It takes a village to build a brewery

BREWERIES - Bockor
It takes a village
to build a brewery
Bockor looks steadfast towards the future while holding firm ground
in Bellegem, West Flanders. Robyn Boyle reports.
C
oming into Bellegem, in
South-West Flanders close
to the French border, there
are two things that break
up the rural landscape: a
church tower and a brewery tower, one
no more important than the other in
keeping alive a strong sense of community in the small village (pop. ca. 4,000).
Since its foundation more than 120
years ago, Bockor Brewery has successfully managed to maintain close ties
with Bellegem and the city of Kortrijk to
which it belongs. Back then, horse and
buggy clattered along over cobblestones,
delivering wooden crates of Bockor beer
to all the cafés within a ten-kilometre radius. Today, you’ll notice, most of the
pubs in Bellegem still proudly display
the Bockor name. Some even flaunt the
original stained glass windows created
by the founder himself, Omer Vander
Ghinste, in promotion of his products.
In stark contrast to today (when
clicking on ‘skip this ad’ has become
almost daily routine), there was a time
when advertisements were a noble,
even artistic, thing. Just have a look at
Bockor’s stunning glass works, prominently displayed throughout the brewery, which tout the words ‘Bieren Omer
Vander Ghinste’ in an array of bright
colours and bold, eye-catching block
font. This same design is reflected in the
logo of the brewery’s newest beer, Omer
Traditional Blond.
It may surprise to hear that Omer
is only a few years old. Excellent marketing gives the impression that this
beer has been around for ages, while
in fact Omer is a carefully and strategically branded product that was only just
launched in November 2008. It is a tribute to the four, soon-to-be five, generations of owners named Omer, apparently because naming the first son anything
else would require a costly replacement
of a number of café windows.
The recipe for the high fermentation
blonde was developed with great care
and research, a process that took two
years. With expert yeast advice from fa-
Copper Brewing
Kettles at Bockor
Brewery, Bellegem
ther-and-son brewing consultants Freddy and Filip Delvaux, a combination of
German, Czech and Slovene hops, and
vigorous re-fermentation in the bottle,
Omer was born.
“I don’t know anyone who doesn’t
like the taste of Omer,” marketing manager Jasper Stragier tells me as he carries out a perfect pour into the beer’s
impossibly elegant tulip-shaped glass. It
has a clear golden body that turns straw
yellow when held up to the light, and
its high foam head is bright white and
billowy. “So it’s very popular, but we’re
running at capacity. Even if we wanted
to, we couldn’t produce more.” That’s
because the brewery is nestled among
a block of houses and other buildings
clustered around the church. “But that’s
very important to us,” he adds, “that we
stay put here, in the heart of Bellegem.”
My nose picks up some of the foam
as I delve deep into the glass for a whiff.
Hops give this beer a pleasantly fruity
aroma that is at once bready, spicy and
lightly alcoholic (but not as much as
you’d expect at 8% ABV). One sip gives
me a smooth, crisp and highly carbonated mouthfeel followed by a flavour
rush that is both mildly bitter and subtly sweet, with a hint of spice (although
there is none added). Grains, wildflowers, honey and citrus come to mind. I
go in for a second sip, and then a third,
a fourth… Omer is a well-balanced
blonde that is outspoken without being
overpowering.
After the launch of Omer, it didn’t
take long for the awards to start rolling
in. First, Omer took home the gold medal from the European Beer Championships in 2009, followed by gold again in
2010 in the prestigious World Beer Cup
for best Belgian-style pale strong ale, a
hotly contested category. Yet another
gold medal was awarded to Omer during the 2011 US Open Beer Championships, the only competition in the world
that compares professional breweries
with artisanal and home breweries. This
is a particularly important accolade, as
the jury is not swayed by brand names,
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BREWERIES - Bockor
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My nose picks up
some of the foam as I
delve deep into the glass
for a whiff. Hops give this
beer a pleasantly fruity
aroma that is at once
bready, spicy and lightly
alcoholic (but not as much
as you’d expect at 8%
alcohol by volume). One
sip gives me a smooth,
crisp and highly
carbonated mouthfeel
followed by a flavour rush
that is both mildly bitter
and subtly sweet, with a
hint of spice.
marketing or a rich family brewing history; it’s all about the beer.
Omer may have put Bockor on the
world beer map as of late, but of course
it’s been brewing a whole gamut of
other beers for years. Take, for instance,
the most pleasant surprise to come out
of my visit to Bockor: VanderGhinste
Oud Bruin. From the old-timey look of
the label combined with the name “old
brown”, I was half expecting a characterless table beer. But this mixed fermentation beer is wonderfully complex and
intriguing. As old as the brewery itself,
the beer underwent a couple of name
changes over the years, from Ouden
Tripel to Bellegems Bruin, before being
rebranded as VanderGhinste Oud Bruin
in 2012. But it has retained its authentic
and regional character.
South-West Flemish red-brown
ales (sometimes called West Flemish
sour ales or simply Flemish reds) such
as VanderGhinste Oud Bruin recently
received recognition as an official regional product in Flanders. “We got
together with a few other breweries
in the area that have the same unique
beer style, typical to this corner of West
Flanders,” Jasper explains. “Rodenbach, Verhaeghe and Bavik also have
their own Flemish red-brown ales.”
Next he shows me to the top of the
brewery tower, where the red-brown ale
gets its start. Under the bowed roof is
just enough space to hold a massive copper coolship that dates from the 1930s.
Wort is pumped five flights up to this
shallow vessel where it is left to slowly
cool overnight, allowing wild yeasts to
induce spontaneous fermentation. This
process is not unlike that used to make
Bockor Brewery has successfully
managed to maintain close ties
with Bellegem and the city of
Kortrijk to which it belongs
lambic in the famed region just outside
of Brussels. By producing their own lambic, which is used to make VanderGhinste Oud Bruin as well as the highly
praised Cuvée des Jacobins, Bockor
proves that there is nothing “magical”
or region-specific about lambic, in spite
of popular belief.
Finally, the beer is transferred into
oak casks where it spends 18 months
fermenting, maturing and acquiring that
characteristic tart and earthy flavour profile that lambic fans can’t get enough of.
The Oud Bruin is achieved by blending
about 30% of this lambic with a younger
brown beer to create a well-rounded
sweet-sour effect. The Cuvée des Jacobins comes straight out of the barrel and
into the bottle, meaning it’s highly coveted by many a wild beer purist.
After such an intense tasting session, my tastebuds are crying out for
something more neutral. For all its specialty beers, Bockor is still best known
as a pils brewery. After all, they do produce two of Belgium’s finest examples
of lager: Bockor pils and Blauw Export.
The former can be found on tap across
Kortrijk and in 2011 was voted Belgium’s best pilsner in a national blind
taste test.
Blauw Export, meanwhile hasn’t
suffered any under its misleading
name, ‘export’ simply referring to its
low fermentation. The pils that was
popular among Flemish construction
workers in the 1980s is today enjoying
a comeback among young, hip folk. It’s
smooth and refreshing with a pleasantly
bitter aftertaste.
To make sure they cover all their
bases, Bockor also offers a line of fruity
commercial beers, including the Kriek
Jacobins, Framboise-, Passion-, Roséand Kriek Max. Of these, only the Kriek
Jacobins, a fine marriage between the
Cuvée Jacobins and tart Belgian cherries, is not too sweet for my taste.
As one of the last remaining breweries in Belgium to effectively keep that
delicate balance between tradition and
modernity, Bockor knows the importance of innovation. The brewery will
launch a new beer later this year and,
unlike many of its more elusive beers,
this latest creation will be widely available for the international market.
Bockor Brewery
www.bockor.be
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