Brasserie Belle Vue: Difference between revisions

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== Overview ==

Brasserie Belle-Vue is an industrial-sized brewery located in Sint-Pieters-Leeuw just outside of the Brussels Capital Region. Currently under the AB-InBev umbrella, Brasserie Belle Vue no longer produces any spontaneously fermented lambic, and its products are all sweetened.

Brasserie Belle-Vue is an industrial-sized brewery located in Sint-Pieters-Leeuw, just outside of the Brussels Capital Region. Currently under the AB-InBev umbrella, Brasserie Belle Vue no longer produces any spontaneously fermented lambic, and its products are all sweetened.

== History ==

Brasserie Belle-Vue has a long and sometimes controversial history of innovation, takeover, and survival among the lambic brewers and blenders. It was founded in 1913, by a café blender named Philémon Vandenstock (1886–1945). The owner of a bar in Brussels, Vandenstock, along with his wife, bought wort from various lambic breweries in the city and began blending ''fondgeuze'' for the establishment. Shortly after they began their blending business, World War I broke out, leaving few resources to continue. Finally, in 1927, the Belle-Vue Café in Anderlecht became available. Vandenstock purchased the building as an outlet for his lambics, serving five other cafes in the area, while also selling directly to customers. From 1927 onward, the blendery would market itself under the Belle-Vue name with a mention to Ph. Vandenstock usually visible somewhere on the branding.<ref name=GeuzeKriek>Jef Van den Steen, [[Books#Geuze & Kriek: The Secret of Lambic Beer|Geuze & Kriek: The Secret of Lambic Beer]], 2012</ref>

Brasserie Belle-Vue has a long and sometimes controversial history of innovation, takeover, and survival among the lambic brewers and blenders. It was founded in 1913 by a café blender named Philémon Vandenstock (1886–1945). The owner of a bar in Brussels, Vandenstock, along with his wife, bought wort from various lambic breweries in the city and began blending ''fondgeuze'' for the establishment. Shortly after they began their blending business, World War I broke out, leaving few resources to continue. Finally, in 1927, the Belle-Vue Café in Anderlecht became available. Vandenstock purchased the building as an outlet for his lambics, serving five other cafes in the area, while also selling directly to customers. From 1927 onward, the blendery would market itself under the Belle-Vue name with a mention to Ph. Vandenstock usually visible somewhere on the branding.<ref name=GeuzeKriek>Jef Van den Steen, [[Books#Geuze & Kriek: The Secret of Lambic Beer|Geuze & Kriek: The Secret of Lambic Beer]], 2012</ref>

The business flourished under Philémon, leading to the first brewery acquisition by Belle-Vue in 1943: [[Brouwerij Frans Vos-Kina | Vos-Kina]], a lambic brewery located in Sint-Jans-Molenbeek. The acquisition of the brewery came at a difficult time in Europe’s history, right in the middle of World War II. While many breweries were struggling through the war, Belle-Vue was growing. Now able to brew his own lambic, Vandenstock also brought his son Constant Vandenstock and his son-in-law Octave Collin Vandenstock into the business to help manage.<ref name=GeuzeKriek>Jef Van den Steen, [[Books#Geuze & Kriek: The Secret of Lambic Beer|Geuze & Kriek: The Secret of Lambic Beer]], 2012</ref> Sadly, Philémon was arrested by the occupying Nazi forces in 1944 and sent to the Neuengamme concentration camp where he remained until it was liberated in May of 1945. He died just one week after the camp’s liberation.

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==Brewing Process==

Belle Vue does not follow traditional [[Brewing Lambic|lambic brewing]] processes. Instead, Belle Vue uses a process called the DKZ method (DK - De Keersmaeker, Z - Zuun) for spontaneously fermenting its lambic. This process abandons the coolship and instead uses a two step process where the lambic is first cooled using a traditional heat exchanger and then non-sterile, compressed air is pushed into the tanks. This introduces the local microorganisms to the wort. Belle Vue also blends old lambic back into the tanks at this time to further ensure that the young wort is inoculated.

Belle-Vue does not follow traditional [[Brewing Lambic|lambic brewing]] processes. Instead, Belle-Vue uses a process called the DKZ method (DK - De Keersmaeker, Z - Zuun) for spontaneously fermenting its lambic. This process abandons the coolship and instead, uses a two-step process where the lambic is first cooled using a traditional heat exchanger and then non-sterile, compressed air is pushed into the tanks. This introduces the local microorganisms to the wort. Belle-Vue also blends old lambic back into the tanks at this time to further ensure that the young wort is inoculated.

The royal proclamation of 1993 declares that to be called a lambic or gueuze, a beer must only contain a small proportion of authentic lambic beer in it. As such, Belle Vue ~~next~~ blends in fruit juices and other beer with the traditional lambic to create the final product.

The royal proclamation of 1993 declares that to be called a lambic or gueuze, a beer must only contain a small proportion of authentic lambic beer in it. As such, Belle-Vue blends in fruit juices and other beer with the traditional lambic to create the final product.

== Beers ==

@@ Line 7: / Line 7: @@
 == Overview ==
-Brasserie Belle-Vue is an industrial-sized brewery located in Sint-Pieters-Leeuw just outside of the Brussels Capital Region.  Currently under the AB-InBev umbrella, Brasserie Belle Vue no longer produces any spontaneously fermented lambic, and its products are all sweetened.
+Brasserie Belle-Vue is an industrial-sized brewery located in Sint-Pieters-Leeuw, just outside of the Brussels Capital Region.  Currently under the AB-InBev umbrella, Brasserie Belle Vue no longer produces any spontaneously fermented lambic, and its products are all sweetened.
 == History ==
-Brasserie Belle-Vue has a long and sometimes controversial history of innovation, takeover, and survival among the lambic brewers and blenders. It was founded in 1913, by a café blender named Philémon Vandenstock (1886–1945).  The owner of a bar in Brussels, Vandenstock, along with his wife, bought wort from various lambic breweries in the city and began blending ''fondgeuze'' for the establishment.  Shortly after they began their blending business, World War I broke out, leaving few resources to continue.  Finally, in 1927, the Belle-Vue Café in Anderlecht became available.  Vandenstock purchased the building as an outlet for his lambics, serving five other cafes in the area, while also selling directly to customers.  From 1927 onward, the blendery would market itself under the Belle-Vue name with a mention to Ph. Vandenstock usually visible somewhere on the branding.<ref name=GeuzeKriek>Jef Van den Steen, [[Books#Geuze & Kriek: The Secret of Lambic Beer|Geuze & Kriek: The Secret of Lambic Beer]], 2012</ref>
+Brasserie Belle-Vue has a long and sometimes controversial history of innovation, takeover, and survival among the lambic brewers and blenders. It was founded in 1913 by a café blender named Philémon Vandenstock (1886–1945).  The owner of a bar in Brussels, Vandenstock, along with his wife, bought wort from various lambic breweries in the city and began blending ''fondgeuze'' for the establishment.  Shortly after they began their blending business, World War I broke out, leaving few resources to continue.  Finally, in 1927, the Belle-Vue Café in Anderlecht became available.  Vandenstock purchased the building as an outlet for his lambics, serving five other cafes in the area, while also selling directly to customers.  From 1927 onward, the blendery would market itself under the Belle-Vue name with a mention to Ph. Vandenstock usually visible somewhere on the branding.<ref name=GeuzeKriek>Jef Van den Steen, [[Books#Geuze & Kriek: The Secret of Lambic Beer|Geuze & Kriek: The Secret of Lambic Beer]], 2012</ref>
 The business flourished under Philémon, leading to the first brewery acquisition by Belle-Vue in 1943: [[Brouwerij Frans Vos-Kina | Vos-Kina]], a lambic brewery located in Sint-Jans-Molenbeek. The acquisition of the brewery came at a difficult time in Europe’s history, right in the middle of World War II. While many breweries were struggling through the war, Belle-Vue was growing.  Now able to brew his own lambic, Vandenstock also brought his son Constant Vandenstock and his son-in-law Octave Collin Vandenstock into the business to help manage.<ref name=GeuzeKriek>Jef Van den Steen, [[Books#Geuze & Kriek: The Secret of Lambic Beer|Geuze & Kriek: The Secret of Lambic Beer]], 2012</ref> Sadly, Philémon was arrested by the occupying Nazi forces in 1944 and sent to the Neuengamme concentration camp where he remained until it was liberated in May of 1945. He died just one week after the camp’s liberation.
@@ Line 25: / Line 25: @@
 ==Brewing Process==
-Belle Vue does not follow traditional [[Brewing Lambic|lambic brewing]] processes.  Instead, Belle Vue uses a process called the DKZ method (DK - De Keersmaeker, Z - Zuun) for spontaneously fermenting its lambic.  This process abandons the coolship and instead uses a two step process where the lambic is first cooled using a traditional heat exchanger and then non-sterile, compressed air is pushed into the tanks.  This introduces the local microorganisms to the wort.  Belle Vue also blends old lambic back into the tanks at this time to further ensure that the young wort is inoculated.
+Belle-Vue does not follow traditional [[Brewing Lambic|lambic brewing]] processes.  Instead, Belle-Vue uses a process called the DKZ method (DK - De Keersmaeker, Z - Zuun) for spontaneously fermenting its lambic.  This process abandons the coolship and instead, uses a two-step process where the lambic is first cooled using a traditional heat exchanger and then non-sterile, compressed air is pushed into the tanks.  This introduces the local microorganisms to the wort.  Belle-Vue also blends old lambic back into the tanks at this time to further ensure that the young wort is inoculated.
-The royal proclamation of 1993 declares that to be called a lambic or gueuze, a beer must only contain a small proportion of authentic lambic beer in it.  As such, Belle Vue next blends in fruit juices and other beer with the traditional lambic to create the final product.
+The royal proclamation of 1993 declares that to be called a lambic or gueuze, a beer must only contain a small proportion of authentic lambic beer in it.  As such, Belle-Vue blends in fruit juices and other beer with the traditional lambic to create the final product.
 == Beers ==