Pronounced 'safe', Seef bier (6.5% ABV) proved to be a refreshing pale ale and one that we would be lucky to find again at our next stop.
Antwerp City Hall fronting onto Grote Markt |
Cathedral of Our Lady (RC) |
Cathedral of our Lady viewed from Goeneplaats, Antwerp |
Tram tracks ran around the edge of the square and a horse drawn tram for tourists, decorated with a Seef bier advertisement, passed by.
We also noticed a van bearing the Seef bier logo parked next to a beer festival marquee.
Bootjes Bier |
While we were all drinking our Bootjes bier we were approached by a hen party group with the fiancee collecting money for drinks by allowing an attached sweet to be bitten off her top. Simon, wearing a BeerPassie Weekend t-shirt (right), obliged and afterwards we persuaded her to pose with us. (Thanks to Mark for taking the photo.)
Johan Van Dyck at Beer Passion Weekend 2016 |
Johan told us about initial difficulties finding outlets for Seef bier as many bars are owned or supplied direct by large breweries. However by providing branded glasses initially, followed by an enamel sign and a model figure for bars with the largest sales, penetration is steadily improving.
The crowdfunding campaign, launched in June 2016, offers 'Gold' investors (150 €) a beer a month, 'Diamond' investors (250 €) as Gold plus a nameplate in the brewery and 'Platinum' investors (1000 €) as Diamond plus a private visit to the brewery for 40 people. I'm sure that Simon, Mark, Andy, Richard, Keith and John join me in hoping that the crowdfunding is successful so that we can enjoy a visit to the new Antwerp brewery and taproom on future visits to the city!
Johan Van Dyck explained that Seef bier is a recreation of an old beer style in Antwerp that was lost in the 20th century as the popularity of lager increased. It took some time for Johan to locate a recipe for the beer. With help from the University of Leuven and the Delvaux Beer Centre he was also able to obtain a yeast culture. Seef bier is brewed with Belgian hops from Poperinge and a blend of malted barley, wheat, buckwheat and oats. Seven weeks of maturation follow the primary fermentation. The unfiltered beer is then bottled. Roger Protz includes further details and tasting notes in his 2012 report. Des de Moor has also written about Seef bier after tasting it at Zythos Bierfestival in 2012.
Seef bier has received several World Beer Awards for the Pale Ale category. Adrian Tierney-Jones is the International Chairman for the expert judges from each country.
In addition to the brewery's facebook page and website www.seef.be you can follow the accounts of its founders Johan Van Dyck and Karen Follens on Twitter.