A Belgium Brewery producing sour classics since 1990’s.
Two great things happened in 1996. If you count Take That splitting up it’s actually three. But let’s focus on the beer, not defunct boy bands.
It was the year Dutch brewery De Ranke officially became a commercial concern and also the same year that saw them release their classic Christmas beer ‘Père Noël’ unto the world. Two milestones in beer’s timeline as we see it…
De Ranke is Nino Bacelle and Guido Devos – the former a descendent of a family drinks business, the latter an avid home brewer and founder of the HOP beer tasters association.
Keen to kick back against sweetened macro beers, the pair set about building a brewery (via contract brewing) that preserved traditional techniques but also embraced modernity without compromising the quality of the beers.
However it wasn’t until 2005 that the pair finally had their own bricks and mortar brewery in the province of Hainaut in Dottenijs, having spent 11 years contract brewing at Deca brewery. Their philosophy is one of authenticity – with direct fire used in an infusion process pre-mash, the addition of locally grown hop flowers, and bottle conditioning all adding a more traditional take on the brewing process.
The annual production now amounts to 5,000 hl (500,000 litres). With about half exported to more than 20 countries worldwide.
‘Cuvée De Ranke’, ‘Saison de Dottignies’, and the aforementioned Christmas Classic ‘Père Noël’, are all go to’s from this brilliantly understated brewery from the Netherlands.
Buy Brouwerij De Ranke Beer from Distant Lands
