Regenboog Brewery
Encyclopedia
The Smisje Brewery with a tiny production of only 200 hectoliters per year, is the smallest existing Belgian
craft brewery. Begun in 1995 by former printer and homebrewer Johan Brandt, it was originally titled "De Regenboog" (The Rainbow), the same name as his earlier printing business. Brandt is also a bee-keeper, which accounts for the prominent use of honey in some of the brewery's offerings, including its first commercial beer, which was named 't Smisje or "the little blacksmith" to reflect the hand-crafted nature of the product as well as a local landmark blacksmith's house near the brewery's original location.
From 1995-2008, the brewery was located in the West Flanders municipality of Assebroek
, a suburb of Bruges
. In 2008 it relocated to the village of Mater in Oudenaarde
, East Flanders
and changed its name to simply "Smisje".
Smisje is known for beers in both traditional Belgian styles and others, but particularly for brewing with distinctive ingredients and flavorings, often fruits or herbs. This experimental brewery exports roughly half of its annual product outside of Belgium to countries such as the United States
, The Netherlands, Italy
, Spain
and Denmark
. Despite its minuscule size, for many years Smisje has kept six beers in regular production in addition to a large variety of seasonal and occasional brews. Many of their beers have featured label art by Brooklyn
cartoonist and craft beer enthusiast Bill Coleman.
In 2010, the brewery announced that it would be discontinuing all of its historic products in order to focus on a new blond, hoppy ale to be called "Smiske". Only the annual "Smisje Christmas" would be preserved. Following the example of Duvel Moortgat, who offered to brew again their limited-edition "Duvel Triple Hop" if 10,000 people would sign a petition for it, Brandt announced that if 20,000 people would join a Facebook
group supporting it, he would offer to brew one additional historic recipe per year.
. The brewer maintains his own distinctive house yeast strain and utilizes primarily native Belgian hops. In addition to various spices and non-traditional ingredients such as sloe berries
, Smisje is known to utilize the traditional Belgian method of using a significant amount of candi sugar
in their recipes to lighten the body of stronger brews.
Seasonal or limited-run beers (past and present):
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...
craft brewery. Begun in 1995 by former printer and homebrewer Johan Brandt, it was originally titled "De Regenboog" (The Rainbow), the same name as his earlier printing business. Brandt is also a bee-keeper, which accounts for the prominent use of honey in some of the brewery's offerings, including its first commercial beer, which was named 't Smisje or "the little blacksmith" to reflect the hand-crafted nature of the product as well as a local landmark blacksmith's house near the brewery's original location.
From 1995-2008, the brewery was located in the West Flanders municipality of Assebroek
Assebroek
Assebroek is a suburb in the municipality and city of Bruges, Belgium. In 2004, Assebroek had 19,525 inhabitants. Since 1999, this number has hardly changed...
, a suburb of Bruges
Bruges
Bruges is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located in the northwest of the country....
. In 2008 it relocated to the village of Mater in Oudenaarde
Oudenaarde
Oudenaarde is a Belgian municipality in the Flemish province of East Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Oudenaarde proper and the towns of Bevere, Edelare, Eine, Ename, Heurne, Leupegem, Mater, Melden, Mullem, Nederename, Welden, Volkegem and a part of Ooike.From the 15th to the 18th...
, East Flanders
East Flanders
East Flanders is a province of Flanders, one of the three regions of Belgium. It borders on the Netherlands and in Belgium on the provinces of Antwerp, Flemish Brabant , of Hainaut and of West Flanders...
and changed its name to simply "Smisje".
Smisje is known for beers in both traditional Belgian styles and others, but particularly for brewing with distinctive ingredients and flavorings, often fruits or herbs. This experimental brewery exports roughly half of its annual product outside of Belgium to countries such as the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, The Netherlands, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
and Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
. Despite its minuscule size, for many years Smisje has kept six beers in regular production in addition to a large variety of seasonal and occasional brews. Many of their beers have featured label art by Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
cartoonist and craft beer enthusiast Bill Coleman.
In 2010, the brewery announced that it would be discontinuing all of its historic products in order to focus on a new blond, hoppy ale to be called "Smiske". Only the annual "Smisje Christmas" would be preserved. Following the example of Duvel Moortgat, who offered to brew again their limited-edition "Duvel Triple Hop" if 10,000 people would sign a petition for it, Brandt announced that if 20,000 people would join a Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
group supporting it, he would offer to brew one additional historic recipe per year.
Technical
Brandt began brewing in 1995 with a jury-rigged system capable of producing only 250 liters per batch, and slowly expanded the equipment over time in the original Bruges location. The new premises in Mater utilize the second-hand equipment of the now-defunct De Teut brewery of NeerpeltNeerpelt
Neerpelt is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Limburg. On January 1, 2006 Neerpelt had a total population of 16,117. The total area is 42.78 km² which gives a population density of 377 inhabitants per km².-Famous inhabitants:...
. The brewer maintains his own distinctive house yeast strain and utilizes primarily native Belgian hops. In addition to various spices and non-traditional ingredients such as sloe berries
Blackthorn
Prunus spinosa is a species of Prunus native to Europe, western Asia, and locally in northwest Africa. It is also locally naturalised in New Zealand and eastern North America....
, Smisje is known to utilize the traditional Belgian method of using a significant amount of candi sugar
Candi sugar
Candi sugar is a Belgian sugar commonly used in brewing, especially in stronger, Belgian beers such as dubbel and tripel. Chemically, it is an invert sugar: one that has been converted from sucrose to a mixture of fructose and glucose by heating with water and some acid...
in their recipes to lighten the body of stronger brews.
Beers
Beers formerly in regular production:- 't Smisje Blond - 6% ABVABVABV is a three-letter acronym that may refer to:* Alcohol by volume, a measure of the alcohol content of alcoholic drinks* Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, Nigeria, from its IATA airport code...
: A moderately strong golden-colored ale flavored with lindenTiliaTilia is a genus of about 30 species of trees native throughout most of the temperate Northern Hemisphere. The greatest species diversity is found in Asia, and the genus also occurs in Europe and eastern North America, but not western North America...
blossoms. - 't Smisje Dubbel - 9% ABV: A strong brown ale in the Belgian Abbey DubbelDubbelThe dubbel is a Belgian Trappist beer naming convention. The origin of the dubbel was a beer brewed in the Trappist Abbey of Westmalle in 1856. The abbey had, since 10 December 1836, brewed a witbier that was quite sweet and light in alcohol for consumption by the paters. The new beer, however,...
style which uses fresh dates in the recipe. - 't Smisje Tripel - 9% ABV: A beer in the Belgian Abbey TripelTripelTripel 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...
style. - 't Smisje Wostyntje - 7% ABV: A strong golden ale flavored with mustard seeds from the nearby village of Tourhout.
- Vuuve - 5% ABV: A cloudy wheat beer in the Belgian Witbier style, brewed with coriander and bitter orange peel. Vuuve is the Flemish word for the number five, a reference to the beer's alcohol content.
Seasonal or limited-run beers (past and present):
- 't Smisje + Dubbel IPA - 10% ABVABVABV is a three-letter acronym that may refer to:* Alcohol by volume, a measure of the alcohol content of alcoholic drinks* Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, Nigeria, from its IATA airport code...
- 't Smisje BBBourgondier - 12% ABV: A dark strong specialty beer flavored with valerianValerian (herb)Valerian is a hardy perennial flowering plant, with heads of sweetly scented pink or white flowers which bloom in the summer months. Valerian flower extracts were used as a perfume in the sixteenth century....
root and lemon balmLemon balmLemon balm , not to be confused with bee balm, Monarda species, is a perennial herb in the mint family Lamiaceae, native to southern Europe and the Mediterranean region....
. Malty with raisin and caramel notes. - 't Smisje Calva Reserva - 12% ABV: A strong ale matured for six months in CalvadosCalvadosThe French department of Calvados is part of the region of Basse-Normandie in Normandy. It takes its name from a cluster of rocks off the English Channel coast...
barrels. - 't Smisje Catherine The Great Imperial Stout - 10% ABV
- 't Smisje Cuvee 2005 - 10% ABV: A beer inspired by American microbrews, using Challenger, Cascade, Magnum and Newport hops, and further dry-hopped with Cascade.
- 't Smisje Fiori - 7% ABV
- 't Smisje Grande Reserva - 11% ABV
- 't Smisje Great Reserva - 10% ABV
- 't Smisje Guido - 8% ABV: A brown ale brewed with honey and raisins in commemmoration of Guido GezelleGuido GezelleGuido Pieter Theodorus Josephus Gezelle was an influential Flemish language writer and poet and a Roman Catholic priest from Belgium.- Life :...
, a Flemish-language poet, Roman Catholic priest and native of Bruges. - 't Smisje Halloween - 10.5%
- 't Smisje Honingbier - 6% ABV: A golden ale brewed with honeyHoneyHoney is a sweet food made by bees using nectar from flowers. The variety produced by honey bees is the one most commonly referred to and is the type of honey collected by beekeepers and consumed by humans...
. - 't Smisje Honingbier Bruin - 6% ABV: A brown ale brewed with honeyHoneyHoney is a sweet food made by bees using nectar from flowers. The variety produced by honey bees is the one most commonly referred to and is the type of honey collected by beekeepers and consumed by humans...
. - 't Smisje Kerst - 11% ABV: A seasonal Christmas offering.
- 't Smisje Meso - 2.5% ABV: A low-alcohol beer.
- 't Smisje Sleedoornbier - 6% ABV: A beer flavored with sloe berriesBlackthornPrunus spinosa is a species of Prunus native to Europe, western Asia, and locally in northwest Africa. It is also locally naturalised in New Zealand and eastern North America....
(literally "sleigh-thorns"). - 't Smisje Sleedoorn Extra - 7% ABV: A stronger version of the Sleedornbier
- 't Smisje Speciale - 10.5% ABV
- 't Zwarte Gat Bier - 6%
- Terracotta - 7%
- Brugs Beertje 20 - 6.5% ABV: Brewed to celebrate the 20th anniversary of celebrated local craft beer pub the "Brugs Beertje" (lit. "Little Bear of Bruges", a reference to the animal on the town's coat of arms, but also a pun on the similar-sounding "Biertje" or little beer)
- Brugs Beertje 25 - 9% ABV: Brewed for the 25th anniversary of the "Brugs Beertje".
- De Regenboog IJzer - 6%
- De Regenboog Naamloos - 6%
- Lombardus - 7%
- Pandreitje - 7%
- Pierewietje - 6%
- Snuffelbeer - 7%
External links
- http://www.smisje.be/ The brewery's own website.
- http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/322 Listing as "Brouwerij Smisje" at BeerAdvocate
- http://www.ratebeer.com/brewers/brouwerij-de-regenboog/983/ Listing as "De Regenboog" at RateBeer