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When Brouwerij Alvinne started in 2003, Glenn Castelein and Davy Spiessens were contracting traditional ales and homebrewing classic styles. They worked at beer cafés and volunteered with the Objectieve Bier Proevers (OBP), the forerunners to the Zythos beer consumers group in Belgium.
Two things happened that would change the direction in which they would go.
First, in 2005, a tour operator from England who brought beer enthusiasts all over Belgium asked Alvinne to brew a 10% ABV Belgian Imperial Stout. Alvinne poured samples at Zythos beer festival that year, their first experimental beer, with four versions showcasing four different yeasts. The tour operator’s group, in attendance at the festival, tasted the four versions and chose the one which still exists today. The tour operator was Chris Pollard, known affectionately as ‘Podge’, a man who, with others, wrote books about lambic and about café culture in Belgium.
Sadly, Podge passed away just this August, but his passion for Belgian beer and for Belgium will live on through all those people he inspired on his tours. His warmth and generosity will never be forgotten by the Belgian brewers he befriended and supported. The Podge Belgian Imperial Stout was a defining moment for Alvinne, garnering attention from beer lovers and showing themselves that they could push it as brewers.
The second thing which changed Alvinne’s trajectory was the bringing on board in 2009 of Marc De Keukeleire, the partner Glenn refers to as the “yeast whisperer”. De Keukeleire captured strains of wild yeast and bacteria from the environment around Auvergne in France and through selection and isolation, delivered what is now Alvinne’s house culture, a mixed strain of sacchromyces and lactobacillus which they have named, quite dramatically, “Morpheus”.
Fast forward to 2018 and Alvinne are now known for their Flemish sour ales, fruit beers and barrel aged projects.
Glenn Castelein is now in charge of barrel management at Brouwerij Alvinne, alongside his other job at a special needs school where he has worked for 23 years, first as a teacher and now as a coordinator.
We discuss Alvinne’s evolution, the introduction and management of the Morpheus house culture, the importance of branding and identity, and the overlapping qualities required to work in special needs education and mixed fermentation.
Sit back, listen and enjoy Glenn Castelein of Brouwerij Alvinne.
Special thanks to Nic Crilly-Hargrave for the photographs, to Leander Meuris for the audio recording and to Ales Tales Festival and Beer Merchants for providing the space to record.
