Since 2014, we’ve been brewing our own ‘beer’ as the base for our whisky. Because whisky is essentially a distillate of beer. So why not release a beer as well? It wasn’t until 2021 that we finally brewed our own beer. Not just any beer, but only lambic. The beer of our region, the beer we can be truly proud of, down to our very core.
Our own lambic brewed on our... alembic
According to historians, the name lambic is said to originate from ‘alambic,’ which is the original Arabic word for a still. And that’s precisely what we have here, of course, as a distillery. After some thought, adjustments, and many tests, 2022 was the year: we could brew on our still, on our alembic. We had already built a coolship by then, and we also had fermentation vats ready. The step from distillery to brewery is actually very small.
At our core, we are a distillery, and that will always remain the case. So why the leap into lambic? We’ve been brewing for years, and we also have the equipment to do it. And with Anthony, our son-in-law (who only became so after meeting our daughter here at the distillery), we’ve found a passionate, young, enthusiastic brewer. When we say ‘family,’ we truly mean it.
BREWING FOR THE FUTURE
The sustainable Cort(e) chain
Why wouldn’t we use local grain for our lambic? A truly short chain. As the ‘court of Brussels,’ we’ve been cultivating grains in the Pajottenland for centuries, for bread, for beer, for animal feed,… and that self-sufficiency is precisely what fascinates us as a distillery and brewery. Can we cultivate wheat and barley ourselves, or with local farmers, for brewing and distilling? Yes, of course! And with the construction of the malt house, we can further strengthen this local story.
And we can also brew with full respect for nature. Not only through that short chain but also through our energy efficiency. Here’s how it works. With the distillery, we use over 2000 liters of cooling water per hour. Water that we need for the condenser. We reuse that water not only for brewing but, even more importantly, for the heat it contains. This way, we can brew almost energy-neutrally, from mashing for the whisky to even kilning the barley in the malt house. Sustainability is not only good for the environment but also for your wallet.
