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In 2007, the Zythos Beer Festival became a no-smoking festival, which for me is a great plus. The festival programme is in Dutch, but provides most useful information even if one does not know this language. Beers are first listed in "Stand" order. The name of the beer, its alcohol content and type/colour/main characteristic are given on one line, followed by a description. Types/Colours/Characteristics include: Oud Bruin, Old Brown; Amber, which is between Bruin and Blond; Kerstbier, Christmas Beer; Donker, Dark; Tarwebier (Witbier), Wheat Beer; Saison, Season, the style, not a seasonal beer; Abdijbier, Abbey Beer; Fruitbier, Fruit Beer; Zoet, Sweet. The brewers and their beers are then listed alphabetically. The annual production of the brewery is given, along with its town and its telephone number and there is a column with the heading "Brouwer Aanwezig" ("Brewer Present" with an N (for Nee, No) or J (for Ja, Yes) against each entry. The beers are then listed by type (Biersoort), with some further information, of interest, for example, in the first column, FL signifies a bottled beer (Fles), VT signifies a draught beer (Vat), NW means that it is a new beer (Nieuw); ZZ means Very Rare (Zeer Zeldzaam), and EX means exclusive to the festival (Exclusief). For the 2005 and 2006 festivals, in addition to the main festival programme, there was a separate booklet in English, with translations of the beer descriptions provided in the main programme.
In the photo above left, can be seen Chris (Podge) Pollard, Picobrouwerij Alvinne's brewer, Glenn Castelein, and John White. The photo was taken by John's son-in-law, Paul Skinner, at the March, 2005 festival. Alvinne launched a new beer, Alvinne Tripel at this festival, but also had samples of a Stout that had been commissioned by fellow Beer Hunt Organiser, Podge. There were different versions available; the one I sampled was the "Irish Yeast" version, which was absolutely stunning. Yes, Ingelmunster-based Alvinne (www.alvinne.be) is certainly a brewery to watch for the future. This is what the Zythos Beer Festival is all about: superb and rare beers in profusion - Beer Heaven. Wondrous beers are also to be had from the De Cam (www.decam.be) stand featured in the photo, above right, which was taken at the March, 2005 festival by John White. Behind the bar is De Cam's Karel Goddeau. Note the handpump; this was used to deliver me a superb De Cam Faro. As well as being the blender in De Cam's Lambic/Gueuze blending facility (Geuzestekerij) in Gooik, in the Payottenland, in the Belgian Province of Flemish Brabant (Vlaams-Brabant), Karel is also the brewer at Slaghmuylder (www.witkap.be), in Ninove, hence the De Cam stand is a corner on, shared with this brewery. Fittingly, in front of the stand can be seen Lorenzo (Kuaska) Dabove (www.kuaska.be (English-language version), www.kuaska.it (Italian version)), the Prince of the Payottenland. For a photo of John White and Karel Goddeau taken at De Cam, click here. The contact details for arranging a visit to De Cam's blending facility are given on the De Cam website under the heading Geuzestekerij. There are a couple of island stillages, sectioned by breweries, each brewery having its own numbered "Stand", as can be seen in various photos on this Web page (the Trappistenbrouwerijen stand had beers from five of the six Belgian Trappist breweries). Each stand has its own glass washing facilities, which are invariably used when you present a previously used glass. It is well worth studying the beer list in advance of your visit, by downloading it from the ZBF website, by clicking here, since there will be some real rarities, which must not be missed, beers which would be very expensive elsewhere; remember all beers are the same price at the festival. For example, one year, at the old festival, the classic Lambic Blender, Drie Fonteinen (www.3fonteinen.be), from Beersel in the Pajottenland, near Brussels, had two fruit beers based on two of France 's most prestigious grape varieties, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, along with his truly superb Gueuze, Framboise and Kriek. Both of the grape beers were absolutely sensational. There were equivalent outstanding rarities every year, and with the replacement festival, this is also the case, for example, in March, 2005, De Landtsheer's very expensive "Champagne" Beers, Malheur Brut and Malheur Dark Brut, were both available for one token! There are two main seating areas, one near the entrance end of the main hall, and one, at the back beyond the second set of stands. The toilets, which cost €0.30, are at the front of the building.
A truly superb set of annotated photos taken by Bruges resident, Filip Geerts, at the 2006 festival can be seen by clicking here. Filip is responsible for: the excellent website, surf.to/beer; the Belgian Beer Board message board/website, www.belgianbeerboard.be; and the famous Belgian Beer Pub Map, www.beerpubmap.be.
The festival is an excellent place to meet old friends and to put a face to many that one has previously only communicated with by e-mail, for example, Joyce White's photo to the left, shows John White, with Tom Ciccateri (www.realbeer.com/nmvbp), at the second Zythos Beer Festival, in March, 2005. Only a couple of weeks before, Tom had been declared, as can be seen from his sweatshirt, The Beerdrinker Of The Year, 2005, at the prestigious competition held at the justly world famous Wynkoop Brew Pub in Denver, Colorado, USA (www.wynkoop.com, White Beer Travels Web page). The photo above right features Ron (Kilderkin) Pattinson and John White at the first Zythos Beer Festival, in March, 2004. It was taken by Craig Somers, from Washington, DC, who John had previously bumped into, in October, 2003, in the world-class 't Arendnest, in Amsterdam (www.arendsnest.nl, White Beer Travels Web page). Ron's "European Beer Guide", www.europeanbeerguide.net, is an essential website, that has excellent information on famous Speciality Beer places, such as those in Belgium, but is also superb for little-covered places such as Stockholm and Berlin, as well as Amsterdam, where Ron, who hails from Newark, England, is based; Ron's "Dutch Pub Guide" is to be found at www.europeanbeerguide.net/hollpubs.htm. A number of groups meet up at the festival, including contributors to the Burgundian Babble Belt (www.babblebelt.com), a message board, whose main theme is Belgian Beer; such gatherings are called Babblefests; click here for a feature on one at the Christmas Beer Festival, organised by the Zythos branch, O.B.E.R (www.ober.be). Fellow ratebeerers (www.ratebeer.com) from all over the world also get together. Note that on the Saturday of the first day of the Zythos Beer Festival, there is an open brew day at the Cantillon Brewery in Brussels. The twice yearly events are not to be missed, further details being given in the brewery's website, www.cantillon.be, and in a White Beer Travels Web page. It is quite feasible to visit both Cantillon and the Zythos festival, since Cantillon is close to Brussels Midi/Zuid Railway Station, from where one can get a train direct to St.-Niklaas. Sint-Niklaas: Bars and Tourist Information St.-Niklaas (postcode 9100) is a town in the Waasland area of the Belgian Province of East Flanders (Oost-Vlaanderen). The town's website, www.sint-niklaas.be, has Dutch, French and English pages.
To get to Tropical, take Stationsstraat, which is to the right of the station, off the far side of the road parallel to it; the Hotel New Flandres, see below, is on the corner. Stationsstraat leads to the Grote Markt, Sint-Niklaas's main square. In fact it is the biggest square in Belgium, although it is not uniformly attractive; tat is mixed with some nice buildings; click here to see images from the Grote Markt webcam. From the Grote Markt, take Apostelstraat, this being the first left after the Sint-Niklaaskerk, this church being on the side of the Grote Markt that one reaches coming from the Railway Station via Stationsstraat, the opposite side with the Stadhuis (Town Hall) on it. Apostelstraat becomes Warburgstraat then the required Hospitaalstraat; Tropical is on its first corner (with Zeildoekstraat) on the right. Note that it is only discretely signed, Tropical being found in its etched windows, but there is no traditional pub sign. In the Grote Markt, the street leading to Tropical, Apostelstraat, is on the side of a building, the Cipierage, which, in fact, houses the Tourist Information Office (which is not open when the beer festival is on). On Apostelstraat, there are three entries in Bob Hendrickx's essential book, 208 Originele Cafés in Oost-Vlaanderen, West-Vlaanderen & Brussel, with which one typically gets a second beer free in places that are featured in the book; click here for a White Beer Travels Web page featuring it. In Den Denker, at Apostelstraat 15, one is promised vééél (veel, lots) of bottled beers (open from Noon until 1am). Oud Rethorica, at Apostelstraat 2, has a nice painting on its exterior wall by Benny Luyckx (open from 11.30am). The brasserie Sinte-Marie, at Apostelstraat 17B (www.brasserie-sinte-marie.be) has an impressive servery made from an old copper brew house vessel (open from 11am (3pm on Saturday and Sunday)). Fairly close to Tropical, a vegetarian restaurant that caught the eye is the Sattwa Vegetarisch Eethuis (Grote Peperstraat 14, (tel 03 776 88 03, http://sattwa.freeservers.com). It looks promising, but the website lists no beers in its drinks list. Sattwa is not open on Monday and Tuesday. On other days it opens from Noon until 2pm. On Thursday and Friday, it also opens from 6pm to 8pm. In March, 2005, when walking back to the railway station, from Tropical, see above, we were looking for somewhere to eat and chanced upon a place just off the Grote Markt, the Brasserie-Restaurant Grand Café, at Houtbriel 26 (tel 03 777 11 15, www.brasseriegrandcafe.be (website stopped working in April, 2006)). This turned out to be a good find. We very much enjoyed the dishes we had: Penne Arabiata at €9.30; Spag Bol at €8.80; and Scampi Grand Café at €15.80. There are a handful of beers worth drinking, such as Orval at €2.50. A shop selling a good selection of Speciality Beers is Drink's Center Cardon, Nieuwe Molenstraat 1A. tel 03 776 18 04. This is fairly close to the beer festival venue, i.e. carry on away from the station beyond the festival venue, and turn first left onto Vijfstraten (National road, N451) to cross the railway lines. The first right off this is the required Nieuwe Molenstraat. Jan Rumes of the local Zythos branch, states that De Vidts has a bigger selection of beers. This is less convenient for the festival, being to the SE of the town centre, off the N16, at Industriepark-Noord 35 (tel 03 776 53 55). The already mentioned Stationsstraat is St.-Niklaas's principal shopping street; it has a number of statues of naked ladies on it, and houses, at number 85 on the left, when walking from the station, a nice art place, the Salons voor Schone Kunsten. This is not open on the Saturday of the beer festival, but is open on the Sunday from 11am. Also open on Sunday, at beer festival time, from 11am, is the Mercator Museum. Gerardus Mercator (1512-1594), was born in Rupelmonde, which is near Sint-Niklaas. The museum is on Zwijgershoek, an alley off Zamanstraat. Clearly, Mercator, the most famous cartographer in the world, should be close to the top of your famous Belgians list! Maps produced by Mercator are also on view in the Plantin-Moretus Museum (http://museum.antwerpen.be/plantin_moretus), in Antwerp. This world-class place is a true Mecca for those who love books and are interested in old maps. More information on this museum is provided in the Past Beer Hunts page. There is limited hotel accommodation in Sint-Niklaas, but should you wish to stay overnight in the town, the Hotel New Flandres (Stationsplein 5 (corner of the already mentioned Stationsstraat), tel 03 780 89 70, www.newflandres.be), close to the railway station, and thus the festival venue, is worth considering, as it has a good restaurant and a very attractive bar that has around twenty Specialty Beers. Bottled beers available on a March, 2005 visit included: Corsendonk Agnus and Pater, both at €2.30; Brigand and Orval, both at €2.60; Duvel at €2.70; Rodenbach at €1.70 (25cl); and Tripel Karmeliet at €3. Bar snacks include: Franse Kaasschotel (French Cheese Platter) at €5; Croque Monsieur Garni at €6; and Croque Monsieur uit het vuistje (In the Hand) at €3. This is only a very small selection of the food on offer. Another hotel fairly close to the festival venue is De Arend (Passtraat 232, tel 03 766 52 62, www.hoteldearend.be). On the South side of the town and thus a litte further from the railway station and the festival venue is the Hotel Serwir (Koningin Astridlaan 57, tel 03 77 05 11, www.serwir.be). Tropical apart, see above, the town does not have Speciality Beer bars that match those to be found in Antwerp, Brussels, Ghent and Mechelen, so, as it is quick and cheap to get to these places from Sint-Niklaas by train (see www.b-rail.be for times and prices), they are good options for accommodation when coming to Belgium for the don't miss Zythos Beer Festival. Mechelen is covered in a White Beer Travels Web page that can be reached by clicking here. Detailed Specialty Beer-orientated White Beer Travels guides to Antwerp and Ghent can be obtained from the Downloads page.
Should you want to travel in and around Sint-Niklaas by bus, it is worth noting that on Saturdays, buses are free. Therefore one could, for example, travel to Belsele for the Boelens brewery (Kerkstraat 7), for nothing, on the De Lijn (www.delijn.be) bus number 76 from Sint-Niklaas (final destination Sinaai). Click here for a White Beer Travels Web page giving details of how to use De Lijn's Dutch-language website, including how to download a timetable. Note that Belsele can also be reached by train from Sint-Niklaas, the De Lijn website also giving times for these, if required. It was announced in December, 2002 that OBP (Objectieve BierProevers - Objective Beer Tasters), Belgium's premier beer consumers' organisation, was to be wound up. This was grim news indeed. Click here for a January, 2003 statement from Peter Crombecq, the founder and liquidator of OBP. Thankfully, it was announced, in February, 2003 that a new organisation, Zythos (www.zythos.be), would take over OBP's role in Belgium. Zythos, ζυθος, means beer in Greek; it is derived from the Egyptian word, Zythum. As it states on the Zythos website's Home page: "De koning is dood, leve de koning" (The King is Dead, Long Live the King). Zythos is the "Confederatie van Belgische Objectieve Bierproevers" (Confederation of Belgian Objective Beer Tasters), i.e. it is based on the former, regional OBP organisations, such as O.B.E.R (www.ober.be), HOP (www.hop.be.tf) and De Oostendse Bierjutters (DOB, The Ostend Beercombers, www.deoostendsebierjutters.org). Note that one joins Zythos via one of its regional organizations, the choice being up to you; their contact details are given on the Zythos website. Details of joining via DOB, with an option to pay using a UK cheque in pounds sterling, can be found on a special White Beer Travels Web page, which can be reached by clicking here. There may be other of the Zythos regional organisations where this can be done, but I know of this one as I am DOB's UK treasurer! In an excellent book on "The History of Britain's Most popular Drink", by Martyn Cornell, entitled Beer: The Story of the Pint (Headline Paperback, first published in hardback in 2003, ISBN 0 7553 1165 5), which can be purchased from www.amazon.co.uk and www.amazon.com, there is a list of "Beer Words: from abroad cooper to zythophilia", which contains a word that is not in the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) (www.oed.com), the guardian of the English language: zythophilia. Martin's definition of this is as follows: "The love of beer, from the Greek zythos, a word for a type of ale." Indeed, I asked Marytn about this word, and he confirmed that it " ... was invented by me [Martyn], properly formed from the Greek." Martyn pointed out that the beer world should have a word that is analogous to the fairly well-known oenophile or onophile, this word for winelover being in the OED. The Chairman (voorzitter) of Zythos is Erik Vandeperre. Casimir Elsen, who was the Editor-in-Chief (hoofdredacteur) of OBP's Den Bierproever magazine, and had the same role in Zythos until mid-2005, when he was succeeded by Marc Mertens. Therefore, one could be sure that De Zytholoog, would be a worthy replacement for this great magazine, which, indeed, it has very much proved to be. Jef van den Steen, Belgium's premier beer taster and a driving force in the former OBP and now Zythos, coined the word Zytholoog (Beer Knowledge), "loog" being derived from the Greek word "logos" meaning knowledge. Note that Jef van den Steen had an excellent book on Trappist Monasteries and their beers published, in June, 2003. Full details are given on a White Beer Travels Web page covering the ingredients used in the Chimay Trappist Beers, which can be reached by clicking here. Click here for information on De Glazen Toren (www.glazentoren.be), a brewery that Jef opened in 2004. The headquarters of Zythos are at Hoevestraat 30, 3850 Nieuwerkerken (tel 011 58 13 36), which is near Sint-Truiden, in Belgian Limburg. (St-Truiden is home to an excellent, 250+ beer bar, De Eglantier Stationsstraat 21, tel 011 68 60 29.) The "VZW" after Zythos, on the logo above, means "Vereniging zonder winstgevend/winstoogmerk" (ASBL in French, i.e. "Association sans but lucratif), which means an organisation that does not set out to make a profit, i.e. a Not-For-Profit Organisation. Note the foam in the shape of Belgium coming from the glass! At the regional level, little has changed, for example, events such as the Christmas Beer Festival (Kerstbier Festival) (www.kerstbierfestival.be, White Beer Travels Web page), in Essen, Antwerp Province, run by O.B.E.R. (www.ober.be), the Karakterbier weekend (www.karakterbierweekend.be), in Vichte, run by HOP, and the "Bierjutterij" festival, run by De Oostendse Bierjutters continue to take place each year. The Karakterbier weekend will be held on Saturday the 3rd and Sunday the 4th of June, in 2006. In 2006, the Bierjutterij will be held on Saturday, the 8th of July. In 2006, the O.B.E.R. Christmas Beer festival is on Saturday, the 16th of December and Sunday, the 17th of December. See the Future Beer Hunts page for details of a White Beer Travels Beer Hunt featuring it, and click here for a White Beer Travels Web page featuring Essen and its Christmas Beer festival. Zythos have an excellent, well-supported Dutch-language Message Board, Belgische Biercafe, www.zythos.be/forum. The two premier English-language Message Boards covering Belgian Beer are: the Belgian Beer Board, covered above, and the already mentioned Burgundian Babble Belt (www.babblebelt.com). Details of these are given on the White Beer Travels Reciprocal Links page. The Zythos website also has a useful calendar of events such as beer festivals, which can be reached by clicking here. The aims and objectives of Zythos vzw The title above is from an English language Zythos leaflet entitled Are you a zythophile? Then become a zythologue! Be a part of Zythos vzw. The leaflet gives the Greek etymology of zythophile (beer lover) and zythologue (beer connoisseur). The following is the text from the leaflet associated with this title. It is a translation of a text on the Zythos website, which is in Dutch only. Note that there are no Zythos affiliates in Wallonia, the French-speaking half of Belgium. The broad objective of Zythos vzw is the preservation and promotion of Belgium 's beer heritage. In support of this aspiration we will:
Campaigns and activities In the pursuit of our objectives Zythos organises and supports all sorts of campaigns and activities. Just a few of our interests are listed below:
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