Rudi Ghequire

You can hardly help being impressed as you wander through the halls in which the centuries-old Rodenbach brewery ages its beers. Towering barrels reach nearly to the ceiling. Each contains almost 3,000 litres of beer, quietly ageing until the flavour is just right. The enormous oak barrels are made in the brewery, each and every one of them.

A woodworking shop is filled with oak logs waiting to be transformed into barrel staves. At this brewery in Roeselare, every aspect of the traditional brewer’s craft is lovingly preserved. Rodenbach is a classic West-Flemish beer. Flanders red ale or Flemish red-brown, as this style is known, is a mix of young beer that’s done fermenting and sour, barrel-aged older beer.The resulting beer is tart, complex and very refreshing.

Standing beer barrels

What makes Rodenbach’s barrels special is the fact that they stand upright. The vertical vessels cannot be filled all the way. At the top, the beer is exposed to the air, allowing it to become inoculated with lactic acids. Ageing converts these into delicate malic acids, giving the beer the sophistication of a young wine. “This type of red-brown beer is sometimes referred to as Flemish Burgundy,” says Rudi Ghequire, who has headed Rodenbach for forty years and is a fount of beer-related knowledge. “The beer is aged in barrels for at least two years. Each barrel has its own culture, which imparts a specific flavour.

Bottles of Rodenbach are always filled with a blend of beer from different barrels, adding further complexity.” Rodenbach also contains a small amount of hops. The hops are not there to add bitterness, but to ensure a nice thick head of foam. “We consciously work to avoid the bitter taste of hops, as tart and bitter don’t go well together at all.”

Gastronomic beer with refreshing hops

"The shrimp’s subtly salty favour combines wonderfully with its sophisticated sourness."

Rodenbach’s refreshingly tart taste makes it an excellent accompaniment to many different foods. It is best-known as a pairing with brown North Sea shrimp, of course. At many cafés on the Flemish coast, guests receive a portion of fresh, unpeeled brown shrimp alongside their glass of Rodenbach. “The shrimp’s subtly salty favour combines wonderfully with its sophisticated sourness,” says Rudi. “We also make a Rodenbach Grand Cru, containing only beer that has aged for at least eighteen months. This beer’s high acidity makes it especially suitable for stews. There’s no bitterness to ruin your stew and the acidity makes the meat nice and tender.” Flemish red ale is also lovely with cheese. The sourer the beer, the stronger the cheese can be. A Rodenbach Grand Cru pairs well with a good strong blue cheese, for example. A Rodenbach Classic is a good match for a milder cheese made with white mould.

World class and world fame

With its rich history, Rodenbach also cares about investing in the future. “The newest part of our brewery is fitted with solar panels. Thanks to this investment, we can generate a quarter of the electricity we need ourselves. Circularity is important to us as well. The sediment that’s left after brewing goes to farmers to be used as animal feed, for example.” Rudi is proud of Rodenbach’s many international awards. These serve to attract many visitors from all over the world. “This style of beer is not brewed anywhere else.From Australians to Japanese, everyone is impressed when they see our historic brewing halls.”

Visit the website of brewery Rodenbach Download my resume here

"This style of beer is not brewed anywhere else.From Australians to Japanese, everyone is impressed when they see our historic brewing halls."