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The above March, 1992 photo by Joyce White, shows her husband John in front of the Orval Trappist Monastery, www.orval.be.

John is loading up a Beer Hunt reconnaissance vehicle with purchases from the Monastery's excellent shop, including information books, old Orval charity postage stamps and bottles of its world-class beer. Note the White doves in the air. This was a prelude to a White Beer Travels group visit to the Monastery and its brewery, in 1997, see the Past [Beer Hunts] page. Click here for a detailed White Beer Travels page on the Orval Trappist Monastery and its Beers. There is also a news item about Orval below.

Archives: Articles, Pubs of the Month, etc

Michael Jackson's Great Beers of Belgium:
Fifth Edition on Sale.

Michael Jackson (1942-) (www.beerhunter.com), the world's most famous beer writer, is the author of numerous books on beer. For me, this is unquestionably the best book on Belgian Beer. The fifth edition, which was launched in Brussels on the 20th of December, 2005 (ISBN 9-053-7301-84, MMC-Bierpassie Magazine (www.beerpassion.com)), has 501 pages (145x245mm) packed with tons of new information and over 300 new photographs by Joris Luyten (www.jorisluyten.be). It is also available in Dutch (entitled Grote Belgische Bieren, (ISBN 9-053-7301-68, translation by Gerda Verschueren), and French (Grandes Bières de Belgique, ISBN 9-053-7301-76, translation by Jacques Fanchamps). It can be ordered direct from Ben Vinken's Bierpassie Magazine website, just quoted, along with the biography of Hoegaardier, Pierre Celis (1925-), De Godfather van Witbier (The Godfather of White Beer (Wheat Beer)), see below.

British Guild of Beer Writers 2005 Awards: Alastair Gilmour is Beer Writer of the Year for the Third Time; and Writers on Belgian Beer also Pick Up Awards.

Although not on everyone's lips when it comes to beer writers, make no mistake, Alastair Gilmour, who is based in Newcastle upon Tyne, is right up there with the very best, as was emphasised when he was declared the Beer Writer of the Year at the annual dinner of the British Guild of Beer Writers (www.beerwriters.co.uk), held in London, in December, 2005. Alastair joins only two others who have won this most prestigious of awards three times: Allan McLean and Michael Jackson.

A big feature of the White Beer Travels website is Belgian Beer and other Speciality/Specialty/Craft Beer from around the world. Therefore, it was great to see supporters of such beers doing very well at the guild awards in 2005. The above two photos were taken by John White, at the December, 2005 dinner. In the one on the left, Tim Webb is being held up by the tankard that he has been awarded as part of The Travel Bursary, which is sponsored by Budweiser Budvar (Budějovický Budvar) (www.budvar.cz), and is awarded for the best piece of writing on foreign beer, i.e. Tim's don't-enter-Belgium-without Good Beer Guide Belgium (www.booksaboutbeer.com, White Beer Travels Web page), see below. Holding the tankard is Chris (Podge) Pollard, a fellow Beer Hunt organiser, and great ambassador for Belgian Beer. The world's most famous beer writer is "The Beer Hunter", Michael Jackson (www.beerhunter.com), who got a standing ovation when it was announced that he had been awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Guild. In the photo on the right, Michael is on the right with dinner guest, Matthias Trum, of the truly wonderful Schlenkerla Brewery and Tavern, in Bamberg, in Germany (www.schlenkerla.de, www.smokebeer.com (English-language pages), White Beer Travels Web page). It was Michael above anyone else who made people realise that their were great beers available outside their own country, such as those produced in the Schlenkerla and in Belgium. This is the reason why the White Beer Travels website is dedicated to Michael (jointly with the King of Belgian Wheat/White Beer, Pierre Celis (see the Home page)). Whilst in London for the dinner, John White, of White Beer Travels, accompanied Matthias on visits to a number of special breweries and bars; click here for details.

A Beer Swimming Pool

In July, 2005, the Brauerei Schloss Starkenberg (Starkenberg Castle Brewery) (www.starkenberg.at), Griessegg 1, Tarrenz, near Imst, in the Gurgl Valley (Gurgltal), in the Austrian Tyrol (Tirol), opened a theme tour, a tourist attraction called the Starkenberger Biermythos (Starkenberg Myth of Beer); the route to the brewery by road is signed to this, rather than to the brewery itself. The attraction covers all aspects of the brewing process; it is largely based on actual brewing equipment and locations, that have been replaced by more modern equipment. Like the modern, replacement brewery, the old one is housed in a 700 year old "Schloss" or Castle, which can be seen on the brewery's website's Home page.

Presumably uniquely, swimming in beer is possible in seven of the old open fermenters (a maximum of four persons per fermenter). These are the Starkenberger Bierschwimmbad (Beer Swimming Pool) featured in a website dedicated to them, www.bierschwimmbad.com. The above photo, which is a press photo obtainable from this website features a couple of the pools. the one with the three "swimmers" certainly has a decent head of foam on the top; the one next to it has a more substantial head on it; it looks exactly like beer fermenting in an open fermenter.

The wall painting above the old fermenter with the swimmers in it, is by local artist Wernfried Poschusta; it was painted especially for the "Myth of Beer" tourist attraction. As can be seen, the men have a glass of beer in their hands as do the ladies looking on; if I had to guess, I would say that they are drinking the brewery's Starkenberger Schloss Pils. The men have bathing costumes on. I mention this because the subject of the painting is a swimming pool full of naked men and women; some of the couples are getting quite friendly. Walking past is someone clothed: a Nun! Click here for an English-language Press Release on the Starkenberger Biermythos, and here for the German-language one. These give more information, including the benefits of swimming in beer. Note that the English version states that the swimming pools are filled with "heated, diluted beer", whereas the German version states that they are filled with diluted "Geläger", rather the "Bier", the German word for beer. Elsewhere on the German-language pages website, it states that the pools are filled with Biergeläger, which is then defined as the Yeast, produced in the lagering maturation) tanks of the operational brewery.

Each four person beer swimming pool can be hired for €135 (2005 price) for a two hour session. For an additional €4, one can have a bottle of beer accompanied by Biergebäck & Grammelschmalz (Beer Biscuit (made from the brewery's Yeast) and Pork Dripping with Crackling (Greaves) (Griebenschmalz in German German)). I note on the brewery's website that they now have modern stainless steel fermentation vessels (called Gärtanks on the website), so they have clearly found an alternative use for the former open fermenters, and other parts of the old brewery comprising the Starkenberger Biermythos.

There are other breweries offering baths in beer, an example worth visiting, for its beers as well as its Beer Spa (Pivní lázně) is the Chodovar Brewery (www.chodovar.cz), in Chodová Planá, in the Plzeňský kraj (Pilsen Region) of The Czech Republic (Česká republika).

An Essential book on Bamberg & its Breweries:
Bamberg - Die Wahre Hauptstadt des Bieres
(Bamberg - Truly the Beer Capital)

As can be seen, the English translation of the title of this magnificent German-language, September, 2004 book is "Bamberg - Truly the Beer Capital", this being true. The author, Dr Christian Fiedler, published it himself (216 pages (220x235mm), ISBN 3-00-013723-8, www.bamberger-bier.de). The book's subject is Bamberg breweries, past and present. It is lavishly illustrated with photos and document reproductions for the breweries featured, accompanied by superb maps pinpointing them. Christian assembled all the illustrations himself, and laid them out amongst his text, i.e. he has done far more the job of a mere author: the book is a labour of love that shines through from every page. Details of how to get a copy of this essential book are to be found on the book's website. The wonderful Baroque city of Bamberg currently has ten official breweries, these being covered in the White Beer Travels guide to Bamberg, which can be reached by clicking here. Click here for a White Beer Travels Web page covering Bamberg's most famous brewery, Heller, and its Schlenkerla tavern (www.schlenkerla.de and www.smokebeer.com (English-language pages)), which, of course, is also fully covered in this book. Further details of the book can be found in a more detailed White Beer Travels review of it, which can be reached by clicking here. Note that a second edition of the book was published on the 23rd of April, 2005. It has twelve extra pages; the new edition additionally covers the Bamberg suburbs of Gaustadt und Bug.

Bamberg, in Germany is renowned for superb Brew Pubs, such as the long established Fässla (www.faessla.de) and the Spezial. Both these places, however, do not have any brew kettles on view in the bar. Thus, the Gasthausbrauerei Ambräusianum, which has its Brew House vessels in view, as can be seen in the photo above left, is unique in Bamberg. Note that Gasthausbraerei means Brew Pub, and as can be seen from the scan of the place's beer mat/coaster on the right, Ambräusianum is declared to be the first of such places in Bamberg, although, somewhat confusingly, the Fässla and the Spezial are also often put in the Gasthausbrauerei category. The beer mat features the Mahr family shield, this excellent place being run by Ambros Michel Mahr, who is second from the left in the photo above. It was taken by Joyce White, in July, 2004. On the left is Ambros's girlfriend, Heike Goermann, and on the right, next to yours truly, John White, is the Brewer, Patrick Gross.

A group of White Beer Travels Beer Hunters were very privileged to taste the three house beers a few days prior to the opening, on the 4th of August, 2004. Indeed, we were the first non-Germans to taste them. We sampled a superb, almost opaque Hell (Light) (€2.25 for 50cl), a Dunkel (Dark) (€2.25) and a Hefeweizen Hell (Pale, unfiltered Wheat Beer) (€2.50). The photo above right has an empty Weizen glass and two glasses of the Hell. White Beer Travels Beer Hunt regular Jez (rauchbier, Smoke Beer) Blake, of Highwood Brewery (www.tom-wood.com), in Lincolnshire, England, is writing notes for the first www.ratebeer.com ratings of these beers. Click here to read them. The photo was taken by John White, in July, 2004. A few months after opening, in the Bock season, a Doppelbock, Ambräusiator (8%), was produced.

The Haus Mahr (www.haus-mahr.de, which is the same as the Ambräusianum website), the spectacular building housing Ambraeusianum has been in Mahr family's ownership since 1819. It dates from 1267, i.e. it was originally the first Palais Schrottenberg, the nearby hotel of the same name being the second Palace, this having the address Kasernstrasse 1 (Ambräusianum is on the corner of Kasernstrasse and Dominikanerstrasse). The ancient sandstone and wood building is superbly complemented by some modern touches, such as the fonts shown in the photo, above left, which was taken by John White, in August, 2004, again before the official opening day.

In addition to the house beers, which are delivered from cellar tanks, one of the taps, delivers Bamberg's most famous beer, Schlenkerla Rauchbier (Smoke Beer) (www.smokebeer.com, White Beer Travels Web page). The Schlenkerla, which is next door but one to Das Ambräusianum, at Dominikanerstrasse 6, is the world-renowned tap for the Heller Brewery. Matthias Trum, who runs Heller and the Schlenkerla, is related to Ambros Mahr; indeed, Matthias has provided technical advice. Click here for a German-language article on Ambraeusianum, which has a good selection of photographs of the place; it is from Markus Raupach's excellent www.bamberg-guide.de. Ambräusianum is open every day of the week from 11am to Midnight. The seventy-seven page White Beer Travels Guide to Bamberg, which is available from the Downloads page, has further information on Ambräusianum.

In the photo, to the left, John White is giving the News on Ambräusianum to Michael Jackson (1942-), the world's most famous beer writer; the White Beer Travels website is dedicated to Michael (jointly with the King of Belgian Wheat/White Beer, Pierre Celis (see the Home page). Along with an information pack on the place, John is handing Michael an Ambräusianum beer mat, see above. The photo was taken, in August, 2004, by John's wife Joyce, just prior to Michael's superb tutored tasting at the Great British Beer Festival, in London. This was the day after the opening of Ambraesianum. Click here to see the ticket for the tasting, on which Michael has written: "To John, Thanks for Bamberg! Michael Jackson".

Unibroue, Canada's Best Known Speciality/Specialty/Craft Beer Brewery Sold

On the 20th of April, it was announced on Unibroue's own website, www.unibroue.com, that the Ontario-based Sleeman Breweries, www.ale-sleeman.com and www.sleeman.com (for Sleeman's own beers) was to takeover Unibroue. Click here for a newspaper report; for the Sleeman/Unibroue announcement on it, in English, click here, in French, click here. To keep abreast of this story, sign up for Unibroue's e-mail news service on its website. Sleeman are Canada's third biggest brewers, albeit much smaller than Labatt and Molson. In 1998, Sleeman acquired La Brasserie Seigneuriale, in Boucherville, which is just East of Montreal Island, across the St-Lawrence River. Their range included some Belgian-style beers, two of which disappeared very soon after the takeover. From the Sleeman Breweries website, one would be forgiven for thinking that the brewery in Boucherville was still operational, but Sleeman, after first reducing the Seigneuriale product range, in 2003, closed the place down. So the roadmap is clear for Unibroue: a reduction in the number of brands brewed in Chambly, prior to the production of blander versions of them being moved elsewhere. With regard to this, ratebeer's Josh Oakes comments on this takeover make for interesting and sobering reading. Click here to do this.

Orval Trappist Beer on Draught and/or in 75cl Bottles?

The Orval Trappist brewery, in Belgium, which is covered by the Monastery's website, www.orval.be, is one of the world's greatest Speciality Beers. The 6.2% ABV beer(6.9% on US labels) is sold in a characteristic, skittle-shaped bottle, that is available throughout Belgium and beyond. Aficionados know that a weaker Orval beer, Le Petit-Orval (3.5%) (Orval Verte (Orval Green)), the beer drunk within the Monastery, is available to the general public, in L'Auberge de L'Ange Gardien (The Guardian Angel Inn) (3, rue d'Orval, tel 061 31 18 86), the tavern close to the Monastery, which is owned by it. On the photo on the left, François de Harenne, the brewery's Marketing Director, is pouring John White a Petit-Orval. Note the green lettering on the glass, to distinguish it from the one for the main beer brewed, the latter having a bottle label, unlike Le Petit-Orval. The photo was taken in October, 2003, by Fred Waltman, who has an excellent website covering the beers of Los Angeles, www.labeer.com, and one on Franconia, in Northern Bavaria, www.franconiabeerguide.com.

Rumours have been circulating of a draught Orval and from the photo on the right above, which was taken by John White, in October, 2003, it would appear that it is available. The draught Orval is being pulled by Jean-Marie Rock, Orval's brewing engineer. The bar in the photo is within the Orval brewery; it is not open to the general public.

François de Harenne stressed that draught Orval is only being produced as an experiment. He pointed out that the brewery is very close to full capacity and thus the expense of adding the equipment to produce draught Orval commercially, could not be justified. He also emphasised the image that the special bottle generates. Of course, a keg version would not undergo a third fermentation as does the bottled version. Note that François de Harenne is the grandson of the family who made a gift of land to the Cistercians, thus paving the way for the present day Monastery and Trappist brewery. Although only a five year old at the time, he vividly remembers the 30th of April, 1955, the day on which the modern Monastery's first Abbot died. A full White Beer Travels account of the history of Trappist monasteries and Orval in particular can be found by clicking here.

Another Orval rumour concerns 75cl bottles; on the October, 2003 visit, François de Harenne did not rule out the possibility of these making an appearance, in 2004 or 2005, alongside the existing 33cl bottles, but pointed out that, such was the importance of retaining the existing bottle shape that the larger bottles could prove to be expensive.

Visit to the Chimay Trappist Brewery
13th of May, 2003

Major New Book on Trappist Monasteries and Their Beers, by Jef van den Steen

In June, 2003, Dutch and French versions of a landmark book by Jef van den Steen, on Belgium's Trappist Monasteries and their beers, saw the light of day: Trappist, het bier en de monniken, published by Davidsfonds, ISBN 90 5826 214 6, www.davidsfonds.be; and Les Trappistes. Les abbayes et leur bières, published by Éditions Racine, ISBN 2 87386 314 5, www.racine.be. The French title, the source of this review, translates as "The Trappists. The Monasteries and Their Beers". The cover of the French version is reproduced to the left.

The book is large (176 pages, 30x25cm) and is lavishly illustrated with superb archive photos supplied by the monasteries and hundreds of marvellous new ones. But this is no coffee table book, full of pretty pictures and only superficial data; it is jam-packed with new and fascinating information on the six brewing Trappist monasteries in Belgium. There are eight chapters in all, one for each brewing Monastery, an introductory chapter, and one on female Trappists, such as those in Klaarland, who make the "Trappist Tablets", i.e. yeast tablets made from yeast from Belgian Trappist breweries. It is unquestionably the reference source on the beer aspects of these monasteries. Each individual Monastery chapter starts off with a comprehensive history of the Monastery and its beers, then the highlight for the beer lover - Jef's superbly detailed description of his tour round each Monastery and its brewery, accompanied by the monk responsible for brewing - then information on the general tourist attractions near the Monastery, followed by recipes using the Monastery's Trappist beers, supplied by local, named bars/restaurants. It is clear from Jef's wonderfully detailed commentaries on the beers and the brewing processes that he was in Seventh Heaven!

Thanks to Jef, I have learnt oodles of new and fascinating stuff about a subject dear to my heart, such as why the strength of the great Westvleteren 12^o (ABT) is today declared to be only 10.2% ABV on its crown cork, even though it is as strong as ever it was! Note that there is a chance to get a flavour of the book, albeit without its excellent illustrations, since Jef has kindly provided permission for public viewing of my translation into English of the chapter covering Rochefort; click here to see it (there is an initial requirement to join the "Belgian Beer [Message] Board", a simple and worth-doing procedure). More details of this Message Board are to be found above, and on the Reciprocal Links page of the site, which can be reached by clicking here. For information on the White Beer Travels French to English Translation Service, please click here. The English-language pages of the website for the Bruxellensis Beer Festival, www.festivalbruxellensis.be, White Beer Travels Web page, that takes place in Brussels, are an example of the French to English translation work that I have undertaken.

In summary, Jef's book is an absolute must buy for the lover of good beer. Let us pray that for those who have difficulty with French or Dutch that an English version is soon made available. It should, without doubt, be right at the very top of your shopping list.

In October, 2004, a follow up book of Jef's, covering Belgian Abbeys was launched: Abdijbieren - Geestrijk erfgoed (Abbey Beers - Spiritual Inheritance) (Davidsfonds, ISBN 90 5826 302 9). This has a very similar format to the Trappist book. Apart from the brewery's within two former Cistercian Monasteries - Val-Dieu (www.val-dieu.com) and the Brasserie Val de Sambre (www.valdesambre.be) (which is within the former stable block of the Abbaye d'Aulne (ADA)) - none of the places covered in it brew, but many have beers brewed for them under licence, or there are beers brewed bearing their name.

Jef is involved in a brewery, De Glazen Toren (www.glazentoren.be), at Glazentorenweg 11 (tel 053 83 68 17), in Erpe-Mere, near Aalst, in East Flanders (Oost-Vlaanderen). The two brewers at De Glazen Toren are graduates of the CTL Brewing School, in Ghent: Dirk De Pauw and Mark De Neef. More information on De Glazen Toren, can be found by clicking here, this taking you to the White Beer Travels Web page covering Aalst.

Petition to Save Old Beersel:
Successful Outcome

The Oud Beersel, in Beersel, Belgium, was one of only a handful of traditional Lambic brewers and blenders, when it tragically closed in late 2002. Next door was a marvellously atmospheric bar.

The organisation that promotes Lambic beer, HORAL (Hoge Raad voor Ambachtelijke Lambikbieren) (www.horal.be) (in English, the "High Commission for Artisanal Lambic Beers"), hoped to convert Oud Beersel into a Geuze Museum. Therefore, Zythos, Belgium's premier beer consumers' organisation, (www.zythos.be and White Beer Travels Web page), organised a petition to save it.

The petitions was handed over at the "5th Belgian Beer Weekend" that took place in the Grand'Place (Grote Markt), Brussels, in September, 2003. This is organised each year by Belgian Brewers, www.beerparadise.be. The "8th Belgian Beer Weekend" takes place on Friday, the 1st, to Sunday, the 3rd of September, 2006; see the event's dedicated website for more details, www.belgianbeerweekend.be. The Grand'Place is on the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites, see whc.unesco.org/pg.cfm?cid=31 for the full, world-wide list. Thus, this beer festival is perhaps the one of only two in the world to take place within a specific UNESCO World Heritage Site, the other being the model village of Saltaire in West Yorkshire, England, which hosts Bradford CAMRA's annual beer festival.

Note that in 2005, Oud Beersel was acquired by Gert Christiaens and Roland de Bus, who, in 2006, plan to start brewing Lambic again in the Oud Beersel brewery and to produce Gueuze and Kriek from it, see the new place's website, www.oudbeersel.com.

The photo, above left (© YDS), shows Gert and Roland (from left to right) celebrating the launch of Bersalis, in November, 2005. To finance the operation, Gert and Roland initially produced a non-Lambic beer called Bersalis (9.5%), which they brew themselves at Huyghe (www.delirium.be). This is an excellent, unfiltered Tripel. Seek this out and not only will you be sampling a great beer, but and you will also be helping the return of Oud Beersel Gueuze and Oud Beersel Kriek; on the Bersalis label is the slogan "Bringing Life to the Brew!". Bersalis (Latin for Beersel) was available at the Zythos Beer Festival (ZBF) (www.zbf.be, White Beer Travels Web page), that took place in March, 2006. Naturally, there was a White Beer Travels group Beer Hunt featuring this top-class event; click here for more details. In the photo, above right, which was taken by John White, in March, 2006, at the ZBF, Gert and Roland can be seen on the Oud Beersel stand.

Ironically, the truly wonderful news, in 2005, of the saving of Oud Beersel, was announced just one day before that load of Bankers, InBev, declared that they were to close the Hoegaarden Brewery, in Hoegaarden. This is covered next.

In September, 2006, InBev Closes the Hoegaarden Brewery, in Hoegaarden, Belgium

The closure announcent was made in November, 2005

This is covered in a Web page featuring Pierre Celis of Hoegaarden, which can be reached by clicking here.

Fuller's ESB: As Good As Ever,
Which Means Superb

I have been a fan of Real Ale (Cask Ale) for many years, indeed, for some time prior to the setting up of CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale (www.camra.org.uk). CAMRA saved Real Ale for the nation, Real Ale being a term they invented in the early 1970s. Some beers that were once great have been dumbed down or even lost, but my favourite from these early days, ESB (Extra Special Bitter) from Fuller's (www.fullers.co.uk, www.fullers-ales.com (North America), White Beer Travels Web page) is as good as ever, which means truly world-class. And what better place to drink it, and Fuller's other exceptional beers, than in the world-class Star Tavern (6 Belgrave Mews West, London, SW1X 8HT (tel 020 7235 3019)). The Star Tavern is one of only a handful of pubs that have appeared in every edition of CAMRA's prestigious Good Beer Guide, i.e. in 30 with the 2005 edition. The pictures that follow were taken respectively by Joyce White and John White, in January, 2003, the staff having subsequently changed since then, but not the quality of the place.

London pubs of special merit, such as The Star Tavern and The White Horse, in Parson's Green, see below, are featured in the eighty-three page White Beer Travels Notes on London Pubs that can be obtained from the Downloads page of the site.

This photo shows John White with a pint of ESB in one hand and his other hand on its handpump (the symbol of Real Ale), with The Star Tavern's then landlord, T J Connell.	This show Brian Connell, T J's son, pulling a Pint of ESB for Julia Skinner, John White's daughter. Note also the handpumps for other Fuller's beers: London Pride, Chiswick Bitter and Jack Frost, the latter being a seasonal beer, this one being a superb "Warming Winter Ale".
Note, the beer might be great when it leaves the brewery, but the landlord and his team play a major part in ensuring that the quality of the beer in your glass meets expectations. The beer quality in The Star Tavern is stunning thanks to T.J. and his staff and their successors. They also create a great atmosphere for one and all. Details of a 1999 White Beer Travels visit to The Star Tavern and other great places in London, which was organised for a group of Dutch home brewers, the Deltabrouwers, www.deltabrouwers.nl.vg. See below page for details of their marvellous annual beer festival. Information on this 1999 trip to London is to be found on the Past Beer Hunts page.

Review of the White Beer Travels website in OBP's Magazine, Den Bierproever (oktober-november-december 2002 edition)

This comprehensive and flattering review, entitled "De Beertravels van John White", was written by Casimir Elsen, the hoofdredacteur (Editor-in-Chief) of OBP's excellent magazine. OBP, the Objectieve Bierproevers (Objective Beer Tasters) was Belgium's premier beer consumers' organisation, but it had to be folded up, in December, 2002. Click here for a note on this by OBP's founder, Peter Crombecq. OBP's role has been taken over by Zythos (www.zythos.be and White Beer Travels Web page). Click on the thumb below to read the full Den Bierproever article, which is in Dutch. The equivalent Zythos publication is the equally excellent, De Zytholoog, which was also first edited by Casimir Elsen, until mid-2005.

John White's review of "The Beer Drinker's Handbook", by Kevin Trayner, which was published, in May, 2002 (ISBN 1859747159)

This book, published by New Holland Publishers, contains two photos that were taken on White Beer Travels Beer Hunts or reconnaissance trips: one of an open brew day at La Brasserie à Vapeur, Pipaix, Belgium, by White Beer Travels Beer Hunt and recce regular and "Second Petal", Sylvia Clow; and one of the Parisian bar/restaurant, Au Trappiste, taken by John's son Graham.

Above is a reduced-size reproduction of the top of this article. The headline means "English Beer Fans". In the photo, John White (described as the "Beer Hunt organisator" in the article) is second from the right, next to An De Ryck, the female brewer.

Also in the picture are, from left to right, Johan De Vleeschouwer, Eric Schietecatte and Glen Castelein, who are all members of BLES ("Bierliefhebbers van de Egmontstede", Beer Lovers from the Egmont Town (Zottegem)) which was affiliated to OBP, Belgium's premier beer consumers' organisation, and which now forms part of Zythos, the organisation that has taken over OBP's role, see above. BLES, who were appraised of the White Beer Travels visit by the brewery and thus came to greet the group, has a very good Dutch-language website, www.bles.be, which has a great deal of useful information on the local beer scene, and an excellent "Links" page. Glenn Castelein is the brewer at the Alvinne Picobrouwerij (Pico Brewery - Very Small Brewery), which commenced operation in 2003, in Ingelmunster, at Oostrozebekestraat 114 (tel 051 30 55 17, www.alvinne.be). The 110 litre plant was initially used for experimental brews and home brew courses. Commercial versions of the Alvinne beers were originally brewed by Glenn at De Graal Brewery (www.degraal.be), in Brakel, in East Flanders, but are now brewed in their own brewery. There was a new Alvinne beer presented at the Zythos Beer Festival, in March, 2004, and further ones the following year. There is a very nice pub within the Alvinne brewery. On the same street in Ingelmunster as Alvinne, is the well known Van Honsebrouck Brewery (www.vanhonsebrouck.be). De Kelder ("The Cellar" or De Kasteelkelder, The Castle Cellar) is a particularly nice bar below the grounds of the castle in Ingelmunster (www.kasteelingelmunster.be), which is owned by the brewery. It is covered in the castle's website and in a White Beer Travels guide that can be obtained from the Downloads page.

De Ryck (www.brouwerijderyck.be) was visited en route to Rotterdam in The Netherlands, from Bruges, the two centres of a 2000 White Beer Travels Beer Hunt. Click on the hyperlink in the previous sentence for more details of this.

Pubs of the Month

Click on the headings below to go to pages of the site's Pubs of the Month. These are twelve of the hundred and one pages that make up the White Beer Travels website. The contents of the whole of the White Beer Travels websites can be seen by clicking here. This page gives access to all the pages of the site.

All the Descriptions for the Pubs of the Month are taken from beer guides that have been prepared for White Beer Travels Beer Hunts, all participants getting copies: they typically get well over 100 A4 pages of information per trip, plus maps. Certain of these guides can also be obtained from this website. Click on Downloads for more information, either in this sentence or using the buttons at the top or bottom of this page.

Note that there are some glaring omissions from this list, the main reason for this being that I have not visited them, such as the Sten "Stene" Isacsson's Akkurat Belgo Bar (www.akkurat.se), in Stockholm, Sweden, and what from reports must be an exceptional bar in Belgium that I have somehow not got around to doing, De Gans, Huise, in East Flanders (Kloosterstraat 40, tel 09 384 9025). This is not readily reached by public transport; I have been recommended the Hotel 't Peerdeke (www.peerdeke.be) for an overnight stay nearby, so I hope to check "The Goose" out soon.

January: Schlenkerla, Bamberg, Germany, www.schlenkerla.de (www.smokebeer.com for the English pages direct)

February: Wynkoop, Denver, USA, www.wynkoop.com

March: U Fleků, Prague, The Czech Republic, www.ufleku.cz

April: De Bierkamer, Kluizen (Ertvelde), Belgium, www.debierkamer.be

May: Aux Olivettes, Liège, Belgium

June: Zum Uerige, Düsseldorf, Germany, www.uerige.de

July: Ferme-Brasserie Beck, (Beck Farm-Brewery), Bailleul, France, www.fermebeck.com

August: Kroegske, Izegem or Emelgem, Belgium, www.kroegske.be

September: De Mug, Middelburg, The Netherlands: Pub of the Month, www.demug.nl

October: 't Brugs Beertje, Bruges, Belgium, www.brugsbeertje.be

November: 't Arendsnest, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, www.arendsnest.nl

December: De Heeren van Liedekercke, Denderleeuw, Belgium, www.come.to/heerenvanliedekercke

John White (1945-), .

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