Brouwerij Boon

As our busload of 40 Belgian Beer devotees trundled up to Boon, the chatter increased considerably; including the proper pronunciation of "Bone"). As devotees' feet landed on the ground, the excitement immediately converted to reverence for a holy land... even for a gueze sceptic like me.

Most people know that this House that Frank Boon built really emerged from the ashes of the Second World War and 1970s stagflation. Most also know that he actually saved this eccentric style that seemed certain to die. While retired now and having turned over the business to his next generation, The Venerable Boon was in the taproom and behind the bar serving Vat monoblends, many bottled when he was middle-aged. This was as great honour for devotees as could be imagined.

Open only on Friday and Saturday, the tasting room is above store and bottle shop. While the tasting room was not designed for a busload of 40+ Belgophiles, we thought it was cozy. And the ales? They started converting me.

As an added bonus for my main interest in life, the EuroStar route a few miles south of Midi station Brussels (formerly Thalys High Speed) adjoins the Boon property line. While the entire event wore down my veneer as a gueze sceptic, it was not until I stepped outside and the Eurostar/Thalys livery swooshed by that my veneer cracked and fell away. After a ten year hiatus from Gueze, I broke down and bought several bottles in their shop. But the greatest prize was Boon's shop was giving away Lambick Passports. Finally, my dream of a Plan B passport came true. Eureka ! The Universe will take care of Us.

Visited during Toer de Geuze 2019, at the time it wasn’t reviewable for some reason, but the retail shop had opened at that time. We had a blast here, the brewery tour and hospitality were excellent. It’s very much a modern production facility, and a far cry from the smaller traditional lambic producers nearby. The barrel room is massive, and is truly a sight to behold.

As the brewery transitions to it’s second generation, we can expect the same quality and adherence to tradition, as well as more experimentation and specialty releases.

Frank Boon is a legend of the lambic world, and a walking encyclopedia of lambic brewing heritage and history. Hopefully he’s working on a book, it would benefit the community and culture immeasurably.