The much awaited Armand’4 Herfst (fall edition) from Brewery 3 Fonteinen is going to be released on Wednesday September 21.

Anyone ordering between Friday the 16th and Wednesday the 21st of September 2011 will enjoy a 10 % discount on the listed price of the Armand’4 Herfst.

Armand’4 Herfst orders will be ready to be shipped to you as of the 21st.

Belgiuminabox ensures you a safe delivery of your orders. As always our dedication and attention to detail is what make us tick.

Cheers,

Kurt.

On a recent trip to Lambic-Brewery Oud Beersel I was invited to take a tour of the brewery and my tour guide was Gert Christiaens.

Gert is the son of Jos Christiaens, the master-blender from Oud Beersel.

He told me about the120-year-old-history from back in the days when Henry Vanderlinden brewed his Lambic and explained his plans for the future together with the Geuzen van Oud Beersel (which are a band of volunteers and supporters that maintain the brewey and museum).

During my visit Oude Lambiek was put into cubitainers or Bag-in-Boxes of 5L. This way of packaging is practicle and easy for storing, shipping and keeping cool.

The Oude Lambiek Bag-in-Box 5L can be kept for up to 6 months un-opened and once open, you can keep them for a month and a half under good conditions.  Preferably be kept cool or under 20°C (68°F).

The Bersalis Tripel is Blonde Tripel with a spicy character and is one of Oud Beersel’s original brews when the brewery started up in 2003.

Bringing life to the brew, really is true what it says! Back in 2003, the Bersalis Tripel was responsible as the money maker for the brewery, so Oud Beersel could find the room to start blending lambic into geuze. The Bersalis is bottled in 0,33 and 0,75 L. and the 0,75 L can only be found at the brewery in Beersel.

A new brew from”Master-Blender” Jos Christiaens is the Oud Beersel Framboise. The Framboise harmonizes the taste of genuine Oude Lambiek and the fruity flavor of ripe raspberries. 220 grams of raspberries and 50 grams of Morell-cherries are used per liter of Lambiek. The result is a great Fruit Lambiek from one of the best in the trade.

Oud Kriekske is a traditional liqueur made with Oude Kriek Oud Beersel.

The dominant fruitiness of fresh sour cherries and the moderate sweetness of this liqueur provide a fresh and fruity drink.
The complex character of Oude Kriek gives this liqueur a unique roundness. This liqueur is 19 % and comes in a 0,50 L stylish bottle.

Belgiuminabox is offering all those “newly added products” in the shop together with the regular products from Oud Beersel, the original Geuze-glassware and classy T-Shirts.

Oud Beersel. I like !!

Cheers, Kurt.

The old casks

Mont des Cats is going to be the 8th official Trappist or Authentic Trappist Product.

At least the Trappist order from Godewaersvelde in the Nothern-most part of France, near the Flemish villages of Watou and Poperinge hope to get the much desired ATP logo to put on their beer bottles.

Everything hasn’t been decided yet, the Bière Trappiste of Mont des Cats is (still) being brewed on the premises of l’Abbaye de Scourmont. L’Abbaye de Scourmont is better know as Chimay.

It is true that beer was brewed in Mont des Cats (de Katsberg in Dutch) from 1845 on, but was halted during the World War I.

Now the monks from Godewaersvelde want to brew again.

The Cistercen Abbey is also renowned in the region for making Trappist cheese.

The beer itself is an amber-colored ale with a nice thick froth. The smell is hoppy and floral. The fruity notes in the flavor come from the first fermentation. The beer has a lively spritz due to the second fermentation in the bottle.

The Mont des Cats beer can only be bought at the shop of the Abbey and is available in 0,33 and 0,75 L bottles.

Belgiuminabox is exited to offer this 8th Trappist now in it’s shop.

The Armand’4 Oude Geuze Zomer (Summer Edition) is the follow-up of the highly praised  Armand’4 Oude Geuze Lente.

Prorder until 22th june and enjoy a 10% pre-order discount.

Find the Armand ’4 Oude Geuze Zomer (Summer Edition) @ Belgiuminabox.com

I am glad to announce that beer-shipments from Belgium to the US is back on track.
Belgiuminabox is receiving feed-back from all our regular clients that the boxes arrive “in a timely matter” and “in good shape”.
Shipments are followed via a “Track ‘n Trace” system from sender to receiver.
Belgian and US Customs are playing a vital part in clearing the shipments to enter the US.

Belgiuminabox will continue to do their shipments through BelgianPost and US Postal Services.

BelgianPost has proven to be very a reliable partner, thrust-worthy, safe and the most cost-saving solution for oversees transport.

Bon Voyage !

On Sunday May 1st, on the Tour De Geuze 2011, Armand Debelder from Geuze-Stekerij 3 Fonteinen released
and introduced his latest Diamond-status Armand’4 Oude Geuze Lente to the public.
This outstanding brew is a mix of 1, 2 and 3 year-old 3fonteinen-lambic.
The brewing, aging, blending and bottling was all done with the signature of Master-Brewer Armand Debelder.
The bottle itself is a classy Champagne-shaped bottle.
This one-timer and limited edition is already a masterpiece and according to the beer-connaisseurs from BeerAdvocate and Ratebeer a class in it’s own.

When I picked it up at the brewery Armand told me a little bit about the brewing of this magnificent Geuze while showing his cellar, he only used Challenger hops in the process.
He is in fact the only Geuze-Lambic brewer to use Challeger hops to brew his beer.

The Armand’4 Lente (spring in English) is greeted by lambic-fans worldwide.
Belgiuminabox is pleased to be able to sell this great masterpiece.
I wish Armand the best of luck and I hope he’ll continue to make great brews in the future.
Cheers,
Kurt.

Anyone who is drinking a Hoegaarden White beer in the coming days, take a minute to remember Pierre Celis.

Pierre Celis

The master-brewer from Brewery Hoegaarden passed away last Saturday in his beloved village Hoegaarden.
In 1966 Celis started his own brewery in an old farm-house. He still new of how to make “Witbier” from the days he helped as a child in the local brewery of Tomsin, a “Witbier” brewer.

In the first years Celis brewed for fun. His wife told him to take the Witbier with him on his milk tours and try to get a price for it from the villagers. Clients were enthusiastic about the fresh-sour taste and soon demand for the beer soared.

By 1979 the brewer Pierre Celis bought a brew-house “De Kluis” in Hoegaarden and “Hoegaarden Witbier” was (re)born. Celis decided that his Witbier ought to be poured in the now typical Hoegaarden jam jars. A recipe for success was born.

In 1990 Celis sold his brewery to Interbrew (now AB InBev). A couple years later he decided to move to Austin, Texas and start all over with a new brewery called “Celis Brewery” and brew his beloved “Celis White”. An instant success. After one year he already brewed 28,000 keggs of his beer. Only a couple of years ago he sold his brewery in the States, came back to Belgium and retired in Hoegaarden. He died of cancer at the age of 86.

Belgiuminabox now offers a 10% discount on Hoegaarden glassware (0.25L and 0.50L).

Youtube video from the VRT (National Broadcasting Company) news. (Dutch)

Good news for Girardin lambic-fans in the USA.
The Lambic, Kriek and Faro from Lambic-Brewer Girardin is now available in Bag-In-Box 10 liter vats, also called cubitainers. Belgiuminabox is the only online beer store to offer this product to it’s customers – worldwide delivery !

The vacuum-packed “bags” stay fresh for at least 4 months.

During that period the 10 liter pack stays fresh because the brew is kept in a dark environment and doesn’t get in touch with oxigen. Oxidation of the brew inside the box isn’t possible because of the lack of air.

Belgiuminabox personally garantees the freshness of these products since Kurt is going to the Brussels lambic-brewers weekly.

The great thing about these Bag-In-Box brews is that now anyone from around the world can taste those great brews in their freshest and purest form.
It is as though you were actually sitting in a local Belgian pub sipping your favourite Lambic-Gueuze, Kriek or Faro.

Another great feature about the Bag-In-Box -style is that you don’t have to finish the inside right away.
You and your fellow lambic-fans can have a glass and a few days later you have another glass or so…
That’s the beauty from it. The beer doesn’t go bad.

Armand Debelder from Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen considers Farmer-Brewery Girardin as the “Château d’Yquem” of Lambic brewers and I couldn’t agree more !