If you’ve followed my blog or Instagram for a bit, you probably know that one of my favorite weekend getaways is visiting lambic breweries in or around Brussels. Like, my recent visits to Oud Beersel or Brouwerij Angerik. The first weekend of July however, it was time for something else. Time for exploring another type of Belgian beer that’s made with the help of wild microorganisms. No lambic or gueuze this time, but Flemish red-brown beer. A beer that is however somewhat similar to lambic in terms of history, or popularity rather. Like lambics, until 10 to 20 years ago there were not a lot of brewers left that made Flemish red-brown beer. Okay, you still had the more known ones like Rodenbach, Verhaegh, Liefmans, or Vanderghinste, which still exist to this day. But, apart from that, not a lot of brewers were making this type of beer. It was seen as beer for old people and people would much rather drink other types of Belgian beer. Things have changed though in the last decade. New breweries have opened up, and young people started to drink it again. In short, Flemish red-brown beer is gaining popularity. Who better to discuss this with than with the brewer and co-founder of one of these newer breweries? Therefore, I met with Koen from Brouwerij ‘t Verzet. ‘t Verzet is Dutch for the resistance.
What is Flemish red-brown beer?
Flemish red-brown beer is the overarching name for two styles of sour ale that are traditionally brewed in West Flanders in Belgium. On the one hand there is Flanders red ale, like Rodenbach. On the other hand there is Old Brown beer or ‘Oud Bruin’ in Dutch, like the beer ‘t Verzet brews. Both styles are a mix of old and young beer that undergo a lactic acid fermentation in big oak-wooden casks or ‘foeders’ in Flemish. Although some brewers have lobbied for it, the name is not a protected geographical indication.
Located in a big warehouse in Anzegem we sat down for a beer (Oud Bruin of course) and talked about ‘t Verzet, how it started, and how they try to make Oud Bruin great again. Koen showed me around the brewery, the impressive barrel room, with almost 100 barrels, and the small vineyard in the back. All barrels are named after musicians, with the four big foeders named after the band members of the Ramones: Johnny, Dee Dee, Marky, and Joey. Before starting the vineyard they got advice from Antidoot on which grapes best to use in the Belgium climate. The Oud Bruin I drank was amazing, with a nice lactic sourness combined with the malty and caramel tones from the barley.
How it started
Brouwerij ‘t Verzet was founded in 2011 by Koen Van Lancker, Alex Lippens, and Joran Van Ginderachter. They knew each other from studying biochemistry, specializing in brewing technology, in Ghent. Since 2016 they are open to the public and have their own brewing equipment in a warehouse in Anzegem. Currently, around 1000-1500 persons visit the brewery per year. Before 2016 they brewed their beer in other breweries such as Brouwerij de Ranke. Prior to starting professionally with ‘t Verzet, they all worked at established breweries like VanderGhinste and De Proefbrouwerij (the first contract brewery in Belgium, at the time producing beer for some big names like Mikkeler). All work in the brewery is done by the two remaining co-founders Alex and Koen (Joran left to start his own brewery Halfway Crooks in the United States) and two employees.
The reason for starting ‘t Verzet was their shared passion for beer with a love for Oud Bruin in particular. All three born and raised in the region their true passion in brewing had always been Oud Bruin.
Since the first brew where the wort was inoculated overnight by the wild microorganisms from the environment, the same house culture from the sludge in the used barrels has been used to ferment the beer. The first-ever barrel, appropriately named ‘La Moeder’, is still used in the barrel room. All of the barrels that are used for Oud Bruin are old red wine barrels. The brewery has eighty 220-litre barrels, fifteen 400-litre barrels, two 4000-litre foeders, and two 5000-litre foeders. One batch of Oud Bruin usually contains beer from 10 different barrels. Beer that’s aged in the barrels is aged for 1 year, and beer in the foeders is left to age for 2 years. Annually 2500 hectolitre of beer is produced, of which 500 hectolitre Oud Bruin. The beers other than Oud Bruin are produced mostly to be able to fund their true passion, which is Oud Bruin.
Making Oud Bruin Great Again
With their passion for Oud Bruin and their belief that it’s the best beer style, ‘t Verzet tries to make Oud Bruin great again. Nowadays, food and drinks including beer tend to be sweeter than before and people forgot to appreciate the amazing refreshing taste of sour beers like Oud Bruin. To fight this, and to resist the flattening of flavor in the (Belgian) beer world, ‘t Verzet is advocating the Oud Bruin beer style. One way of doing this is by organizing the beer festival ‘Oud Bruin Fest’. The first edition was held in October 2022 and hosted 35 breweries from inside and outside Belgium. To name a few: Holy Goat Brewing, Rodenbach, Mad Scientist, Alvinne, and Haandbryggeriet. For this event the first-ever megablend of Oud Bruin beer was made, containing the best barrels of beer from 12 breweries. This beer ‘Oud Bruin Megablend 2021’ is still available at the brewery and some shops if you’re lucky. The next edition of the festival will be on Friday 4 October 2024 from 16h to 22h, and Saturday 5 October 2024 from 14h to 22h in Kortrijk. Tickets are already available on www.oudbruinfest.com. Hopefully, we can expect another edition of the megablend again!
Future
The focus in the future will always remain on quality, promotion of Oud Bruin beer, and experimenting without losing respect for tradition. They’re not doing it to get rich, but to make a living doing what they love is the goal. A dream for the future is to brew the best Oud Bruin in the world.
The beers
Brouwerij ‘t Verzet offers a large range of different beers. Eight regular beers, of which their Flemish red-brown beer Oud Bruin, is one. Other regulars are a blond, tripel, and an IPA to name a few. Furthermore, they offer some limited editions Oud Bruin infusions. These limited editions are only available for a year. Infusions that’ve been made in the past used for example oak leaves, cherries, grapes, raspberries, strawberries, and peaches. Then there are the Oud Bruin Thrills too, experimental beers based on their Oud Bruin. To name a few: Super Boil, Kameradski Balsamico, and Foederbier – Joey. Super Boil, is the standard Oud Bruin, however, the wort has been cooked for 16 hours instead of the usual 1,5 hours. This makes a full-bodied beer with caramel notes due to the Maillard reaction during the cooking. Kameradski Balsamico is a hybrid between a Russian imperial stout and Oud Bruin, and Foederbier – Joey is Oud Bruin from a single Foeder and therefore not a mix between young and old beer. Finally, there’s the very special Oud Bruin Megablend 2021. This is a unique blend of Flemish red-brown beer from 12 breweries that was created in honor of the Oud Bruin FEST beer festival.
After visiting I took several beers home. The Oud Bruin with oak leaves I drank the same evening and this one was even more sour than the standard Oud Bruin, with some nice earthy tones from the oak leaves. The Oud Bruin with strawberries and peaches I gifted to a friend who enjoyed them a lot, Kameradksi Balsamico is still waiting for me in the fridge, as are three bottles of Oud Bruin. The Oud Bruin Megablend 2021, one bottle of Oud Bruin from 2014 and the other from 2021. Stay tuned for an upcoming post about this, I hope you’re as excited as me to learn about the differences in taste between the bottles from 2014 and 2021.
Who should I interview after this?
Two other regional breweries worth visiting according to Koen are Brouwerij Alvinne for their excellent experimental beers and willingness to share their passion for brewing and Seizoensbrouwerij Vandewalle to learn more about the history of Oud Bruin.
Thanks for showing me around the brewery and meeting with me Koen!