Delete, Protect, administrator
8,485
edits
Changes
no edit summary
==Members==
The board current members of HORAL mainly consist of brewers and blenders along with other non-brewers.are:
*Frank Boon, [[Brouwerij_Boon|Brouwerij Boon]], chairman*Armand Debelder, [[Brouwerij_3_FonteinenDe_Cam_Geuzestekerij|3 Fonteinen]] *Gert Christiaens, [[Brouwerij_Oud_Beersel|Oud BeerselDe Cam]]*Joost De Four, [[De_Heeren_van_LiedekerckeBrouwerij_De_Troch|Brouwerij De Heeren van LiedekerckeTroch]], treasurer*Wim De Kelver, [[De_LambikstoempersHanssens_Artisanaal_bvba|De LambiekstoempersHanssens]], secretary*Paul Girardin, [[Brouwerij_GirardinBrouwerij_Lindemans|GirardinBrouwerij Lindemans]]*Karel Goddeau, [[De_Cam_GeuzestekerijBrasserie_Mort_Subite|De CamMort Subite]]*Dirk Lindemans, [[Brouwerij_LindemansBrouwerij_Oud_Beersel|LindemansOud Beersel]]*Johan Madalijns, De Lambiekstoempers*John Matthijs, [[Hanssens_Artisanaal_bvbaGueuzerie_Tilquin|HanssensGueuzerie Tilquin]]*Yves Panneels, The Gueuze Society, PR & communication*Pauwel Raes, [[Brouwerij_De TrochBrouwerij_Timmermans|De TrochBrouwerij Timmermans]]*Bruno Reinders, [[Brasserie_Mort_Subite|Mort Subite]]*Pierre TilquinIn 2018, both [[Gueuzerie_TilquinBrouwerij_3_Fonteinen|Tilquin3 Fonteinen]]*Jacques Van Cutsem, and [[Brouwerij_TimmermansBrouwerij_Girardin|TimmermansGirardin]]left the group.
==History==
==Lambic Academy==
On December 2, 2014 HORAL sponsored a seminar called the Lambic Academy in which participants could sign up to learn the basics about lambic from its history and ingredients to serving, smelling, and tasting lambic beers. Among the speakers were Armand De Belder of 3 Fonteinen.<Ref name=HORALAcademy> HORAL - Lambic Academy, http://horal.be/lambiek-academie (Dutch)</ref> On May 18, 2015, HORAL sponsored an English-language Lambic Academy. The academy has been on going during various times of the year since its debut.
==HORAL's Stance on Legal Protection of Terms==
==Critique of HORAL==
Of the eleven nine brewers and blenders in HORAL, seven several make at least one product on a regular basis that would not be considered traditional by some either due to production method or artificially sweetening. Of those seven brewers and blenders, five of them have commercial product portfolios consisting of 50% or more of sweetened lambics (calculated by brand name, not by output volume). This has led to questions of the legitimacy of HORAL as an organized body protecting traditional lambic. If the group continues to recognize brewers and blenders whose product portfolios represent a majority of sweetened or "non-traditional" products, how can they be a champion maintaining the traditional standards to which they claim to aspire? This question has been addressed publicly on at least one occasion by notable non-HORAL member, Jean Van Roy of [[Brasserie_Cantillon|Cantillon]].<ref name = LambicSummit2010> Lambic Summit (Shelton Brothers), Jean Van Roy, 2010 </ref>
Though it is true that many of the brewers and blenders under the HORAL umbrella do consistently produce sweetened or non-traditional lambics, all of them produce at least one "traditional" product, if not more. Thus, the strength of HORAL seems to lie in the maintenance of what is traditional vis-à-vis its relationship with the European Union while the members are free to pursue what is in their best interest as a business so long as there is at least a modicum of tradition in their overall product portfolio. Indeed, the HORAL website acknowledges these portfolios of sweetened or non-traditional beers under each brewery's page. Additionally, Avermaete & Vandermosten write that recently "the TSG label has proved its role in safeguarding the identity of specific characteristics in brewing that are not in line with current measures on hygiene and food safety."<Ref name = Avermaete&Vandermosten /> At the very least, HORAL would seem a unifying voice for the preservation of the Belgian lambic community at large as political landscapes continue to change and potentially threaten various aspects of lambic production.