Brasserie Brunehaut
Encyclopedia
Brasserie de Brunehaut is the trade name for Brunehaut Brewery
, located in Rongy-Brunehaut (Hainaut), Wallonia, 80 km south/southwest of Brussels
, Belgium
, near the French border.
, and a time of severe medieval
famine, locally remembered as part of "the great plague". Beer was already known as a safe alternative to impure local water supplies and the local community desperately needed help to avoid starvation. To promote public health, and compensate for minimal humanitarian support from far-away Rome, Benedictine Bishop Radbod included brewing permissions in the charter to re-establish Abbaye de Saint-Martin.
Brewing thrived at Abbaye de Saint-Martin, through multiple wars and rebellions without significant interruption until 1793 when, during the French revolution
, most abbey structures, including the church sanctuary and brewery were destroyed. Only the mid-18th century Abbot palace, parts of the 14th century Gothic
cloister and a Romanesque
, 13th century crypt survived.
Fortunately, many important abbey documents, including Saint-Martin's "secret" brewing recipes, were successfully hidden from revolutionary plunder.
In 1890, during Belgium's post-Industrial Revolution
prosperity, these essential recipes permitted resumption of Abbaye de Saint-Martin brewing by Brasserie de Bruenhaut. More than forty individual Brunehaut beer
s were brewed during the next century and, in 1990, output capacity doubled, via new construction of a purpose-built fermentation house, two kilometers distance from the 1890 brewery site.
Abbaye de Saint-Martin remains one of 18x Belgian beers to still enjoy official "Certified Belgian Abbaye Beer" status.
Note: Tournai is known in Dutch as Doornik and in Latin as Tornacum. The city sits at the crossroads of ancient Roman trading highways. Its Belgian-French
-speaking citizens use a distinctive Picard
dialect. Tournai's Hôtel de Ville
serves citizens from the original Abbot palace, which was re-constructed following extensive WWII damage. (See the photo gallery at the bottom of this page.)
and documented from 1096. Combining top (in-bottle) fermentation with modern production technologies, Brewmaster Damien Delneste's signature beers include Dubble
and Tripel
bottle-conditioned ales, consistent with 1000+-year-old Belgian brewing tradition.
Each Brunehaut Organic (Bio) label has earned organic certification
. The company grows their own barley and wheat locally, within the brewery's terroir
. Brasserie de Brunehaut historically maintained approximately two dozen labels, including several specialty and occasional seasonal beers. A 2006 ownership change tightened the firm's market focus. Seven products were retired and new packaging labels were commissioned. Today, the brewery exports ten labels, across three beer styles.
Abbey Style (Bières d'abbaye)
Gluten-free + Organic (Bières Bio) Styles
Regional Style (Bières régionales)
• Brunehaut Gluten-free Bio Ambrée was a Gold medal winner at the 2011 United States Open Beer Championships.
• Brunehaut Gluten-free Bio Blonde was a Gold medal winner at the 2011 United States Open Beer Championships.
• Abbaye de Saint-Martin Tripel won a Gold medal at the 2011 World Beer Championship.
• Abbaye de Saint-Martin Brune was awarded a Silver medal at 2011 Beerfest Asia! (Singapore)
• Mont Saint Aubert Grand Reserve was 2010 runner-up in Philadelphia Beer Week judging.
• At the 2010 Australian International Beer Awards, Abbaye de Saint-Martin Brune and Triple each received Silver medals in the Abbey Style, Dubbel and Tripel category.
• During the 2009 World Beer Awards (London), Abbaye de Saint-Martin Brune was named World's Best Abbey (Dark) Beer while Mont Saint-Aubert received 'World's Best Bière de Garde
" recognition.
• The 2009 Australian International Beer Awards, awarded Abbaye de Saint-Martin Tripel a Bronze medal in the Abbey Style, Dubbel and Tripel category.
• Brunehaut Bio Amber won Bronze at the 2009 World Beer Championships.
• In 2008, Mont Saint-Aubert and Abbaye de Saint-Martin Blonde were awarded Silver and Bronze medals (respectively) at the Australian International Beer Awards in the "Abbey Style, Dubbel and Tripel" category.
• Also in 2008, Mont Saint-Aubert received a Silver medal during the 2008 Brewers Association World Beer Cup
in the Belgian-Style Pale Strong Ales category.
• In 2007, Abbaye de Saint-Martin Blonde and Brune received Silver medals at the World Beer Championship., while Abbaye de Saint-Martin Blonde received the International Taste & Quality Institute's Superior Taste Award.
• Brasserie de Brunehaut Organic White Beer earned a Silver medal at the 2007 World Beer Championship.
• Mont Saint Aubert received a Gold medal at the 1997 World Beer Championship.
The brewery maintains a limited schedule of private and public events, including local seasonal celebrations, plus bicycle and motor coach tours. Most popular among these is a brewery public open house, Fêtes de la Brasserie, held annually each April.
Brunehaut Brewery ships bottled products in either "capped" 33cl or "corked" 75cl bottles across Europe, Asia, North and South America. Brunehaut draught beer is traditionally distributed in 20-liter kegs. In 2008 however, Brunehaut became the first European brewer to offer recyclable, lightweight 30-liter EcoKegs as an export
alternative to negative environmental impacts of non-reused or un-recycled
beer bottles.
Brewery
A brewery is a dedicated building for the making of beer, though beer can be made at home, and has been for much of beer's history. A company which makes beer is called either a brewery or a brewing company....
, located in Rongy-Brunehaut (Hainaut), Wallonia, 80 km south/southwest of Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, near the French border.
Brunehaut Brewing History (aka Patrimnoine)
The brewery's history dates directly to 1096 in TournaiTournai
Tournai is a Walloon city and municipality of Belgium located 85 kilometres southwest of Brussels, on the river Scheldt, in the province of Hainaut....
, and a time of severe medieval
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
famine, locally remembered as part of "the great plague". Beer was already known as a safe alternative to impure local water supplies and the local community desperately needed help to avoid starvation. To promote public health, and compensate for minimal humanitarian support from far-away Rome, Benedictine Bishop Radbod included brewing permissions in the charter to re-establish Abbaye de Saint-Martin.
Brewing thrived at Abbaye de Saint-Martin, through multiple wars and rebellions without significant interruption until 1793 when, during the French revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
, most abbey structures, including the church sanctuary and brewery were destroyed. Only the mid-18th century Abbot palace, parts of the 14th century Gothic
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
cloister and a Romanesque
Romanesque architecture
Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of Medieval Europe characterised by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque architecture, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 10th century. It developed in the 12th century into the Gothic style,...
, 13th century crypt survived.
Fortunately, many important abbey documents, including Saint-Martin's "secret" brewing recipes, were successfully hidden from revolutionary plunder.
In 1890, during Belgium's post-Industrial Revolution
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...
prosperity, these essential recipes permitted resumption of Abbaye de Saint-Martin brewing by Brasserie de Bruenhaut. More than forty individual Brunehaut beer
Beer
Beer is the world's most widely consumed andprobably oldest alcoholic beverage; it is the third most popular drink overall, after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of sugars, mainly derived from malted cereal grains, most commonly malted barley and malted wheat...
s were brewed during the next century and, in 1990, output capacity doubled, via new construction of a purpose-built fermentation house, two kilometers distance from the 1890 brewery site.
Abbaye de Saint-Martin remains one of 18x Belgian beers to still enjoy official "Certified Belgian Abbaye Beer" status.
Note: Tournai is known in Dutch as Doornik and in Latin as Tornacum. The city sits at the crossroads of ancient Roman trading highways. Its Belgian-French
Belgian French
Belgian French is the variety of French spoken mainly in the French Community of Belgium, alongside related minority regional languages such as Walloon, Picard, Champenois and Gaumais. The French spoken in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, and Burundi, which were formerly Belgian...
-speaking citizens use a distinctive Picard
Picard language
Picard is a language closely related to French, and as such is one of the larger group of Romance languages. It is spoken in two regions in the far north of France – Nord-Pas-de-Calais and Picardy – and in parts of the Belgian region of Wallonia, the district of Tournai and a part of...
dialect. Tournai's Hôtel de Ville
City hall
In local government, a city hall, town hall or a municipal building or civic centre, is the chief administrative building of a city...
serves citizens from the original Abbot palace, which was re-constructed following extensive WWII damage. (See the photo gallery at the bottom of this page.)
Production, Styles & Labels
An artisanal (non-conglomerate) brewer, Brunehaut employs ancient Belgian brewing recipes, dating from the First CrusadeFirst Crusade
The First Crusade was a military expedition by Western Christianity to regain the Holy Lands taken in the Muslim conquest of the Levant, ultimately resulting in the recapture of Jerusalem...
and documented from 1096. Combining top (in-bottle) fermentation with modern production technologies, Brewmaster Damien Delneste's signature beers include Dubble
Dubble
Dubble is a Fairtrade chocolate bar sold in the United Kingdom. It is produced by Divine Chocolate in association with Comic Relief. The bar consists of two chunks of Fairtrade milk chocolate which contain caramelized crisped rice. Dubble has sold over 10 million bars since 2000 and released...
and Tripel
Tripel
Tripel is a term used by brewers mainly in the Low Countries, some other European countries, and the USA to describe a strong pale ale, loosely in the style of Westmalle Tripel. The origin of the term is unknown, though the main theory is that it indicates strength in some way...
bottle-conditioned ales, consistent with 1000+-year-old Belgian brewing tradition.
Each Brunehaut Organic (Bio) label has earned organic certification
Organic certification
Organic certification is a certification process for producers of organic food and other organic agricultural products. In general, any business directly involved in food production can be certified, including seed suppliers, farmers, [food] processors, retailers and restaurants.Requirements vary...
. The company grows their own barley and wheat locally, within the brewery's terroir
Terroir
Terroir comes from the word terre "land". It was originally a French term in wine, coffee and tea used to denote the special characteristics that the geography, geology and climate of a certain place bestowed upon particular varieties...
. Brasserie de Brunehaut historically maintained approximately two dozen labels, including several specialty and occasional seasonal beers. A 2006 ownership change tightened the firm's market focus. Seven products were retired and new packaging labels were commissioned. Today, the brewery exports ten labels, across three beer styles.
Abbey Style (Bières d'abbaye)
- Abbaye de Saint-Martin Tripel (tripel) 9% ABV
- Abbaye de Saint-Martin Brune (bière brune/dubel) 8% ABV
- Abbaye de Saint-Martin Blond (bière blonde with triple hops) 7% ABV
- Abbaye de Saint-Martin Winter ale (bière hiver) 8.5% ABV
Gluten-free + Organic (Bières Bio) Styles
- Brunehaut Gluten-free Bio Amber (bière ambrée) 6.5% ABV
- Brunehaut Gluten-free Bio Blonde (bière blonde) 6.5% ABV
- Brunehaut Bio Blanche (bière blanche) 5% ABV
Regional Style (Bières régionales)
- Abbaye de Saint Amand (juniper-spiced blond ale) 7% ABV
- Mont Saint-Aubert (Bière de GardeBière de GardeBière de Garde is a strong pale ale or keeping beer traditionally brewed in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France. These beers were originally brewed in farmhouses during the winter and spring, to avoid unpredictable problems with the yeast during the summertime...
) 8% ABV - De Kopstoot (ale), English translation = head butt 7% ABV
Awards
• Abbaye de Saint-Martin Blonde was awarded a Silver medal, in the Belgian Strong Ale category, at the 2011 Copa Cervezas America.• Brunehaut Gluten-free Bio Ambrée was a Gold medal winner at the 2011 United States Open Beer Championships.
• Brunehaut Gluten-free Bio Blonde was a Gold medal winner at the 2011 United States Open Beer Championships.
• Abbaye de Saint-Martin Tripel won a Gold medal at the 2011 World Beer Championship.
• Abbaye de Saint-Martin Brune was awarded a Silver medal at 2011 Beerfest Asia! (Singapore)
• Mont Saint Aubert Grand Reserve was 2010 runner-up in Philadelphia Beer Week judging.
• At the 2010 Australian International Beer Awards, Abbaye de Saint-Martin Brune and Triple each received Silver medals in the Abbey Style, Dubbel and Tripel category.
• During the 2009 World Beer Awards (London), Abbaye de Saint-Martin Brune was named World's Best Abbey (Dark) Beer while Mont Saint-Aubert received 'World's Best Bière de Garde
Bière de Garde
Bière de Garde is a strong pale ale or keeping beer traditionally brewed in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France. These beers were originally brewed in farmhouses during the winter and spring, to avoid unpredictable problems with the yeast during the summertime...
" recognition.
• The 2009 Australian International Beer Awards, awarded Abbaye de Saint-Martin Tripel a Bronze medal in the Abbey Style, Dubbel and Tripel category.
• Brunehaut Bio Amber won Bronze at the 2009 World Beer Championships.
• In 2008, Mont Saint-Aubert and Abbaye de Saint-Martin Blonde were awarded Silver and Bronze medals (respectively) at the Australian International Beer Awards in the "Abbey Style, Dubbel and Tripel" category.
• Also in 2008, Mont Saint-Aubert received a Silver medal during the 2008 Brewers Association World Beer Cup
World Beer Cup
The World Beer Cup, known as "The Olympics of Beer Competition", is one of several major international beer competitions. It was founded by Association of Brewers President Charlie Papazian....
in the Belgian-Style Pale Strong Ales category.
• In 2007, Abbaye de Saint-Martin Blonde and Brune received Silver medals at the World Beer Championship., while Abbaye de Saint-Martin Blonde received the International Taste & Quality Institute's Superior Taste Award.
• Brasserie de Brunehaut Organic White Beer earned a Silver medal at the 2007 World Beer Championship.
• Mont Saint Aubert received a Gold medal at the 1997 World Beer Championship.
Brewery Tours, Festivals, Packaging + Distribution
Brasserie de Brunehaut is a member of The Union of Belgian Brewers and participates in many of Belgiums' annual beer festivals including Zythos Bierfestival Brussels Beer Weekend and Essen's Christmas Beer Festival.The brewery maintains a limited schedule of private and public events, including local seasonal celebrations, plus bicycle and motor coach tours. Most popular among these is a brewery public open house, Fêtes de la Brasserie, held annually each April.
Brunehaut Brewery ships bottled products in either "capped" 33cl or "corked" 75cl bottles across Europe, Asia, North and South America. Brunehaut draught beer is traditionally distributed in 20-liter kegs. In 2008 however, Brunehaut became the first European brewer to offer recyclable, lightweight 30-liter EcoKegs as an export
Export
The term export is derived from the conceptual meaning as to ship the goods and services out of the port of a country. The seller of such goods and services is referred to as an "exporter" who is based in the country of export whereas the overseas based buyer is referred to as an "importer"...
alternative to negative environmental impacts of non-reused or un-recycled
Glass recycling
Glass recycling is the process of turning waste glass into usable products. Glass waste should be separated by chemical composition, and then, depending on the end use and local processing capabilities, might also have to be separated into different colors. Many recyclers collect different colors...
beer bottles.
Website + Social Media links
- Abbaye Saint-Martin Twitter account
- Brasserie Brunehaut Official website
- Brasserie Brunehaut Twitter account
- Brasserie Brunehaut Untappd account
Other External links
- C2 Imports, U.S. importers of Abbaye de Saint Martin Beers + Brunehaut Organic Beers
- Collins & Collins, Chilean importers of Abbaye de Saint Martin Beers
- EcoKeg, Corporate web site'
- Saint Amand (Amandus), Patron Saint of Brewing, bartenders and Boy ScoutsSaint AmandSaint Amand or Amandus was a French Christian saint, one of the great Christian Saints of Flanders.-Biography:...