Den Herberg
Website (Dutch – English - French): https://www.denherberg.be
Contact: denherberg (at) gmail (dot) com
Address: Octave de Kerchove d'Exaerdestraat 16, 1501 Buizingen
Phone: +32 23083656
Contents
Overview
Den Herberg is a pub and lambic brewery located in Buizingen. The translation of the name is ‘The Inn’. The founders are Bart Devillé and Ann Heremans and they run the pub (which is open 7 days a week) with the help of their 7 children. Bart Devillé is also the brewery’s master brewer and he is assisted by his two sons Akke and Kloris Devillé. De Lambikstoempers handed out first prize to Den Herberg for best local lambic pub in 2018.
History
The story of Den Herberg started when the Devillé family bought a vacant property in Buizingen in 2000. It was around that time that Bart Devillé enrolled in a beer brewing course in COOVI Anderlecht, which is a school specialized in the catering industry. It ignited his passion for homebrewing. He produced top-fermented home brewed beers (of 200 liters per batch) which were very well received by fellow beer enthusiasts. Beer was back then merely a hobby for Bart and Ann because their full time job was running a construction company called ‘Decodal’. Their search for a new warehouse to store construction equipment led to Den Herberg’s current location in Buizingen. The building was originally intended to be used as a storage unit for Decodal, although the idea quickly came about to turn it into a brewery. That made perfect sense because the building used to be a café and banqueting hall called ‘De Gouden Lantaarn’ which means ‘The Golden Lantern’. It was the perfect opportunity for a revival of the former café. Café Den Herberg was born and opened on 1 February 2007. The brewery quickly became well known for its top-fermented beers on the local market.
The street next to the brewery is called the ‘Zenneweg’, which means ‘Path to the Senne (river)’. Its prime location at only 150 meters distance from the Senne river in the Payottenland offered an ideal opportunity to expand Den Herberg’s beer range with own brewed lambic. Den Herberg started brewing lambic early 2017 and they released their first geuze in August 2020.
In January of 2022 Den Herberg officially joined the ranks of HORAL.
Brewing and Blending Process
Brewing lambic at Den Herberg takes place during winter season when the temperatures hit below 5 degrees centigrade at night, which is traditionally between November and April. Den Herberg has brewed lambic in Buizingen since early 2017, and they use a mobile coolship with a capacity of approximately 1800 liters. The lambic wort is then aged in French wine barrels which are made of French and American oak and with a capacity of around 400 liters. Some foudres will be introduced in the Spring of 2022. The brewery in Buizingen has a capacity to store around 60 barrels, and there’s also a second storage facility in the Devillé family’s farm in Lembeek which houses around 250 barrels. The farm has an orchard of 7.4 acres with 400 Schaarbeekse cherry trees. The cherries will be used for fruit lambics in the near future. There are currently no plans to brew lambic at the farm in Lembeek because the location is Buizingen is much closer to the Senne river and therefore best suited to brew lambic according to the brewery.
Not all brewed lambic is meant for Den Herberg’s geuze. Their lambic wort is also offered to other lambic producers such as: Sako, Bofkont, Bokke, and Kestemont (Ecodal). Andy De Brouwer – co-winner of the 2020 Horal Award – and Vin de Liège created a hybrid co-ferment by blending Den Herberg’s lambic with wine from Johanniter grapes. It is called ‘Meuzenne’ and bottled at Vin de Liège.
Den Herberg’s current beer range consists of top-fermented, bottom-fermented, mixed-fermentation beers, lambic, and geuze. Cuvée Devillé, first brewed in 2014, is a mixed fermentation beer fermented with top-fermenting yeast and wild yeasts (bretts). It makes the perfect bridge towards the brewery’s spontaneously fermented lambics, Oude Lambiek Devillé and Oude Geuze Devillé. The old unblended lambic is available in a bag-in-box of 5 liters for take away at the brewery and local beer shops since 2018. In August 2020, the brewery’s lambic range expanded with the release of Den Herberg’s first ‘Oude Geuze’ which is named ‘Oude Geuze Devillé’. Roughly 90 % of the Den Herberg’s lambic beers are meant for distribution on the local market and for sale at the brewery and local beer shops. Only 10 % is reserved for the international market and it is mainly distributed via beer webshops.
Beers
Geuze
Oude Lambiek
Photos
All photos are courtesy of Den Herberg.
Brewing process
Brewing process
Brewing process
Brewing process
Brewing process
Coolship
Coolship
Coolship
Coolship
Coolship
Coolship
Barrel room in Lembeek
Barrel room
Bart Devillé
Brewery
Brewery
Den Herberg pub interior.
Den Herberg wins Lambikstoemper award, 2018. Photo credit: hln.be
References
Kearney, Brendán. The Instrumental Lambic of Brouwerij Den Herberg. Belgian Smaak, September 9, 2020. https://www.belgiansmaak.com/brouwerij-den-herberg/