De Struise Brouwers
“Are we still brewers?” askes Urbain Coutteau, Brew Master of De Struise…
After attending the 2007 Zythos Beer Festival in Sint Niklaas, I was amazed at the complexity, unique, traditionally brewed beers from De Struise Brouwers. Urbain, Carlo and Phil work together, as brewers, blenders and visionaries in the world of Belgian brewers. With beers like Aardmonnik, Pannepot, Pannepot Reserva, Struise Mikkeller, Aarmonnik vs Aardnon, Struiselensis and Tsjeeses; they have an incredible line up, especially considering some of these works of art take over two years to create.
I was in the West Flanders area of Belgium and stopped by De Struise Brouwers to say hi to Urbain. They had just finished transferring Struiselensis, a wonderful blonde ale with Brett, that was great out of the fermenter. Yet with the time and patience of a wine makers, Urbain sees the not the bottom line of the beer, but lets the beer take its time, to mature, develop its characters, lets the yeast and bacteria work their magic over his grist formulation. Beer takes time, brewing in these wild styles. The ideas of lagering a tripel with apricots or aging a spiced beer in used red wine barrels can’t be rushed. Quality over quantity is the attitude these brewers see. They design a beer as a chef would design a dish, thinking about the complexities, the way the beer dances off ones tongue. They see the use of tannins from the wood, the spice teas, the knoledge of old techniques all used together, to make a drinkable canvas of art, which takes a consumer to a different place with each sip.
After a wonderful tour and several tank samples, Urbain invited us to his farm. We get a preview of is new lab and test brewery. Glasses are pulled and began filling with brews, like a 2003 Pannepot, with four years of age. This beer was like nectar, enveloping the tongue with each taste. The nose and mouth worked together, tasting cherries, apricots, vanilla, light toffee and a creamy body that was like no beer I’ve ever tasted; almost more like a port than a beer.
Here are some recipes that use De Struise Beers:
Beer Collaborations:
We also tasted the prototype beer for Ratebeer.com’s next special release. Struise and a Danish brewery named Mikkeller are working together on this unique project. The Struise Mikkeller beer we taste off tap was the 5th version of a seudo strong Belgian Tripel, hopped with an aggressive Double IPA schedule, giving this beer 133 IBU’s. A rich malty, honey backbone is offset with intense hops that a West Coast drinker would be at home with, yet in Belgium this truly a feat, specially with this new style.
Pierre, a bar owner near Brussels, left to come back with several Westvleteren 12’s; a 3, 4 and two 8 year old bottles. Side by side, to taste these amazing beers, with Urbains works of art were not only a treat, but an experience. These beverages are more than wine, more than beer, they are taking beer to a whole new level. “Sex in a glass!” I tell Urbain, “Sex in a glass!”
