Alex Lippens, co-founder of Brouwerij t’Verzet updates us on the state of the art brewery since the Beer Idiots checked in with them four years ago.
‘T Verzet has now paid off all of its investors and has plans in place to channel their rock ‘n’ roll philosophy in a sustainable direction.
That includes a steady ramp up of production, more focus on the Belgian market and further development of their innovative styles.
Brouwers ‘t Verzet, named after the Flemish slang for ‘the resistance’, has been operating from their own brewery and bar he and two friends founded in Anzegem, 36 km south-west of Ghent.
Founders Lippens, Koen Van Lancker and Joran Van Ginderachter met while earning their academic brewing qualifications from the University of Ghent. After graduating in 2008 they started brewing at different breweries to gain practical experience.
With the encouragement of friends and family they started a brewing business in 2011 and began searching for a brewery that would let them do all the work. They were not interested in just handing over a recipe and then coming back to collect the beer.
After five years using facilities at brewers such as De Ranke, they got a loan from the bank to invest in the site at Anzegem, which started operating in 2016.
Co-founder Van Ginderachter left Belgium for the US to join start-up Three Taverns in Atlanta. He has since left that company to co-found Halfway Crooks Beer in Atlanta.
Lippens and Van Lancker as brewers have continued to brew their innovative beers, including beautiful takes on the Oud Bruin style (also known as Flemish red), with the Oud Bruin Oak Leaf as an example. Jens Tack has joined them to look after marketing and sales.
Their regular beers include the Oud Bruin, Moose Blues (dark ale with maple syrup), Super Noah (a blonde using only Belgian hops), Golden Tricky (IPA with Australian Ella hops), Oaky Moaky Editie 2019 (a 7.5% stout from Scottish whiskey barrels), Space Cadet (a Belgian wheat beer with hops and a special yeast replacing the curacao and coriander), along with the Oud Bruin infusions and other experiments.
One of the most interesting is Kameradski Balsamico, a hybrid between a Russian Imperial Stout and Oud Bruin with a proper 13.5% alcohol level that has become a staple for the Beer Idiots.
