VISITFLANDERS Hosts a Brewing Harmony: Kloris Devillé’s Den Herberg Brewery featured at the BGBW Awards 2025

VISITFLANDERS is thrilled to announce that Kloris Devillé from Brouwerij Den Herberg will be one of the three featured guest brewers at the annual British Guild of Beer Writers Awards dinner on 27th November 2025 at Big Penny Social in London.  Proud of sponsoring the Best Communication about Beer and Travel award, VISITFLANDERS invites attendees to sample a stunning range of craft beers, including three distinctive offerings from Den Herberg. The brewery's story is a unique blend of family ambition, classical music, and a deep, technical dedication to mastering the complexities of wild yeast and spontaneous fermentation.

From Piano Concerto to Brewing Artistry

The story of Den Herberg is rooted in family and community in Buizingen, Pajottenland, near Halle in the south west of Brussels. Kloris Devillé’s father Bart, is the founder of the highly respected Brouwerij Den Herberg, part of a new generation of Flemish brewers reinterpreting traditional Belgian styles with a contemporary sensibility. His passion for spontaneous fermentation and patient craftsmanship has earned him recognition among beer lovers and critics alike. He initially pursued a career in music, studying piano full-time at the Conservatoire Royale de Bruxelles. Simultaneously, his parents, Bart Devillé and Ann Heremans, pursued a passion for brewing, inspired by the complex, wild character of Orval Trappist Ale. They opened Café Den Herberg in 2007, followed by a small commercial brewery in a local property in 2008.  Though Kloris achieved his musical goals, the demands of performance and study led him to seek a break. After a six-month break working on raspberry farms in Australia, he returned to take on a take a position at the Timmermans Brewery, the world's oldest Lambic brewery, where he gained a crucial technical understanding of slow fermentations and the management of wild yeasts.

A Family's Dedication to Wild Fermentation

Kloris’s technical knowledge, combined with his family’s long-standing ambition, led them to brewing a beer, conditioned with the wild yeast Brettanomyces. This yeast , which is often seen as a contaminant, was carefully paired with a fruity Saccharomyces strain to create new, complex fruity flavours.  After a spell of trial and error in managing this temperamental wild yeast, the family triumphed with their first wild beer. This moment gave them the confidence to pursue beers of even wilder character.  Today, the brewery maintains its own orchard of Schaarbeekse cherry trees and cellars filled with maturing lambic. Deep in the heart of the Pajottenland, the brewery honours the region’s centuries-old lambic traditions while embracing sustainable, small-scale production. Each beer embodies the microflora of the Senne valley, the local grains, and patience that creating gueuze demands.

Three Exceptional Devillé Brews featured at the BGBW Awards:

Herberg Brown (9% ABV): One of the original 'clean' top-fermented beers from the brewery’s start in 2008. This is a classic example of a Belgian Brown Ale, renowned for its depth of flavour. The beer pours a deep ruby-brown colour and offers a smooth, medium body. Expect rich, malty notes of caramel, toffee, and toasted bread, underscored by a subtle fruitiness from the primary yeast. This beautifully balanced ale  perfectly showcases the family's expertise in traditional styles.

Cuvée Devillé (6.2% ABV): This is the beer that became the catalyst for Den Herberg's wild-fermentation identity. This malty, fruity, and spicy Pale Ale is conditioned with the wild yeast Brettanomyces. The yeast blend allows the beer to develop complex aromas over time. When released at the 2014 Zythos Beer Festival, it instantly garnered attention, spreading word that this small brewery was pouring an exceptional 'Orval clone,' a high compliment that reflects the beer's elegant, evolving character.

Oude Geuze Devillé (6.9% ABV): Released in 2020, the Oude Geuze Devillé is a distinquished blend of one, two, and three-year-old spontaneously fermented Lambics, meaning it relies entirely on the indigenous wild yeasts and bacteria found in the environment of the Pajottenland. This meticulous blending process results in a sparkling, complex, and beautifully balanced sourness, boasting notes of citrus, and oak. It is a highly traditional style that rightfully earns it the nickname "the champagne of beers."

Come and join us at the VISITFLANDERS bar at the British Guild of Beer Writers Awards dinner from 18:00 on 27th November 2025 to meet Kloris Devillé and sample these truly characterful brews. It’s a fantastic opportunity to learn how the passion for family, music, and wild yeast fermentation comes together in a glass.

25 November 2025

Notes to Editors: 

2026  marks the 10th anniversary of Belgian Beer Culture being inscribed on UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity list, keep in touch with us for news about events and promotions to celebrate this special milestone via our press releases and newsletters.

About Den Herberg Brewery: This family-run brewery is located in Buizingen, a village on the edge of the Pajottenland region, an area of rolling countryside southwest of Brussels, about 9 miles from the city centre and often described as the “green lung” of the capital.

About VISITFLANDERS :This Flemish government agency is t he official tourist organisation for Flanders.  The organisation strives for the sustainable development and promotion of tourism to and within Flanders, with a view to boosting the economic return, employment and the well-being of its inhabitants. www.visitflanders.com 

Flanders House

1a Cavendish Square

London

W1G 0LD

For more information please contact: Anita Rampall 

anita.rampall@visitflanders.com 

0207 299 3594

Third-party news items that are posted on the Guild website come from press releases and emails received by the Guild. These are posted as they have been received. Their publication on the Guild website is an informational service only and is neither an endorsement of the content, nor its sender, by the Guild. For enquiries, please use the contact details that can be found at the bottom of each post.