Oak Foeders

Rondje Roodbruin | Brewery Tour of Flemish Red-Brown Ale

Breandán Kearney··6 min read

The third edition of Rondje Roodbruin will take place on Sunday 24 April 2016.

We look back at the second edition from Sunday 27 April 2014. This ‘tour’ is effectively an open event during the course of one day where the public are invited to come along for a free visit and beer to celebrate the unique nature of Flemish Red-Brown Ale.

There seems to be much cause for celebration. In 2011 the four participating breweries – Omer Vander Ghinste (formerly Bockor) in Bellegem, De Brabandere (formerly Bavik) in Bavikhove, Rodenbach in Roeselare and Verhaeghe in Vichte – submitted a dossier to the European Commission to obtain European recognition of their red-brown ales and it is expected that this recognition will be awarded in the near future.

RONDJE ROODBRUIN | TOUR OF THE FLEMISH RED-BROWN ALES

Due to the distances involved, the huge crowds interested in this special beer style and the wonderful opportunities to see so much of each of the breweries, it can be difficult to visit all four of the breweries on the one day. Our advice would be to pick two breweries and see them properly.

The Rondje Roodbruin festival is not only an opportunity for visitors to see the four breweries first-hand and to try various Flemish red-brown ales, but also to enjoy the entertainment laid on by the breweries, including guided tours, jazz bands, bespoke sour blending and organised visits to special brewery rooms.

The local tourism authority, Toerisme Leiestreek got in on the action by developing a specific bicycle route between the breweries for those feeling like a challenge and they even set up a shuttle bus service between the breweries on the day of the festival.

For those feeling peckish, twelve restaurants in the area (three for each brewery) put a special dish on their menus just for that day, each of which was prepared with Flemish red-brown ale.

And for the more competitive types, there was a social media competition throughout the day where participants could hashtag a relevant photo on their facebook, instagram or twitter accounts to #RondjeRoodbruin for a chance to be one of four winners of a crate of Flemish red-brown ale (one crate from each brewery).

THE STYLE

Flemish red-brown ales – often referred to as ‘Flemish Reds’ – have been produced in the same way for centuries. They are beers of mixed fermentation – a blend of young and old top-fermented beer which has been ‘positively’ infected by bacteria during fermentation and maturation in upright oak vats for at least 18 months – with a sweet and sour character.

Their aroma is wine-like and complex with a mix of red berry fruitiness and a signature acidic flavour but balanced out by sweetness. Although they do hop the beers to help with head retention and preservation, there is little to no hoppy bitterness in aroma or taste. These hop additions are so minimal that they fall under the taste radar. Their refreshing aftertaste makes Flemish red-brown ales an ideal thirst quencher.

THE FOUR BREWERIES AND THEIR RED-BROWN BEERS

BREWERY 1: RODENBACH (ROESELARE) – RODENBACH

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Perhaps the best-known producer of Flemish red-brown ales, Rodenbach brewery is a fascinating visual mix of historic industrial buildings, modern brewing machinery and most impressive of all  294 large oak vats (or ‘foeders’) which range from 10,000 to 65,000 litres in size. The oldest of these dates back to 1836.

Rudi Ghequire, the Site Manager and Brewmaster for Palm Breweries at Rodenbach’s home in Roeselare describes Flemish red-brown ales as the “missing link between beer and wine,” and explained that “the beers will mature for at least 18 months in their oak vats.”

He showed us the cooperage at Rodenbach. “These oak vats are made in exactly the same way they were when Rodenbach first started brewing in 1821,” said Rudi. “Great care is taken with the selection of wood and the coopers insist on using the finest timber materials without knot or imperfection.” These vats are created without using a single nail or screw by sliding reeds between the staves to ensure that they are watertight. Without these foeders, the beers would not enjoy the flavours it receives from the tannins of the oak.

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The ‘original’ Rodenbach (5.2% ABV) is a blend of 3/4 young beer and 1/4 beer that has been aged in oak vats for 2 years. The famous beer writer and one of the most respected authorities in the field of beer, Michael Jackson, called Rodenbach “the most refreshing beer in the world”.

The Rodenbach Grand Cru (6% ABV) is a blend of 1/3 young beer and 2/3 beer that has been aged in oak vats for 2 years and has a noticeably bigger red fruit profile with greater complexity in flavour.

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The Rodenbach Vintage (7% a.b.v.) has been matured in one specially selected vat for two years and there’s even a fruit version, the Rodenbach Rosso. In addition, the brewery has developed 900 unique bottles of Rodenbach Caractère Rouge (7% a.b.v.) in cooperation with top chef Viki Geunes of ‘t Zilte restaurant at the Antwerp MAS museum in which the brewers allowed the beer to macerate with fresh cherries, raspberries and cranberries.

BREWERY 2: OMER VANDER GHINSTE [FORMERLY BOCKOR] (BELLEGEM) – VANDERGHINSTE OUD BRUIN

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The Omer Vander Ghinste brewery recently changed its name. It spent many years as Bockor brewery but has reverted to its original name based on the family which started it all. The story behind the name is an interesting one.

“Omer Vander Ghinste started brewing his ‘oud bruin’ beers back in 1892,” says Nicolas Degryse, the marketing manager at the brewery. “He transported his beers around in oak vats on the back of a horse-drawn cart and later in a small van. So popular were his beers that he began labeling his carts and the local café shop windows with ‘Bieren Omer Vander Ghinste’ (Beers of Omer Vander Ghinste).”

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“When the time came for Omer to think about his legacy with one eye on a son taking over the business, his wife argued that the exercise of changing the names on the signs and making new ones for the younger Vander Ghinste would be too costly,” says Nicolas. “To circumvent this problem, Omer’s son was named Omer.”

And so it has continued. Five generations later, Omer Vander Ghinste’s great grandson, Omer Jean Vander Ghinste leads the brewery business. His 20 year old son, who also bears the name Omer Vander Ghinste, is currently studying.

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And just as the name of the brewery harks back to its beginning, the beers which they brew are also rooted in that time. The VanderGhinste Oud Bruin (5.5% ABV) is a variation on the original beer brewed by the first Omer Vander Ghinste.

The brewery still retains a koelschip used for spontaneous fermentation. It’s here that the wort is  contaminated by wild yeasts and bacteria. This area of the brewery also boasts views across the West Flemish countryside.

BREWERY 3: DE BRABANDERE [FORMERLY BAVIK] (BAVIKHOVE) – PETRUS OLD BROWN

De Brabandere is another brewery which has returned to its family roots. The De Brabanderes have continued the work of their great grandfather, Adolf De Brabandere, and changed the name of the brewery from Bavik brewery back to the original family name. This year is significant for De Brabandere not just because of the name change but also because it is the 120th anniversary of the establishment of the brewery in 1894.  Their Flemish Red-Brown Ale is the Petrus Old Brown (5.5% a.b.v), a blend of 1/3 dark blond oak-aged beer and 2/3 dark brown young beer.

BREWERY 4: VERHAEGHE (VICHTE) – DUCHESSE DE BOURGOGNE

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The smallest of the four breweries, Verhaeghe’s history dates back to the end of the nineteenth century.

The early brewing success of the Verhaeghes was thwarted during the outbreak of World War I when the Germans dismantled their brewery – as they had done with so many others – so that they could use the copper for amunition. During World War II, troubles prevailed. More restrictions from occupying forces in Belgium together with a shortage in malted barley seriously curtailed production. Post World War II, the arrival of lager style beers from the Czech Republic (pilsner) hurt a lot of breweries making top-fermenting ales.

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Their ability to survive seems to derive from their respect for tradition in the production of their Duchesse De Bourgogne (6.2% ABV), a beer which now makes up the majority of their production.

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