230: The Bitter Truth About Belgian Beer With Nino Bacelle of De Ranke

When Nino Bacelle and Guido Devos started homebrewing together in the 80’s, Belgian beer was in the midst of a sea change. Consolidation was afoot as larger industrial breweries swallowed up smaller concerns, while an earlier generation of brewers had reached retirement age with few of the younger generation interested in carrying on the brewing tradition. The beers that they loved and grew up drinking were disappearing—subsumed by a wave of sweeter mass-produced crowd-pleasing beers. To be fair, there were (and continue to be) some historical holdouts. But generally speaking, bitterness was slowly leaving the lexicon of Belgian brewing. Bacelle, who grew up around beer (his father was a guezesteker, or blender, but did not brew), longed for the beers he had tasted growing up. Together with homebrewing partner Devos, he decided to launch a beer brand, De Ranke , to address the opportunity they saw in the market for beer that embraced bitterness. First was their Guldenberg Tripel, followed closely by what is now considered a paragon of hop-forward beer, the aptly named XX Bitter. Today, these beers feel familiar, but they were groundbreaking in their time and remain somewhat unique today due to the peculiarities of De Ranke’s process. In this episode, Bacelle explains that process and more, including: The challenges of buying and brewing with whole cone hops Working with growers to source local Belgian hops Understanding the qualitative difference between whole cone and pellet hops Brewing with a kettle purposely designed for whole cone hops Using closed fermentation vessels to mimic open fermentation Two-stage cellaring with a free-rise fermentation followed by a cooler secondary fermentation then bottle conditioning Stylistic changes over time in classic Belgian abbey styles Differences in hop terroir De Ranke’s blended approach to acid-forward beer And more. “The Belgian public is so used to sweetness from all the industrial beers they know,” says Bacelle. “Sweetness is easy selling, and bitterness needs a public that is more aware … and is willing to experience other tastes.” * This episode is brought to you by: * G&D Chillers ( https://gdchillers.com ) : What if you could chill your beer with a more efficient chiller? The Answer? G&D Chillers new Micro Channel Condensers! G&D’s Micro Channel Condensers are highly efficient in hotter regions, use a fraction of the refrigerant over traditional chillers which provides less opportunity for leaks along with lower global warming potential. G&D Chillers’ Engineers are committed to green technology design, while developing a more energy efficient chiller for the brewing industry. Contact G&D Chillers today at gdchillers.com BSG ( https://go.bsgcraft.com/Contact-Us ) This episode brought to you by BSG and Rahr Malting Co., the home of fossil-free malt. Rahr’s headquarters in Shakopee, Minnesota is powered by renewable electricity. Malthouses and kilns are fed by an electrostatic boiler fueled by agricultural byproducts, much of which is waste from the malting process. By eliminating the use of natural gas, Rahr Malting Co. reduces CO2 emissions by 260,000 tons per year while filling 25% of the US brewing industry’s malt needs. 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To learn more about Ss Brewtech's innovation list, head over to SsBrewtech.com Hop Revolution ( https://www.hoprevolution.co.nz ) : If you’re looking for a direct partnership with an independent hop grower who is as fanatical about flavour and quality as you are, join the revolution! Hop Revolution’s only reason for being is sustainably farming and processing New Zealand’s most flavoursome hops. They get that great beer is not brewed to a past or a future ideal. It’s an ongoing journey of fresh thinking. Hop Revolution really is only here for your beer. Let them flavour your thinking stateside directly from Hop Revolution, or through Crosby Hops or Mill95. Learn more @ HopRevolution.co.nz . Support Craft Beer & Brewing Magazine Podcast