Got to visit my first Belgian brewery yesterday, De Ranke, in the western part of the country. Though running an extremely tiny business (50,000 gallons per year, which may sound like a lot, but in this business it's microscopic; Sam Adams, by comparison, churns out 2 million barrels annually. By definition, a U.S. microbrewery must produce at least 450,000 gallons each year), head brewer Nino Bacelle takes brewing extremely seriously and is, with very good reason, very proud of his products. Using no filtration whatsoever or pasteurization, the beer is as pure a product as is humanly possible. Nino studied brewing sciences at a school in Ghent for three years before formally getting into the brewing business.
What sets De Ranke apart is traditional methodology and ingredients, plus a very strong emphasis on hops, which is what makes beer bitter and tasty. While American monsters like Bud and Coors wave a hop pellet or two over a huge brewing vat, De Ranke pours the small hops flowers (they use only flowers; no pellets or liquid extracts, thank you very much) in by the pound. They use 6 different types of hops, all locally produced (this I did not know). Their top seller (and my favorite) is XX Bitter which, when first created in 1996, held the claim as Bitterest Beer in Belgium. In the meanwhile a couple of posers have come up with even more bitter brews, but they lack the balance and complexity found in Nino's product.
Surprisingly, 3/4 of all their products are bound for export to countries as far-flung as the U.S., Japan, India, and Finland. Even more amazing, there is apparently a liquor store in Crofton, only a few miles from our real "home," that stocks XX Bitter, one of only a couple in all of MD.
By the way, should you be looking for a great book on Belgian brews, Nino personally recommends only one: Good Beer Guide to Belgium, by Tim Webb. Check out the reviews on Amazon; you'll see what he means.
All this talk, talk, talk; boy, I'm feeling thirsty right about now...
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