Brouwerij Girardin - Revision history

Matthew: /* Overview */

2026-01-30T17:09:20Z

Overview

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:09, 30 January 2026
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	== Overview ==		== Overview ==

	Girardin ~~produces~~ a lineup of lambic beers, including both filtered and unfiltered gueuze, as well as a framboise, kriek, and faro. The framboise and kriek are made with frozen fruits.<ref name=GeuzeKriek>Jef Van den Steen, [[Books#Geuze & Kriek: The Secret of Lambic Beer\|Geuze & Kriek: The Secret of Lambic Beer]], 2012</ref> In addition to its lineup of lambic beers, Girardin also brews a lager and produces a range of soft drinks under the name Girli (short for Girardin Lemonade). Girardin releases both young and old lambic in 10 L boxes.		Girardin offers a lineup of lambic beers, including both filtered and unfiltered gueuze, as well as a framboise, kriek, and faro. The framboise and kriek are made with frozen fruits.<ref name=GeuzeKriek>Jef Van den Steen, [[Books#Geuze & Kriek: The Secret of Lambic Beer\|Geuze & Kriek: The Secret of Lambic Beer]], 2012</ref> In addition to its lineup of lambic beers, Girardin also brews a lager and produces a range of soft drinks under the name Girli (short for Girardin Lemonade). Girardin releases both young and old lambic in 10 L boxes.

	== History ==		== History ==

Matthew: /* Overview */

2026-01-30T17:08:48Z

Overview

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:08, 30 January 2026
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	== Overview ==		== Overview ==

	Girardin ~~has~~ a lineup of lambic beers including both a filtered and unfiltered gueuze as well as a framboise, kriek, and faro. The framboise and kriek are made with frozen fruits.<ref name=GeuzeKriek>Jef Van den Steen, [[Books#Geuze & Kriek: The Secret of Lambic Beer\|Geuze & Kriek: The Secret of Lambic Beer]], 2012</ref> In addition to its lineup of lambic beers, Girardin also brews a lager and produces a range of soft-drinks under the name Girli (short for Girardin Lemonade). Girardin releases both young and old lambic in 10 L boxes~~, gueuze in 375 mL and 750 mL bottles, framboise and kriek in 250 mL, 375 mL, 750 mL bottles, and faro in 375 mL bottles~~.		Girardin produces a lineup of lambic beers, including both filtered and unfiltered gueuze, as well as a framboise, kriek, and faro. The framboise and kriek are made with frozen fruits.<ref name=GeuzeKriek>Jef Van den Steen, [[Books#Geuze & Kriek: The Secret of Lambic Beer\|Geuze & Kriek: The Secret of Lambic Beer]], 2012</ref> In addition to its lineup of lambic beers, Girardin also brews a lager and produces a range of soft drinks under the name Girli (short for Girardin Lemonade). Girardin releases both young and old lambic in 10 L boxes.

	== History ==		== History ==

Matthew: /* Oude Lambiek */

2026-01-30T17:06:11Z

Oude Lambiek

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:06, 30 January 2026
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	===Oude Lambiek===		===Oude Lambiek===
			<div style="column-count:2;-moz-column-count:2;-webkit-column-count:2">
	* [[Girardin Oude Lambiek\|Girardin Oude Lambiek (Cask/Draught)]]		* [[Girardin Oude Lambiek\|Girardin Oude Lambiek (Cask/Draught)]]
	* [[Girardin Limited Edition 2021\|Limited Edition 2021]]		* [[Girardin Limited Edition 2021\|Limited Edition 2021]]
	* [[Girardin Limited Edition 2024\|Limited Edition 2024]]		* [[Girardin Limited Edition 2024\|Limited Edition 2024]]
			</div>

	== Breweriana ==		== Breweriana ==

Matthew: /* Fruit */

2026-01-30T17:05:53Z

Fruit

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:05, 30 January 2026
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	=== Fruit ===		=== Fruit ===
			<div style="column-count:2;-moz-column-count:2;-webkit-column-count:2">
	* [[Girardin Framboise]]		* [[Girardin Framboise]]
	* [[Girardin Kriek]]		* [[Girardin Kriek]]
	* [[Girardin Kriekenlambik\|Girardin Kriekenlambik]]		* [[Girardin Kriekenlambik\|Girardin Kriekenlambik]]
	* [[Kriek Sainte Agathe]]		* [[Kriek Sainte Agathe]]
			</div>

	===Jonge Lambiek===		===Jonge Lambiek===

Matthew: /* Fruit */

2026-01-30T17:05:25Z

Fruit

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:05, 30 January 2026
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	=== Fruit ===		=== Fruit ===
	~~<div style="column-count:2;-moz-column-count:2;-webkit-column-count:2">~~
	* [[Girardin Framboise]]		* [[Girardin Framboise]]
	* [[Girardin Kriek]]		* [[Girardin Kriek]]
	* [[Girardin Kriekenlambik\|Girardin Kriekenlambik]]		* [[Girardin Kriekenlambik\|Girardin Kriekenlambik]]
	* [[Kriek Sainte Agathe]]		* [[Kriek Sainte Agathe]]
	~~</div>~~

	===Jonge Lambiek===		===Jonge Lambiek===

Matthew: /* Fruit */

2026-01-30T17:05:19Z

Fruit

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:05, 30 January 2026
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	=== Fruit ===		=== Fruit ===
			<div style="column-count:2;-moz-column-count:2;-webkit-column-count:2">
	* [[Girardin Framboise]]		* [[Girardin Framboise]]
	* [[Girardin Kriek]]		* [[Girardin Kriek]]
	* [[Girardin Kriekenlambik\|Girardin Kriekenlambik]]		* [[Girardin Kriekenlambik\|Girardin Kriekenlambik]]
	* [[Kriek Sainte Agathe]]		* [[Kriek Sainte Agathe]]
			</div>

	===Jonge Lambiek===		===Jonge Lambiek===

Matthew: /* Faro */

2026-01-30T17:04:44Z

Faro

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:04, 30 January 2026
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	=== Faro ===		=== Faro ===
			<div style="column-count:2;-moz-column-count:2;-webkit-column-count:2">
	* [[Girardin Faro 1882]]		* [[Girardin Faro 1882]]
	* [[Dominicus]]		* [[Dominicus]]
	* [[Kilo-bier]]		* [[Kilo-bier]]
			</div>

	=== Fruit ===		=== Fruit ===

Matthew: /* Gueuze */

2026-01-30T17:02:14Z

Gueuze

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:02, 30 January 2026
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	== Beers ==		== Beers ==
	=== Gueuze ===		=== Gueuze ===
			<div style="column-count:2;-moz-column-count:2;-webkit-column-count:2">
	* [[Fond Gueuze Bierpallieters]]		* [[Fond Gueuze Bierpallieters]]
	* [[Gueuze 1882 (Black label)]]		* [[Gueuze 1882 (Black label)]]
	* [[Gueuze 1882 (White label)]]		* [[Gueuze 1882 (White label)]]
			</div>

	=== Faro ===		=== Faro ===

Matthew: /* History */

2025-03-27T14:58:43Z

History

← Older revision		Revision as of 14:58, 27 March 2025
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	== History ==		== History ==

	Brouwerij Girardin is a small family-owned lambic brewery in the village of Sint-Ulriks-Kapelle located approximately 11 ~~kilometers~~ from the Brussels city center. The brewery sits on a farm established in 1845 as part of the estate of a nobleman. It was purchased by Franciscus-Alexius Girardin in 1882. Initially the intent of the Girardin family was to farm for subsistence, while brewing as a secondary means of income. Little is known about the brewery’s history between 1882 and the time of World War I. Francisus-Alexius was very involved with the local Catholic church, and when the occupying army advanced through Belgium his small brewery was shut down. However, he ~~continued to be~~ able to ~~brew~~ at another small brewery that was permitted to stay in operation. Brewing operations resumed on the farm after World War I. Franciscus-Alexius was also involved in local politics ~~where he~~ was the mayor of Sint-Ulriks-Kappelle from 1904 until 1927, three years before his death.<ref name=GeuzeKriek>Jef Van den Steen, [[Books#Geuze & Kriek: The Secret of Lambic Beer\|Geuze & Kriek: The Secret of Lambic Beer]], 2012</ref> [[File:GirardinCaps-1.jpg\|thumb\|right\|Unused vintage Girardin caps]]		Brouwerij Girardin is a small family-owned lambic brewery in the village of Sint-Ulriks-Kapelle, located approximately 11 km from the Brussels city center. The brewery sits on a farm established in 1845 as part of the estate of a nobleman. It was purchased by Franciscus-Alexius Girardin in 1882. Initially, the intent of the Girardin family was to farm for subsistence, while brewing as a secondary means of income. Little is known about the brewery’s history between 1882 and the time of World War I. Francisus-Alexius was very involved with the local Catholic church, and when the occupying army advanced through Belgium, his small brewery was shut down. However, he was able to continue brewing at another small brewery that was permitted to stay in operation. Brewing operations resumed on the farm after World War I. Franciscus-Alexius was also involved in local politics, and was the mayor of Sint-Ulriks-Kappelle from 1904 until 1927, three years before his death.<ref name=GeuzeKriek>Jef Van den Steen, [[Books#Geuze & Kriek: The Secret of Lambic Beer\|Geuze & Kriek: The Secret of Lambic Beer]], 2012</ref> [[File:GirardinCaps-1.jpg\|thumb\|right\|Unused vintage Girardin caps]]

	One of Franciscus-Alexius’ suriving sons, Jean-Baptiste, took over the farm-brewery business around 1930. Just like today, the Girardin farm grew its own barley and wheat on the grounds of the farm, in addition to beets. Though the wheat could be used immediately, the barley had to be sent away to be malted and then returned. Jean-Baptiste also followed in his father’s footsteps in becoming the mayor of the town in 1938 and remaining in office until 1958. Today, Brouwerij Girardin is well known for supplying lambic wort to many ~~of the~~ other well known blenders in the Pajottenland. This was also the case in the 1950s when Girardin was turning over wort to other cafés and blenders to make gueuze.<ref name=GeuzeKriek>Jef Van den Steen, [[Books#Geuze & Kriek: The Secret of Lambic Beer\|Geuze & Kriek: The Secret of Lambic Beer]], 2012</ref>		One of Franciscus-Alexius’ suriving sons, Jean-Baptiste, took over the farm-brewery business around 1930. Just like today, the Girardin farm grew its own barley and wheat on the grounds of the farm, in addition to beets. Though the wheat could be used immediately, the barley had to be sent away to be malted and then returned. Jean-Baptiste also followed in his father’s footsteps, becoming the mayor of the town in 1938 and remaining in office until 1958. Today, Brouwerij Girardin is well known for supplying lambic wort to many other well known blenders in the Pajottenland. This was also the case in the 1950s, when Girardin was turning over wort to other cafés and blenders to make gueuze.<ref name=GeuzeKriek>Jef Van den Steen, [[Books#Geuze & Kriek: The Secret of Lambic Beer\|Geuze & Kriek: The Secret of Lambic Beer]], 2012</ref>

	Jean-Baptiste’s son, Louis Girardin, continued his father’s work of both farming and brewing, taking over in 1962.<ref name=WildBrews>Jeff Sparrow, [[Books#Wild Brews: Culture and Craftsmanship in the Belgian Tradition\|Wild Brews: Culture and Craftsmanship in the Belgian Tradition]], 2005</ref> Louis, while still a farmer, began to favor the brewing aspect of the Girardin name and set forth modernizing the brewery in an attempt to stay viable. He replaced old coal burners with oil burners and purchased several malt silos for large-scale ~~storage~~ on-site eliminating the need for frequent malt deliveries. By the late 1970s, Girardin’s traditional business model of selling wort to beer blenders in wooden barrels began to decline as a number of cafés began to close their doors. In 1979, Girardin purchased equipment from closed blender Van Haute, in nearby Groot-Bijgaarden. Out of necessity, Louis purchased two bottling lines and began producing ~~bottled~~ beer for the first time in the brewery’s history. Starting out with ~~just~~ gueuze, the lineup later expanded to include kriek, framboise, and faro.<ref name=GeuzeKriek>Jef Van den Steen, [[Books#Geuze & Kriek: The Secret of Lambic Beer\|Geuze & Kriek: The Secret of Lambic Beer]], 2012</ref>		Jean-Baptiste’s son, Louis Girardin, continued his father’s work of both farming and brewing, taking over in 1962.<ref name=WildBrews>Jeff Sparrow, [[Books#Wild Brews: Culture and Craftsmanship in the Belgian Tradition\|Wild Brews: Culture and Craftsmanship in the Belgian Tradition]], 2005</ref> Louis, while still a farmer, began to favor the brewing aspect of the Girardin name and set forth modernizing the brewery in an attempt to stay viable. He replaced old coal burners with oil burners and purchased several malt silos for large-scale on-site storage, eliminating the need for frequent malt deliveries. By the late 1970s, Girardin’s traditional business model of selling wort to beer blenders in wooden barrels began to decline, as a number of cafés began to close their doors. In 1979, Girardin purchased equipment from closed blender Van Haute, in nearby Groot-Bijgaarden. Out of necessity, Louis purchased two bottling lines and began producing bottling beer for the first time in the brewery’s history. Starting out with only gueuze, the lineup later expanded to include kriek, framboise, and faro.<ref name=GeuzeKriek>Jef Van den Steen, [[Books#Geuze & Kriek: The Secret of Lambic Beer\|Geuze & Kriek: The Secret of Lambic Beer]], 2012</ref>

	During the late 1980s up through the new millennium, the brewery continued to invest in new equipment, training for Louis's two sons Jan and Paul, and between 1990 ~~and~~ 1993, a new brewing hall with more new-to-the-brewery equipment. Brewing has never ceased at Girardin, even during expansion and renovation, and now includes a lager-style beer called Ulricher. The brewery is currently under its fourth generation of ownership by the Girardin family after the sudden death of Louis Girardin in September of 2000. The current generation, Louis’ daughter Marina along with Jan and Paul, joined the business after finishing school. Sadly, Jan Girardin, who was the delivery/supply manager for the brewery, passed away in August 2012.		During the late 1980s up through the new millennium, the brewery continued to invest in new equipment, training for Louis's two sons Jan and Paul, and between 1990-1993, a new brewing hall with more new-to-the-brewery equipment. Brewing has never ceased at Girardin, even during expansion and renovation, and now includes a lager-style beer called Ulricher. The brewery is currently under its fourth generation of ownership by the Girardin family after the sudden death of Louis Girardin in September of 2000. The current generation, Louis’ daughter Marina along with Jan and Paul, joined the business after finishing school. Sadly, Jan Girardin, who was the delivery/supply manager for the brewery, passed away in August 2012.

	With the resurgence of lambic culture in Belgium, Brouwerj Girardin has been able to get back to its roots by bottling and distributing its beer as well as supplying wort to other blenders. Girardin is a main supplier of wort to lambic blenders, including [[Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen\|3 Fonteinen]], [[De_Cam_Geuzestekerij\|De Cam]], and [[Hanssens_Artisanaal_bvba\|Hanssens]] as well as many private consumers and experimental blenders, including [[Neill and Ross\|Neill and Ross]] who blended Girardin lambic with blackberries to produce [[Neill_and_Ross\|Shot in the Dark]]. Armand Debelder of 3 Fonteinen has been quoted as referring to Girardin as the ''Chateau d’Yquem'' of lambic producers, considering it to have some of the greatest “lasting properties” of lambics available for blending.<ref name=WildBrews>Jeff Sparrow, [[Books#Wild Brews: Culture and Craftsmanship in the Belgian Tradition\|Wild Brews: Culture and Craftsmanship in the Belgian Tradition]], 2005</ref> The brewery joined [[HORAL]] in 2004.<ref name=HoralGirardin)>Horal - Girardin (Dutch), http://www.horal.be/vereniging</ref> The future seems to be bright for the brewery. A potential fifth generation, three daughters and one son all born to Paul Girardin,<ref name=GeuzeKriek>Jef Van den Steen, [[Books#Geuze & Kriek: The Secret of Lambic Beer\|Geuze & Kriek: The Secret of Lambic Beer]], 2012</ref> may someday carry on the Girardin name in the lambic world.		With the resurgence of lambic culture in Belgium, Brouwerj Girardin has been able to get back to its roots by bottling and distributing its beer, as well as supplying wort to other blenders. Girardin is a main supplier of wort to lambic blenders, including [[Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen\|3 Fonteinen]], [[De_Cam_Geuzestekerij\|De Cam]], and [[Hanssens_Artisanaal_bvba\|Hanssens]] as well as many private consumers and experimental blenders, including [[Neill and Ross\|Neill and Ross]] who blended Girardin lambic with blackberries to produce [[Neill_and_Ross\|Shot in the Dark]]. Armand Debelder of 3 Fonteinen has been quoted as referring to Girardin as the ''Chateau d’Yquem'' of lambic producers, considering it to have some of the greatest “lasting properties” of lambics available for blending.<ref name=WildBrews>Jeff Sparrow, [[Books#Wild Brews: Culture and Craftsmanship in the Belgian Tradition\|Wild Brews: Culture and Craftsmanship in the Belgian Tradition]], 2005</ref> The brewery joined [[HORAL]] in 2004.<ref name=HoralGirardin)>Horal - Girardin (Dutch), http://www.horal.be/vereniging</ref> The future seems to be bright for the brewery. A potential fifth generation, three daughters and one son all born to Paul Girardin,<ref name=GeuzeKriek>Jef Van den Steen, [[Books#Geuze & Kriek: The Secret of Lambic Beer\|Geuze & Kriek: The Secret of Lambic Beer]], 2012</ref> may someday carry on the Girardin name in the lambic world.

	==Brewing Process==		==Brewing Process==

Gaël: /* Gueuze */

2025-02-28T15:27:49Z

Gueuze

← Older revision		Revision as of 15:27, 28 February 2025
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	* [[Gueuze 1882 (Black label)]]		* [[Gueuze 1882 (Black label)]]
	* [[Gueuze 1882 (White label)]]		* [[Gueuze 1882 (White label)]]
	* [[Gueuze Limited Edition 2021]]
	* [[Gueuze Limited Edition 2024]]

	=== Faro ===		=== Faro ===