Schaarbeekse Kriek

€ 19,00

100% own lambic, aged in French oak wine barrels and macerated for at least 6 months with 350 grams of hand-picked Schaarbeekse cherries from the Pajottenland.

Alcohol %: 5%
Bottle content: 75 cl
Aging: at least 18 months
Bottles / batch: ± 600 (limited numbered edition, max 2 bottles per person)

 

Out of stock

SKU: SKRIEK Category:

Description

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.

This is how we make... the difference

Schaarbeekse Kriek from the Pajottenland...

After almost 2 years of aging in 400-liter French oak barrels from French winemakers, we macerate the lambic for 6 months with our Schaarbeekse cherries. No juice or purchased cherries. No, every single cherry is hand-picked by us in the Pajottenland. That makes it a true regional product.
For the maceration, Anthony uses 350 grams of Schaarbeekse cherries per liter of lambic. That doesn’t just sound like a lot; it *is* a lot. And you can taste it. An intense cherry that maintains a beautiful balance of acidity and truly tastes as a cherry should: full-bodied, slightly tart with a hint of almonds, because of course the pits are also included in the maceration.

”Finding true Schaarbeekse cherries in our Pajottenland is a challenge, but fortunately, there are still passionate people in our region who cherish these unique cherries and provide them with ample space. Our production is therefore always limited to what we can find and pick.

Anthony LebbeBrouwer

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 still. And that’s exactly what we naturally have as a distillery. After some thought, adjustments, and many tests, 2022 was the year: we could brew on our still, on our alambic. We had already built a coolship by then, and we also had barrels for fermentation ready. The step from distillery to brewery is actually very small.

At our core, we are a distillery, and that will always remain so. 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.

And also short supply chain and sustainable...

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 also brew with full respect for nature. Not only through our short supply chain but also through our energy efficiency. Here’s how it works: Our distillery uses over 2000 liters of cooling water per hour, which we need for the condenser. We don’t just reuse this water for brewing; more importantly, we reuse the heat it contains. This allows us to brew almost energy-neutrally, from mashing for whisky to even kilning the barley in the malt house. Sustainability isn’t just good for the environment; it’s good for your wallet too.

Discover our other beers

Related products