of fruit beers and Primus pilsner. Owned and managed by the founding family since 1898, Haacht is currently the No. 3 brewery in Belgium but remains proudly independent, which allows it to craft 1.2 million hectolitres (capacity), to the exacting standards that have made it a domestic and international success. Current CEO and patriarch, Mr Fréderic van der Kelen, is the third generation to head the business and instils positive, family values to the 400-strong team, many of whom have followed their parents through the brewery and are passing their skills on to the next generation.
For further information please contact:
Tim McGuire
Richmond Towers Communications