A while back, I had the opportunity to participate in a live Q&A and beer tasting with Gert Christiaens, head brewer of
Oud Beersel in Belgium. Sponsored by Craft Beer Cellar on H St in DC, this originally was supposed to be an in-person "Tour de Gueuze" tasting, but due to the pandemic was now held over Zoom. The tasting featured a virtual tasting of four Oud Beersel beers, direct from Belgium, and was moderated by Dean Myers,
whom you may recall I interviewed a few years back. Dean has moved on from Brasserie Beck to Wetten Importers, Inc, which is Oud Beersel's US distributor.
Oud Beersel was founded in the late 19th century and continued operations up through 2002, when money was tight and the head brewer retired. Gert Christiaens, a longtime fan of the brewery with no brewing experience, heard of the closure from his favorite pub while ordering a Bersalis trippel (which we'll drink later!) He immediately put a plan into action to save it, and along with business partner Roland de Bus, he secured financing and developed the experience to revitalize the brewery. Almost fifteen years later, Gert has become one of the most high-profile figures in both Belgian brewing at large, and the spontaneous fermentation movement specifically. Since then, Gert has been elected the President of HORAL (the High Council for Artisanal Lambic Beers) and collaborated with
New Belgium for their "Transatlantic Kriek" as well as megablends through HORAL.
So today's tasting will focus on four of Oud Beersel's beer - a lambic, a Belgian ale, a sour blend, and a trippel, after which Gert will answer questions from the group. There were about 25 participants on the call. HUGE thanks to Avi C. for treating me to a ticket to this event! Much appreciated. On with the show!
That's Gert, on screen. He was discussing the format of our first beer, the "Oude Vieux Lambiek", packaged mysteriously in this 100mL flask. According to Gert, after years of experimentation and and a protracted customs battle, Oud Beersel was able to ship their local lambic culture across the Atlantic in a bag-in-a-box. Aiming to capture the taste and feel of the young lambic beers the village of Beersel drinks themselves, the brewery has releaseed unblended and unflavored young lambic to present a view into the lambic-making process not available on US shelves before.
Dean and the H Street Cellars team disgorged this lambic into the flask from the boxed bladder about 24 hours before tasting - super fresh! The box, which is pressure-resistant to 3.5 bars, is good unopened for 2 years, and when opened and kept in fridge, good for two months. Like boxed wine, it retains freshness due to the packaging, which is how this kind of beer can be transported to the US.
Pours somewhat flat, with a "base" and slightly sour flavor, with major barnyard notes like hay, musk, and a tinge of earth. The brewers oxidized the hops before making beer - hops are older than one year, which is longer than most IPAs, so in this case the bitterness falls off. 4 hours of boil - that's a lot! Compare to the potent
Dogfish Head "120 Minute", at two hours of boil - but here, the bitterness is completely boiled out. Also, notice the prefix "Oude." Meaning "old" in Flemish, in this context anything "oude" means it's made in the "old way of making that beer," i.e. the original, natural method from 1300s. So this type of beer is what you might expect to be drinking were you transported seven hundreds years in the past in Belgium (which was then the Burgundian Netherlands in the Holy Roman Empire.)
OK, on to the next - Bersalis Tripel.
It's a 9.50% ABV Belgian ale, and the original beer which Gert was drinking when he committed to saving the brewery. This traditional Belgian Tripel is brewed with a touch of lambic influence and the result is a full-bodied blonde beer that evolves over time. There's a pungent banana nose - very pleasant and malty with a sweet backbone. Softer than other tripels I've had, and less aggressive that US-made versions. But then again, this is 100% authentic Belgian.Compare to
Weinhenstephaner "Vitus" in terms of mouthfeel and banana/clove aroma.
On to the next - the Bersalis Sourblend Grand Cru:
Much of the brewery's mission over the past 15 years has become to preserve lambic culture and to introduce it to new audiences. First released to the US in 2018, Sourblend Grand Cru sees the Bersalis Tripel blended with a batch of aged lambic for increased complexity. It's the product of blending an overacidic lambec with Tripel, so mixed fermentation in this 8.00% sour.
One of the more sour beers of the night - definitely has that vinegary punch of a lambic, but does have the fig / clove / spice notes of a tripel. In a way, it's close to the "Duchesse du Bourgogne" in terms of body. I really like it and would definitely have this on draft at a bar.
Last one...finishing with a bang with the 2017-vintage Bersalis Tripel Oak Aged:
This is the most special of Oud Beersel's Bersalis line of traditional ale/lambic hybrids, and only 120 cases came to America of the Tripel Oak Aged. Here, the original malted wheat Bersalis Tripel ages in new oak lambic foeders for 18 months and undergoes further fermentation, resulting in a 10.5% ABV brew...essentially an imperial lambic, if such a thing existed.
It's somewhat warm as it's been out for well over an hour, but quite delicious - lots of orange blossoms, yeast, and barnyard flavors. A touch vinegary, like many of the others, but I like that. The oak is prevalent, with a solid tang and a fizz at the end. This was probably my favorite of the night - a "big" beer that packs a ton of flavor and a definite yeasty spice character that I come to love from Belgian dubbels and trippels.
That concluded the tasting portion, and before Gert had to go to sleep (it was late, Belgium time) we did a short question-and-answer session, during which I asked Gert if he's tried any American lambic-style beers (for example, like those from
Jester King) that he's liked. He said yes, although not a fan of the quick sours - kettle sours, for example. His focus and intention is to make complex sours, nuanced sours, not the "shock" beers you see in the American markets, which he feels is about money as opposed to a particular craft. Makes sense, as worldwide, there's a smaller market for lambics, gueuze and krieks outside of Belgium...overall production of these styles combined is 24000 hectoliters, which is 20452 bbls - for example, US-based
Sierra Nevada manufactures 61 times this amount in a year. So in the scheme of things - not a lot at all.
But Gert's trying to change that - lambics made now show an increase in quality, according to Gert, and by using new technology brewers are more precise in measuring and consistency. There's much less a risk of defects, and with the global supply chain, Gert is able to source flavors from other cultures and making lambics out of them, resuscitating the style. I suggested a rhubarb lambic, which was enthusiastically supported by the group.
But what does this mean for those trying to make the style outside Belgium? "Sure, everyone wants to make a goeuze or lambic, but not everyone [is equipped to do so] - almost like Ford decided to make a Ferrari," Gert said, as "lambic beer is a dedication, not something easily done." Lambics are blended according to a variety of criteria, cannot achieve complexity if you half-ass things and focus on 50 beers at the same time. Only dedicated wooden barrel aged sour beers can truly achieve the style."
Gert signed off discussing his commitment to the style - considered by many the most-progressive mind in lambic brewing, he grew up in the countryside where lambics have been enjoyed for centuries, and feels that so many people are used to drinking mass-produced beers that he'd like to make his favorite styles accessible to the drinking public. Although lambics will never be mass market, Gert feels that if we lose the knowledge of the lambic style, we lose part of the Belgian culture as well. So seek out lambics when you can, and when this pandemic thing is all over and you visit Belgium, check out the brewery - Laarheidstraat 230, 1650 Beersel, Belgium. Big thanks to Gert, Dean, and Avi for a great experience!
