Gueuzerie Tilquin

 

Took the train and the bus on a cold Saturday in January and stood shivering outside until Pierre showed up. Totally worth it. This is an amazing gueuzerie and we were lucky to get a tour from Pierre. Drank some delicious bottles and even got a taste of some experimentals as well. Drink Tilquin gueuze every chance you get.

Toer de Geuze 2019 visit to the blendery.

Festive outdoor atmosphere with a pig roast, food truck, and a huge beer tent with seating and multiple lines for beers.

Beer highlights for me were trying the draft Meerts, Faro, and Assemblage D'Lambics. A couple of experimental offerings, Exp. Fruit Series #2 Mirabelle (Plum) and Gueuzerable. Otherwise it was mostly what's available in bottles. The beer lines got long after awhile, but they tried to keep up with multiple servers, who were mostly volunteers I believe.

The tour was fun, Rich Soriano was leading the English tours, While Thierry M. led the French tours. Nice to see the barrels stacked high, bottles aging, and kegs stacked up too. Behind the brewery you can see the beautiful pastoral landscape that extends to the border of Flanders/Wallonia. Inside the loading dock, there were merch tables set up, bottles including a special magnum release, and I left with a shirt and small recipe book. Managed to talk with Pierre Tilquin for a second and thank him, and then was serendipitously introduced to a mutual friend I hadn't yet met in person. A memorable and unforgettable experience. Great vibes and enthusiasm from the staff and crowd here.

Overall it was an excellent stop on the tour, just a bit crowded during the festival weekend, but there were many volunteer staff on hand to handle the crowd.

Tilquin is a world-class lambic blender, and their portfolio continues to diversify with new releases and clever experiments. It was great to finally make the pilgrimage here. Santé!