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Words by Breandán Kearney
Podcast featuring Breandán Kearney and Eoghan Walsh
Illustration by Flore Deman
As we approach the end of the year, this podcast episode is a look back at Belgian beer in 2021.
It’s a conversation with Eoghan Walsh, who writes at Brussels Beer City. Eoghan is a fellow Irishman in Belgium and the winner of several awards at the North American Guild of Beer Writers Awards this year, including those for Best Beer Review, Best Short Form Writing, and Best Beer and Food Writing.
In this episode, Eoghan and I started off by chatting about developments in the world of Belgian Trappist brewing over the last 18 months. In October 2020, Rochefort released a new Tripel. In March of this year, Westmalle made their lower alcohol Extra available outside the Abbey for the first time. And in May of 2021, Chimay released a Strong Blonde Ale they called the Chimay 150. There was also some confusion in January of 2021, when Achel lost the right to display the Authentic Trappist Product Logo on its labels. Eoghan and I discussed all of this, and tried to gather some thoughts on the health of brand Trappist as we approach 2022.
The Belgian Golden Strong Ale and the Strong Belgian Blonde Ale are two styles of beer whose popularity in Belgium continues to grow. Eoghan and I discussed the most successful proponents of these two styles, as well as the reasons why these beers might be interesting to Belgian drinkers.
The biggest story in global beer this year was about toxic work environments, bullying, and discrimination against marginalised communities in the beer industry. Most of you will be aware of the work of Brienne Allan in the US and perhaps have followed stories, in particular, about Punks with Purpose and Brewdog in the UK, and Fanny Wandel and Mikkeller in Denmark. Eoghan and I talked about the situation in Belgium and discussed whether there are any initiatives that might ensure the Belgian beer community becomes a safer, more inclusive, and more equitable place.
One of the most interesting parts of Belgian beer is the Lambic world. Like other producers, Lambic breweries and blenders have had a tough time over the last 18 months. But it’s been a really exciting time for drinkers of spontaneous and mixed fermentation in Belgium as newcomers enter the market, as diversity of flavour grows amongst the established producers, and as the quality across the board improves. Eoghan and I discussed what happened in 2021 and why 2022 might be another great year for Lambic.
There have been other, more quixotic trends that have emerged or taken root in Belgian beer in the past 12 months. Spirits continued to be a productive area of interest for Belgian breweries, with Bourgogne de Flandres, Het Anker, Ter Dolen, Duvel, Wilderen, Waterloo, and St Feuillien all committing to their distillation projects. On the extreme opposite side of the industry, though, low alcohol beers continued to be a major source of interest for other producers, although offerings were often hit and miss.
There seemed to a maturing of several breweries which came into existence in the last two decades, with the Musketeers, De La Senne, Brussels Beer Project, and Minne all continuing to scale up and introduce new products, hit supermarket shelves, open taprooms, and in some cases, fill a coolship. Plans were announced for Cantillon’s Conservatoire du Lambic, Oud Beersel’s Bierhuis, and extra bars from L’Ermitage. Other, more heritage producers, enjoyed milestones of their own which they recognised with characteristic Flemish understatement. Sint Bernardus celebrated 75 years in existence, Duvel 150 years, and Rodenbach 200 years.
2021 would have been a really difficult year to open a Belgian brewery, for a number of reasons. Eoghan and I discussed some of those reasons, including COVID, of course, but also the awful flooding which devastated parts of Belgium, and long-term changes to the beer market more generally. We also picked out a few Belgian breweries that opened this year that may be ones to watch for 2022.
On a personal note, I’d like to say a huge thank you to everyone who has read and listened to Belgian Smaak this past year. It was a really difficult year for me and my family for a number of reasons, but we managed to publish more on Belgian Smaak than we’ve ever done before, and I got to write for publications I respect such as National Geographic Traveller Food, Good Beer Hunting, Craft Beer and Brewing Magazine, Pellicle Mag, and Ferment Magazine. I was also delighted to host the Toer de Geuze At Home in May of this year.
I was also delighted and humbled to see our work at Belgian Smaak receive international recognition this year. In October, this podcast won the North American Guild of Beer Writers Award for Best Beer Podcast and my story about hop farming culture in the Westhoek won the award for Best Local Reporting.
In November, I was lucky to win the award for Best Beer Writer in 2021 at the Irish Food Writing Awards, for work about Irish beer published in Good Beer Hunting, as well as the award for Best Regional Beer Writer at the British Guild of Beer Writers Awards in December for my work on stories from the Flemish regions.
And a few weeks ago, The Belgian Smaak Podcast also won Best Culture and Music Podcast at the Belgian Podcasts Awards—a phenomenal result for several reasons.
One, because a large part of the final score was down to a public vote, meaning we would not have won it if you guys had not come and out and voted for us. For that I am so grateful.
Secondly, consider the competition. We were up against podcasts from famous, well-resourced radio stations like Studio Brussels, live music institutions like the Ancienne Belgique in Brussels, and national Belgian broadcast networks RTBF and VRT. All these podcasts are in Dutch or French—English isn’t even a national language of Belgium.
It just shows you how culturally significant beer is to life in Belgium that a niche beer podcast could win the Culture and Music category of the national podcast awards, winning against podcasts about books, music, gaming, and museum culture.
It was also fantastic that Ashley Joanna, who writes and shoots our Humans of Belgian Beer series, won the Award for Best Young Beer Writer at the British Guild of Beer Writers Awards this month. It has been fantastic to work with Ashley, to see her progression as a writer and photographer, and to see her work duly rewarded—and in her very first year writing about beer. If you haven’t already checked out her work, head over here when you’ve finished listening.
So this is where I want to say thanks. Thanks to you for reading and listening to me this year and for the past five, six, seven years. Thanks to you for voting for me in the Belgian Podcast Awards. Thanks to you for leaving reviews and giving me positive feedback and championing Belgian Smaak by sharing and commenting and liking our stories and podcasts. It means so much.
Stay safe over the festive period and try as much as is possible to rest your body and your mind. Look after those close to you and focus on the people you care about and the things that matter to you. And don’t forget to reward yourself with a beer or two for getting through another tough year.
Until next time, love what you do.
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