Learn 5 Things About Belgium's Traditions

Each country has a set of unique traditions as part of their cultural identity. Belgium is lucky enough to have some that date back to the 14th century that we've found particularly fascinating.

Did you know that Belgium:

Learn 5 Things About Belgium's Languages

(photo via Somewhere in the Middle)

Belgium is a country with a pretty complex identity. Crammed in between a handful of other countries that have been in and out of fights since the beginning of history, Belgium is geographically predisposed to being a melting-pot of cultures. It's no surprise then that the country is home to lots of languages and dialects.

Did you know that Belgium:

Learn 5 Things About Belgium's Geography

April showers bring ... facts about Belgium!

As we celebrate Belgian beers at The Bruery for the month of April, it seemed like we should take a step back and look at Belgium itself. For the beginning of April we'll be posting a brief daily blog with some fun facts you can brag about over a beer or two at the Tasting Room while enjoying the special releases and happenings we have planned there.

Let's start with some geography-related facts on Belgium ...

Expansion Update 5: The Bruery Provisie

As you probably guessed from all of our recent posts on expansion, we were saving the best for last and today we are excited to announce the plans for The Bruery Provisie™.

The Bruery Provisie is a "Beer Spa" and is set to open in early Fall of this year just two doors down from our current Tasting Room.  Initially it will only be open to our current Society members, but there are plans to open new Provisie memberships in 2015.

Our Beer Spa will be a one of a kind destination for beer lovers to relax, rejuvenate and detox while enjoying beer inspired products such as Hop Tea.  The Bruery Provisie will feature many of the standard spa amenities, but with a beer twist.  Hop oil massages, barley soaks, honey & hops foot baths and once our new brewhouse is in place, we're even reconfiguring our current mash tun to become the ultimate beer lovers' hot tub!

Meet the Homebruer: Brian Cockle

Brian Cockle is one of the silent heroes here at The Bruery. He keeps our tech stuff running smoothly during the day, but is a homebrewer and dad by night. He's a bit notorious for his huge & techy homebrew set up, which you can see even more of over on his blog.

When did you start homebrewing?
Like a lot of people, I started homebrewing back in college.

Meet the Homebruer: Sean Flannery

You may have already tried Sean's pilot batch brew back in February during one our Meet the Brewer nights. Like many of our homebruers we've posted about on this blog, Sean began pursuing the hobby in school before becoming a pro.

When did you start homebrewing?
I started homebrewing in college with a friend that had a malt extract Hefeweizen kit and invited me to assist. The beer came out with a ton of sediment and we packaged it in 3L plastic bottles. It tasted ok, but was just the beginning for more ideas.

Meet the Homebruer: Andrew Bell

You may have recently had a chance to meet Andrew Bell, our experimental brewer who oversees what's happening on our pilot system. Andrew has been a fan of The Bruery for a long time, and we were stoked to hire him on two years ago to brew on our team. Before he brewed professionally, he was an avid homebrewer and a bit of a beer geek, (and we like that).

When did you start homebrewing?
A few years before I was legally allowed to purchase alcohol. I started by making ciders and eventually moved on to brewing early on in my college career. I was curious about the science behind fermentation, as well as seeing if I could actually create something good.

Meet the Homebruer: Jamie Burns

Surely you remember Jamie's friendly face from all those trips to pick up your Reserve Society or Preservation Society beers from the Tasting Room.

Jamie has been with The Bruery for three years, but about a year and a half ago she had the opportunity to get her hands dirty with a homebrew lesson from one of our former brewers.

When did you start homebrewing?

Meet the Homebruer: Tyler King

Sometimes it's hard to believe we just started brewing in 2008. Our first employee those six years ago was Tyler King, who signed on to do just about anything that was needed.

He was still in school and tasked with marketing and advertising our summer seasonal as part of an internship with The Bruery, but he was also going to be brewing with Patrick. Tyler is now our Senior Director of Brewing Operations, overseeing all the beer happenings here.

It wasn't only the timing that was perfect when hiring Tyler -- he also had proved himself with his homebrewing prowess, which was apparent with the success & praise of his Flemish Red recipe, which has over time become the beer you may know as Oude Tart.

When did you start homebrewing?

Pilot Batch Release: Stay at Home Dad by Stefan Weber

Our fifth and final Meet the Brewer Night is on Thursday!

Meet Stefan and try his pilot brew on Thursday, 3/6 from 6-8PM!

Our last limited release pilot batch beer comes from one of our newest additions to our brewing team. Stefan Weber came up with a little twist on a German classic just in time for longer days here in So Cal.

He chose to brew Stay at Home Dad for his pilot batch because one of his favorite styles is the tart, refreshing Berliner Weisse.