Words by Breandán Kearney
Photos by Ashley Joanna
Published by Luster Publishing
Launch date: September 2024
This is a behind-the-scenes snippet from the making of Hidden Beers of Belgium, a book which will take readers on a journey of discovery through some of Belgium’s most interesting but under-appreciated beers. Read more here.
When you spend several years working on a book, you get a feel for the passing seasons. Right now, we’re heading into winter, when the Lambic producers will be brewing around the clock to ensure they’ve got enough inoculated wort to age and blend before the temperatures rise. In the Spring, the brewery farms come to life, like that of Boerenerf Eylenbosch below, with its bouncing lambs, emboldened highland cows, and curious stag beetles. In the summer, the terraces of Belgium’s villages and towns overflow with sessionable Lagers, Saisons, Witbiers, and fruit blends. And in the Autumn, the alcohol content climbs, the flavours shift, and the colours of the beers morph into the orange and browns of the season’s decidious leaves. After that, we start all over again, another year of research hopefully delivering a few more hidden gems of note.
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