Brasserie Belle Vue: Difference between revisions
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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. | 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. | ||
The journey of Belle-Vue’s slide into non-traditional lambic started immediately after the death of Philémon when his son Constant took over the business. Until then, Belle-Vue was producing only traditional fondgeuze. However, like many other lambic breweries at the time, Constant began to use artificial flavorings to adapt to the changing palates of Belgian lambic drinkers. Belle-Vue began sweetening, filtering, pasteurizing, and carbonating its gueuze so that it could be consumed more like a traditional European pale lager rather than a traditional lambic. Belle-Vue also was one of the first, if not the first, lambic breweries to move away from using the traditional | The journey of Belle-Vue’s slide into non-traditional lambic started immediately after the death of Philémon when his son Constant took over the business. Until then, Belle-Vue was producing only traditional fondgeuze. However, like many other lambic breweries at the time, Constant began to use artificial flavorings to adapt to the changing palates of Belgian lambic drinkers. Belle-Vue began sweetening, filtering, pasteurizing, and carbonating its gueuze so that it could be consumed more like a traditional European pale lager rather than a traditional lambic. Belle-Vue also was one of the first, if not the first, lambic breweries to move away from using the traditional 75 cL bottles to using capped 25 cL bottles. This provided an easy “one bottle for one glass”<ref name=GeuzeKriek>Jef Van den Steen, [[Books#Geuze & Kriek: The Secret of Lambic Beer|Geuze & Kriek: The Secret of Lambic Beer]], 2012</ref> strategy and did away with specialty corkscrews needed for opening the larger bottles. | ||
The journey to the top of the lambic world for Belle-Vue began in the 1949-50 season, when Belle-Vue began to send lambic across the country and into France and the Netherlands. Belle-Vue, who at the time, was the only lambic brewery with filtered and pasteurized gueuze, managed to escape the heatwave that resulted in exploding bottles for the majority of the lambic brewers and blenders that season. Business was so good that the brewery began buying up other breweries in the 1950s and 1960s. <ref name=MonsieurConstant> Eoghan Walsh, "Monsieur Constant // How One Brewer Defined Beer and Football in Brussels for the 20th Century", Beercity.Brussels, Jun 3, 2020. [https://www.beercity.brussels/home/2020/belle-vue-constant-vanden-stock-anderlecht Link]</ref> | The journey to the top of the lambic world for Belle-Vue began in the 1949-50 season, when Belle-Vue began to send lambic across the country and into France and the Netherlands. Belle-Vue, who at the time, was the only lambic brewery with filtered and pasteurized gueuze, managed to escape the heatwave that resulted in exploding bottles for the majority of the lambic brewers and blenders that season. Business was so good that the brewery began buying up other breweries in the 1950s and 1960s. <ref name=MonsieurConstant> Eoghan Walsh, "Monsieur Constant // How One Brewer Defined Beer and Football in Brussels for the 20th Century", Beercity.Brussels, Jun 3, 2020. [https://www.beercity.brussels/home/2020/belle-vue-constant-vanden-stock-anderlecht Link]</ref> | ||