Beers equivalent to Oerbier, Arabier, and Stille Nacht will not be as acquainted to right this moment’s avid beer shopper, however for many years these uncommon sturdy ales have been staples on the menus and cellars of extra adventurous beer bars all over the world. De Dolle Brouwers acquired its begin in 1980, among the many vanguard in a brand new wave of Belgian brewers who rejected the consolidation and cynical corner-cutting that had come to outline the business there. Cofounder Kris Herteleer was dedicated to a extra pure strategy to brewing, utilizing actual malt, entire hops, wholesome yeast, spring water, and the extremely handbook mechanical instruments of the decades-old brewhouse they bought within the village of Esen, simply exterior of Diksmuide, in West Flanders.
Oerbier was, and nonetheless is, arduous to categorise. It limns the area between an overtly acid-forward oud bruin and a powerful Belgian darkish ale, borrowing from each the place and when it must. But this ambiguity matches Herteleer’s strategy; De Dolle isn’t involved in any respect about adherence to types. Herteleer would a lot somewhat get you asking questions than offer you straightforward solutions.
On this episode, recorded on the brewery as we sipped beers from their cellar greater than 20 years outdated, Herteleer discusses:
- switching from Rodenbach yeast in 2000, and the five-year strategy of getting Oerbier again to its meant expression
- the prevalence of coloring and backsweeting in Nineteen Seventies and ’80s Belgian ale
- balancing acidity and sweetness in higher-gravity beer
- utilizing a coolship, Baudelot cooler, open fermentors, a Lactobacillus reactor, and French wine barrels to provide advanced, flavorful beer that’s extra than simply “bitter”
- utilizing comparatively excessive IBUs to restrict Lactobacillus and Pediococcus exercise in mixed-culture fermentation
- avoiding the crutch of spices in Belgian ale
- barrel-aging in wine barrels somewhat than spirits barrels, to keep away from “useless” barrels
And extra.
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