Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | RSS | More
Photos by Sophie Callewaert
Sound by Leander Meuris
This editorially independent podcast has been supported by VISITFLANDERS as part of the “Common Place” series of stories. Read more.
Today’s podcast is a discussion with three producers of wild and spontaneously fermented beer in Belgium who have appeared in more recent years: Raf Souvereyns of Bokke; Pierre Tilquin of Gueuzerie Tilquin; and Tom Jacobs of Antidoot Wilde Fermenten.
Tom Jacobs is located in Kortenaken in Belgium’s Hageland, a region in the eastern part of Flemish Brabant between the cities of Aarschot, Leuven, Tienen, and Diest. The Haag in Hageland is often mistaken to be the Dutch word for “Hedge”, but the region is actually named after an old Dutch word meaning “dense forest or undergrowth”. Because of its fertile soil, the south of Hageland is known historically for its wheat cultivation. Just 23 kilometres south of Kortenaken lies Hoegaarden, a village associated with both saving Belgian wheat beer and spawning the style’s most famous commercial brand. Tom doesn’t ignore that legacy. In every single Antidoot brew, he uses at least 35% of raw wheat which comes from the region.
Raf is based in Hasselt in the province of Limburg in the east of Flanders. It’s a city surrounded by fruit farms. Raf himself worked previously in a winery, and there’s a clear focus on local fruit in his blends: grapes, cherries, raspberries, and apricots.
Pierre is based in Bierghes, to the south-west of Brussels in a fertile agricultural region with gently rolling hills and bustling villages. He worked and trained at Cantillon, and utilises inoculated wort from five different breweries in his blends. He made his name with Tilquin Quetsche, Lambic conditioned over an unusual ingredient—plums.
This conversation took place pre-COVID, back when it was ok to sit beside someone, back when it was ok to physically share a beer with someone. About a hundred people or so stocked up on a bunch of interesting beers and crammed into a tiny old beautiful theatre in Ghent—the Tinnenpot—to listen to Raf, Pierre, and Tom talk about terroir, hype in wild beer, and about their motivations.
We also get talking about the politics of this type of beer in Belgium. And given that these guys are three very different personalities, it does get interesting.
Sit back, listen, and enjoy Raf Souvereyns of Bokke, Pierre Tilquin of Gueuzerie Tilquin, and Tom Jacobs of Antidoot Wilde Fermenten.
