Stekerij Ambreus: Difference between revisions

'''Birth of the project (2019)'''<br>

As geuze enthusiasts, the Ambreus team began by purchasing lambic from various brewers to create their own geuze as a hobby. After some trials and errors, their hobby grew from a handful of bottles to several crates, leading to the idea of starting their own blendery.

Together, Pieter-Jan, Erik, Bastiaan & Jean-Pierre formed a strong team with the right blend of knowledge and skills to create a new geuze. Their goal was to achieve a unique signature using lambics from different breweries. After further discussions and tastings, they decided to start blending using lambic from Brouwerij Den Herberg, De Troch, and Lindemans.

In late 2019, they began searching for a storage location. After considering several wild ideas, they ended up in Jean-Pierre’s garage on Halleweg. Naturally, the space was not immediately suitable for their project. A wall had to be built first to create a separate area to fit the requirements of the FAVV (Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain in Belgium).

The COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 allowed them to take the first steps and after cleaning, masonry work, insulation, and painting, they finally had an ideal place to store barrels and get started.

'''First use of barrels (2020)'''<br>

That same year, the first 24 barrels were delivered, allowing them to start their first season of blending, starting with cleaning all these new barrels, stacking them properly, and finally filling them. The first IBC containers filled with wort from Den Herberg soon arrived, followed by other breweries.

Shortly after they had begun, a sommelier friend from Halle asked them to produce a geuze based on a 7-year-old lambic. They gladly accepted the challenge and searched for different lambics from various brewers to achieve the ideal balance between acidity and fruitiness.

After several tests, they were satisfied with the result and began bottling manually.

'''Second season – improvements and new location (2021)'''<br>

As the second brewing season approached in 2021, the team needed to innovate in order to save space. With limited room and ambitious plans, they had to quickly find ways to increase barrel storage capacity.

Inspired by the wine industry, they adopted the method of stacking barrels rather than laying them side by side, providing a system just efficient enough to reach the right amount of needed space to store all barrels at the original location.

But by summer 2021, it became clear that expansion or relocation became necessary. A traditional Oude Geuze is a blend of 1-, 2-, and 3-year-old lambics and requires ageing in a warm room, and the garage could no longer accommodate a third season and everything that came along with it.

They started searching for a new spacious location in or around Halle where alcohol storage was permitted, preferably with some history.  

Eventually and after a few months, they found a café with a banquet hall called “De Kleine Ardennen” ("the Little Ardennes" in English) in Buizingen. It proved to be the perfect location: plenty of space, a driveway, and a courtyard that could serve as a terrace and workspace. With some renovations, they believed the building could be quickly transformed.

After a year and a half of phased, hard work, the new Stekerij Ambreus was ready.

'''Start of the renovations (2021)'''<br>

As is often the case with renovations, they quickly discovered that the project required far more work than anticipated. The budget was tight, yet major structural repairs were unavoidable: the floors could not support the weight of the barrels, the ceilings lacked insulation, and the roof leaked.

With the new brewing season only six months away, they found themselves in a race against time. False ceilings, walls, and floors were stripped out, while new plumbing, drainage, electrical systems, and flooring were installed. Only at the very last moment were the halls painted and left to air out.

After six months of intense work during weekends and holidays, the first barrel room was finally ready, allowing them to perform cleaning, drying, and sulphuring of barrels under one roof.

For their first season at the new site, they easily accommodated 48 barrels on a concrete platform with a new drainage system, ensuring a stable climate ideal for lambic maturation, and with the renovations complete, they could finally begin experimenting in the new space. Alongside their geuze, they aimed to extend the range to a kriek and perhaps other creations in the future.  

A year later, after another brewing season, the long-awaited moment arrived: the lambic they matured from the start finally reached the milestone of 3-year-old, allowing them to bottle their first Oude Geuze Ambreus. Before bottling, they tasted, measured, tested, and sought advice to make sure it was done right. Samples were taken from more than 100 barrels for taste and testing, and multiple trial bottlings were carried out. They received valuable insights from Kloris Devillé (Den Herberg) & Pauwel Raes (De Troch), which gave them the confidence to go ahead and start bottling.

A 4,500-litre tank was borrowed from Den Herberg to proceed, and with the support of 14 enthusiastic volunteers from among family and friends, they bottled 4,000 litres of geuze in just a day and a half. The bottles were then placed in the warm room to begin bottle refermentation.