Brouwerij Boon: Difference between revisions
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In 1988, Frank Boon purchased a mash tun and kettle from the Rubbens brewery and a second kettle from the Lemaire brewery, thus completing the original Boon brewhouse which he finished assembling by 1990 (with the addition of a stainless steel coolship, the only brand new piece of equipment). The new brewing setup initially acted as a pilot brewery for Brouwerij De Gouden Boom (owned by Frank Boon and Paul Vanneste since 1983). However, to avoid excise tax issues, the first batch of Boon lambic was brewed in september 1990.<ref name=GeuzeKriek>Jef Van den Steen, [[Books#Geuze & Kriek: The Secret of Lambic Beer|Geuze & Kriek: The Secret of Lambic Beer]], 2012</ref><ref name=HoralBoon>Horal - Boon (Dutch), http://www.horal.be/vereniging/boon-lembeek</ref> | In 1988, Frank Boon purchased a mash tun and kettle from the Rubbens brewery and a second kettle from the Lemaire brewery, thus completing the original Boon brewhouse which he finished assembling by 1990 (with the addition of a stainless steel coolship, the only brand new piece of equipment). The new brewing setup initially acted as a pilot brewery for Brouwerij De Gouden Boom (owned by Frank Boon and Paul Vanneste since 1983). However, to avoid excise tax issues, the first batch of Boon lambic was brewed in september 1990.<ref name=GeuzeKriek>Jef Van den Steen, [[Books#Geuze & Kriek: The Secret of Lambic Beer|Geuze & Kriek: The Secret of Lambic Beer]], 2012</ref><ref name=HoralBoon>Horal - Boon (Dutch), http://www.horal.be/vereniging/boon-lembeek</ref> | ||
Frank Boon eventually left the distribution business in 1986 due to losing exclusive rights on many of the local beers and other companies using the same model. To distribute his new lambic, Boon initially signed a deal with the Belgian wine and spirits distributor Fourcroy. The deal, which resulted in Fourcroy buying a 50% share in the new brewery, did not produce the results that Frank had hoped for. Eventually, Boon was able to buy back all of the shares of the brewery. In 1994, he also sold his stake in the De Gouden Boom brewery, which would also become part of the Palm Brewing group in 2003.<ref name=PalmDeGoudenBoom>Palm Brewery - De Gouden Boom (Dutch), http://www.palm.be/nl/degoudenboom</ref> Around the same time, Frank Boon resold a 50% stake in the Boon brewery to the Palm Brewing group | Frank Boon eventually left the distribution business in 1986 due to losing exclusive rights on many of the local beers and other companies using the same model. To distribute his new lambic, Boon initially signed a deal with the Belgian wine and spirits distributor Fourcroy. The deal, which resulted in Fourcroy buying a 50% share in the new brewery, did not produce the results that Frank had hoped for, especially in the context of the late 80's where the brewery was close to bankruptcy. Eventually, Boon was able to buy back all of the shares of the brewery. In 1994, he also sold his stake in the De Gouden Boom brewery, which would also become part of the Palm Brewing group in 2003.<ref name=PalmDeGoudenBoom>Palm Brewery - De Gouden Boom (Dutch), http://www.palm.be/nl/degoudenboom</ref> Around the same time, Frank Boon resold a 50% stake in the Boon brewery to the Palm Brewing group, and in 2014, these shares were transferred to Diepensteyn Holding. | ||
It was said that Frank Boon had acquired the name rights to many old lambic breweries and blenders, including Moriau, Dekoninck, and Vandervelden<ref name=LambicLand>Tim Webb, Chris Pollard, Siobhan McGinn, [[Books#LambicLand: A Journey Round the Most Unusual Beers in the World|LambicLand: A Journey Round the Most Unusual Beers in the World]], 2010</ref>, but it was denied by his son Karel, though Boon continues to produce beer | It was said that Frank Boon had acquired the name rights to many old lambic breweries and blenders, including Moriau, Dekoninck, and Vandervelden<ref name=LambicLand>Tim Webb, Chris Pollard, Siobhan McGinn, [[Books#LambicLand: A Journey Round the Most Unusual Beers in the World|LambicLand: A Journey Round the Most Unusual Beers in the World]], 2010</ref>, but it was denied by his son Karel, though Boon continues to produce beer for Moriau and Dekoninck. In 2011, Boon bought an entirely new one-of-its-kind brewhouse with tanks designed specifically for lambic, which took two years to build, before seeing a first test brew in october 2013 (with Frank's son Jos who joined the brewery as a bio engineer the previous year while finishing his studies - his brother Karel joined as well in 2017, taking care of the business and marketing side of things).<ref name=LambicLand>Tim Webb, Chris Pollard, Siobhan McGinn, [[Books#LambicLand: A Journey Round the Most Unusual Beers in the World|LambicLand: A Journey Round the Most Unusual Beers in the World]], 2010</ref><ref name=GeuzeKriek>Jef Van den Steen, [[Books#Geuze & Kriek: The Secret of Lambic Beer|Geuze & Kriek: The Secret of Lambic Beer]], 2012</ref><ref name=BoonInterview2025>Lambic.info interview with Karel Boon, august 2025</ref> | ||
[[File:BrouwerijBoon-1.jpg|thumb|right|Boon's brewhouse]] | [[File:BrouwerijBoon-1.jpg|thumb|right|Boon's brewhouse]] | ||
The Monoblend series was launched the same year to celebrate this new chapter of the brewery (with a first blend bottled in 2010 kept asidefor the occasion). | |||
In 2014 they added an in-house cooperage workshop to work on their own barrels (the work has always been done on site but without a dedicated space which allowed them to add equipment), it runs for about 10 to 15 weeks per year in average. In 2016, they expended with a 4th warehouse hosting 40 Foeders of about 25,000L each. As the Foeders were kept dry for decades, it took an effort of about a hundred days to get them back on their feet soaking the wood in water so they would stop leaking. | |||
The importance of Brouwerij Boon and Frank Boon in the lambic community in Belgium cannot be understated. The size of Boon’s infrastructure means that Frank has been able to help smaller lambic brewers and blenders in many ways. Boon used to source approximately 180,000-190,000 kg of cherries per year from Galicia (nowadays about 300,000kg), a region that spans the border between Poland and Ukraine. Some of these cherries go to other brewers and blenders. Boon also sources approximately 28,000 kg of raspberries from the same area.<ref name=Summit12>Frank Boon, 2010, [[The_Lambic_Summit_2010#Part_12|The Lambic Summit, Part 12 (Shelton Brothers)]]</ref> In addition to providing other lambic brewers and blenders with fruit, Boon has also bottled for 3 Fonteinen, Oud Beersel, and [[Brasserie_Mort_Subite|Mort Subite]].<ref name=GeuzeKriek>Jef Van den Steen, [[Books#Geuze & Kriek: The Secret of Lambic Beer|Geuze & Kriek: The Secret of Lambic Beer]], 2012</ref> Boon lambic is also a principle component in many gueuze blends, including Tilquin's, Hanssens', Oud Beersel and Boerenerf (as well as 3 Fonteinen until 2018). | The importance of Brouwerij Boon and Frank Boon in the lambic community in Belgium cannot be understated. The size of Boon’s infrastructure means that Frank has been able to help smaller lambic brewers and blenders in many ways. Boon used to source approximately 180,000-190,000 kg of cherries per year from Galicia (nowadays about 300,000kg), a region that spans the border between Poland and Ukraine. Some of these cherries go to other brewers and blenders. Boon also sources approximately 28,000 kg of raspberries from the same area.<ref name=Summit12>Frank Boon, 2010, [[The_Lambic_Summit_2010#Part_12|The Lambic Summit, Part 12 (Shelton Brothers)]]</ref> In addition to providing other lambic brewers and blenders with fruit, Boon has also bottled for 3 Fonteinen, Oud Beersel, and [[Brasserie_Mort_Subite|Mort Subite]].<ref name=GeuzeKriek>Jef Van den Steen, [[Books#Geuze & Kriek: The Secret of Lambic Beer|Geuze & Kriek: The Secret of Lambic Beer]], 2012</ref> Boon lambic is also a principle component in many gueuze blends, including Tilquin's, Hanssens', Oud Beersel and Boerenerf (as well as 3 Fonteinen until 2018). | ||
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<ref name=HoralBoon>Horal - Boon (Dutch), http://www.horal.be/vereniging/boon-lembeek</ref> | <ref name=HoralBoon>Horal - Boon (Dutch), http://www.horal.be/vereniging/boon-lembeek</ref> | ||
In 2021, Karel and Jos Boon took over the 50% ownership of Diepsteyn Holdings, making the brewery 100% family owned again, shared equally between the both of them. | In 2021, Karel and Jos Boon took over the 50% ownership of Diepsteyn Holdings, making the brewery 100% family owned again, shared equally between the both of them. That same year the brewery launched the Sustainable Oak Initiative, sourcing ten logs of 250 years old Belgian oak from a forest located south of Leuven, which should last for about 200 years, in order to fix and maintain their own barrels on the long term. | ||
2025 sees the 50th anniversary of the brewery and two limited edition beers were made for the occasion, the first one in collaboration with Colruyt (Oude Geuze Boon Special Boon & Colruyt Family Blend ) has already been releases, while the second one will see a release later this year. The brewery will also organize and be part of several events to celebrate these 50 years. | |||
==Brewing Process== | ==Brewing Process== | ||