In anticipation of the British Guild of Beer Writers Annual Awards 2023, VISITFLANDERS looks forward to meeting Guild members in the beautiful setting of One Great George Street, where we guests can look forward to some great food, good company and of course, exceptional beers. We’re thrilled be able to showcase the quality and diversity of beers from our region, and we’re delighted that this year we’ll be joined by three exceptional breweries: Boon, Rodenbach, and Roman.
Joining from the Boon Brewery will be Karel Boon. After his father purchased this historic brewery in Lembeek over four decades ago, Boon is now the largest volume producer of Lambic beer in the world. Karel Boon grew up right next to the brewery, immersed in the production of this family-owned concern. Lambic beers are unique to the Pajotteland region just outside of Brussels, but these famous “sour” beers provide just part of the flavour of their brews. Variations in yeast strains, fruit blends and fermentation provide their own distinct flavours. Karel will bring three interesting beers to the event: Oude Geuze Boon, brewed since 1975, oak barrel aged for 1 to 3 years and then bottled for secondary fermentation; Gueze Mariage Parfait a 3-year aged gueze infused with the microflora of wild yeast from its oldest barrels built between 1883-1914 with an ABV of 8%. Finally, Kriek Boon, a spontaneous fermented beer using only fresh cherries, offers a slightly sweeter offering to the other Lambic beers served on the night.
Rodenbach’s brew master Rudi Ghequire joins us at the Awards evening bring a wealth of knowledge and experience from this brewery’s signature sweet-sour Red Brown Ales. This 19th century brewery located in the West Flanders town of Roeselare has brewed these complex beers almost continuously for nearly 200 years. Rudi brings four interesting beers for guests to savour on the night; Rodenbach Classic an original mixed fermentation brew characterised by its sweet/sour flavour created with a blend of ¾ freshly brewed product in combination with ¼ 2-year matured beer; Rodenbach Fruitage, as the name suggests provides a sweet/sour fruity blend of ale with 7% red fruit, ideally served with ice and a slice; The longer aged Rodenbach Grand Cru matures in barrels for a longer time is less sweet than the other Rodenbach beers. 2/3 of the content is made up of 2-year matured brews and once described by the late, eminent Michael Jackson as the “Burgundy of Belgium”; Rodenbach Alexander, first introduced in 1986, is a mixture of beers which have been ripened for two years before being macerated with sour cherries, making for a very interesting Sour ale.
Thomas Lauwaert from Belgium’s oldest family brewery, Roman (Est.1545), in the East Flanders town of Oudenaarde will bring an eclectic mix of craft beers for guests to try. Housed in buildings dating from the 1930s the brewery is surrounded by grassy hills and cobbles, famed for its Tour of Flanders cycling race. Roman will bring a broad range of its speciality beers to the table namely; Ename Blond with its origins from a former Benedictine Abbey – this full bodied beer’s flavours of citrus, malt, fruit and hops provides the perfect long drink: Dubbel is a dark Abbey beer with balanced caramel, fruit and bitter chocolate undertones with a dry aftertaste; Tripel, a blond abbey beer with fruity aromas, full bodied but strong with a 8.5% ABV to be enjoyed at leisure; Adriaen Brouwer Oaked, named after Oudenaarde’ s 17th century Flemish Master (whose work often depicted taverns and drinking), is a dark brown, top-fermented beer which is an organically produced using locally sourced ingredients including the mineral rich spring water found in the region. Its smooth balance velvety tastes come from former whisky and sherry oak barrels it is matured in, with a high 10%ABV content.
Come and visit the VISITFLANDERS bar at the British Guild of Beer Writers Awards dinner from 18.00 on 23 November 2022 to meet the brewers as well as Anita Rampall and Andrew Daines from VisitFlanders. We look to meeting you there on the night.
-Ends-
9 November 2022
Notes to Editors:
About VISITFLANDERS
This Flemish government agency is the 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
For more information please contact :
VISITFLANDERS
Anita Rampall
anita.rampall@visitflanders.com
0207 299 3594
https://asset.cloudinary.com/visitflanders/fad20893e1af3f30d770f35ec1081d90
https://asset.cloudinary.com/visitflanders/b4a43a800040184186cfed2fd2ac6dac
https://asset.cloudinary.com/visitflanders/71502ffba85ed144457cfb5858d46ade
Press release from VISITFLANDERS.
For further information, please contact Anita Rampall via anita.rampall@visitflanders.com or 0207 299 3594.