Brouwerij Achilles, one of the tiny home breweries for which Belgium is rightly famous, is wedged into a crowded garage on quiet street in a small Flemish town, Itegem. It's hard enough finding the town on the map -- there are so many places ending in 'gem' in Flanders, anyway -- but you will have a near impossible time finding the brewery without GPS. There are no signs until you're actually there, and even then you can be forgiven for wondering if this is really a brewery. Cast aside your doubts, however, and step inside. The proof is all there: mash tuns, brew kettles, fermentation tanks, and even a tiny bottling line ready to roll. If you're over six feet tall, be prepared to duck as you come in. Right behind, in what used to be a family living room, is a very tasteful, simple, and quiet café, where local folk come to share beer and conversation, and support the local boy ...

The local boy, Achilles Va de Moer, is a gentle, unassuming home-brewer who has all but left his job as a music teacher to realize his dream of a self-sustaining commercial brewery. Achilles (sometimes spelled Achiel, and pronounced Ah-sheel in Flemish or French) makes simple, honest beers. All of the beers are unfiltered and unpasteurized, and will re-ferment a bit in the bottle, which of course means much more flavor, and a longer shelf-life. As with any tiny craft brewery -- and this one right now makes the equivalent of only about three truck-loads of beer every year -- there can be variation from batch to batch, and thank goodness for that! Though they vary some, they're always good.

The first batch of Serafijn beer -- the Donker, the Celtic Angel, the Tripel, and the Grand Cru -- arrives this August, 2007, exactly eight years after the brewery opened in 1999. Achilles took as his symbol the Seraph, a six-winged high angel of Heaven. Seraphim are noted for their delicate celestial song, and Achilles, the musician and music teacher, hears their sweet, soothing notes as he brews the beers he named for them. Music and song are a joy and a centering point for Achilles, and the brewery. We haven't heard for ourselves, but it is reported to us that Achilles and his musical wife Jo deliver a startlingly beautiful duet on occasion. Perhaps we'll have more to say about that around Christmastime, when Achille's Christmas Angel hits the docks in beautiful, musical New Jersey.

If music be the food of love, play on . . .

Adnams is one of England’s oldest and most respected breweries, but despite its rich heritage and enduring fame, Adnams is not a company willing to rest on its laurels. Its continued commitment to quality and innovative packaging designs has made it Britain’s fastest growing brewery over the last two years. To top it off, Adnams’ head brewer was recently chosen as Britain’s Brewer of the Year by a panel of his peers. The aggressive team at Adnams is raring to go and keen to make a mark in the U.S.

"I have known, drunk, and loved Adnams’ ales for more than 25 years, and the only change during that time is that they have got better. " -- Famed beer writer Roger Protz.

We at Shelton Brothers are thrilled to be the U.S. importer for this fabulous little brewery, and encourage you to visit the picturesque Isle of Arran, which is a short drive and ferry ride from Glasgow. Arran is a hiker and biker's paradise, and thanks to its location on the Gulf Stream, almost has the feel of a tropical rain forest. You'll even find palm trees dotted about the shoreline! Best of all, you'll find Arran beers at virtually every pub and shop.

From the brewery's web site:

"Set in the shadow of Arran's imposing Brodick Castle, with panoramic views of Brodick Bay and Goatfell Mountain, our high-tech micro brewery blends naturally with its stunning surroundings. Built to the highest standards to ensure that quality and consistency are maintained, our new brewery combines the art of traditional brewing with a natural blend of the island's unique water and the finest ingredients. The result is a range of ales which, like Arran itself, offers something very special.

Our beers are natural, reflecting the unique ambience of the island itself... a haven where nature still holds sway, where traditional values are still nurtured."

Marie-Noelle Pourtois and husband Pierre-Alex Carlier are schoolteachers living in Blaugies who together have come up with a formula for great traditional specialty beers. She does the brewing. Their hearty, flavorful, and sometimes exotic styles are all made in their tiny garage brewery. The brewery was first fired up in 1987.

The Brasserie de Blaugies uses yeast from Dupont, but its beers are generally a bit warmer and fruitier, and less hoppy and hard-edged than Dupont’s. The Darbyste and Saison d'Epeautre are quite dry. The Blaugies beers are discussed at some length in Jackson’s The Great Beers of Belgium, with photos of the brewers and the beers. The brewers, a husband and wife team, are very adventurous in re-creating traditional beer styles – and some of the nicest people you will ever meet. The beers are very highly regarded among connoisseurs in Belgium. The Moneuse Winter beer and Darbyste are especially highly rated in The Beers of Wallonia.

The brewery is very literally built into the garage of a comfortable farmhouse in tiny, agrarian Blaugies. When the mashing is finished, Marie-Noëlle backs the tractor up to the door and shovels the spent grain into the back. The grain goes right out to the livestock. The Carlier/Pourtois family enjoys good food and beer, and consumes a lot of its own product for cooking and drinking. We like the rougher, grainier malt texture of all of these beers. They give you the feeling that the brewer put this beer in the bottle just a few days ago, especially for you. Like many saisons, the beer is over-lively in carbonation, due to conditioning in the bottle with perhaps a touch too much live yeast. This does give it a little youthful freshness to offset the impression of age and the strong “cellar” aromas.

Sadly, Brakspear Brewery ceased its brewing operations several years ago.

The good news is that the spirit of Brakspear's lives on in the form of Peter Scholey, former master brewer there. Peter now runs his own brewing project, called Ridgeway Brewing . . . look for his classic ales wherever good beer is found.

Camerons recently gained its independence from one of the U.K.’s largest brewing conglomerates. Though it is one of England’s larger regional breweries, Camerons brews the orders for the USA on its small, ten barrel brewery, the Lion’s Den.

The flagship Camerons beer is Strongarm, a deep red ale. Newer selections include LongLeg Fuggles Hop Ale, a very nicely-hopped lightish ale, and Challenge, a beautiful pale ale brewed with just a hint of orange essence.

Also be on the lookout for Camerons traditional cask ales, available at better beer bars throughput the east coast and the midwest.

The present Cantillon brewery in Brussels was built in 1900 and Master Brewer Jean-Pierre Van Roy remains a tireless champion of authenticity in lambic brewing. Cantillon is today one of only two lambic breweries still in operation that produces nothing but authentic, unsweetened, unfiltered, unpasteurized lambic.

The mash at Cantillon consists, by long tradition among lambic brewers, of two-thirds malted barley and one-third unmalted wheat. The hops that are added to the boil in great profusion have been aged for several years, eliminating all trace of hop flavor or aroma, but not diminishing their original preservative powers. 20 or more different strains of wild yeast may be represented in any one batch of lambic beer. The fermenting casks are all at least 40 years old and most held French wine, while a few held either wine, port, or sherry from the Iberian peninsula. They are laid to rest in every nook and cranny of the brewery, where they will stay unmolested through at least one summer. Van Roy watches over every cask in the brewery, periodically tasting the contents of each to determine whether it should lie for one year, two years, or three years. During the late winter and early spring, he will match and blend one, two, and three-year old lambics to arrive at a balanced texture and flavor. Generally, younger lambic is thinner, livelier, and milder on the palate; the older lambic is harder, more complex, and resoundingly sour. The beer in every cask is unique, however, and one three-year old lambic may taste radically different from another. There is no formula for blending, and no expectation of consistency from year to year. Jean-Pierre says merely that he hopes to achieve the same “harmony” each time.

The artfully blended lambic is bottled immediately, and another wondrous event occurs: the mixture of lambic from several different casks sparks a second fermentation in the bottle. This is the essence of the méthode champenoise by which champagne is made. The end product is called “gueuze.” A few months’ time in the bottle “conditions” the beer – building carbonation, and concentrating and organizing the flavors – until it is ready to be sold as Cantillon Gueuze. The classic lambic, Cantillon Gueuze is a perfect blend of old and new brews and is unabashedly sour and highly complex. Under proper storage conditions, fermentation in the bottle will continue for years.

In late summer whole cherries (of the Schaarbeek variety, as tradition dictates) are poured, pits and all, into casks of lambic that have aged for a year and a half – two summers, according to the lambic brewer’s calendar. The fruit dissolves and ferments in the cask for four to five months. In that time, even the pits begin to dissolve, lending a slight nutty flavor to the lambic in the cask. The cherry-flavored lambic is blended with old and new lambic to make beer with a strong, sour cherry flavor and bright red color. This is Cantillon Kriek Lambic. Meanwhile, raspberries, along with a smaller measure of cherries, are poured whole into other casks of “two summers” lambic. After three months of maceration, the raspberry-flavored lambic is bottled with a special blend to yield Cantillon’s famous framboise, Rosé de Gambrinus, which has a strong raspberry flavor and bouquet, and a warm, inviting rosé color.

In October, time of the grape harvest, Italian muscat grapes are added to a few casks. After three months, the grape-flavored lambic will be blended to create a small amount of Cantillon Gueuze Vigneronne, a rare traditional style, unique to the Cantillon brewery, with a mild white wine grape aroma and flavor.

Every year Van Roy selects a small amount of old lambic to be bottled, without blending, after three years in the cask. It is offered under the label Grand Cru Bruocsella 1900. The Grand Cru offers the true devotee of lambic beer the eye-opening experience of lambic in all its depth and complexity. Because it is not blended and refermented, it is uncarbonated, which may be disconcerting for beer drinkers used to frothy brew.

Iris is Cantillon’s all-malt brew, produced in the style of a lambic, and made entirely from malted barley. Additionally, the brewery has used fresh Hallertau hops both in the boil and for dry-hopping. Aged in oak casks, Iris has a mellower flavor than a lambic, but with a bone dry, intriguing hop element.

SOUTH AMERICA'S PREMIER CRAFT BREWERY!

Passion about beer. That’s how the idea of handcrafting beer in Blumenau, the Brazilian capital of Beer, came about. Cervejaria SudBrack brews according to traditional European methods, where neither preservatives nor adjuncts have a place, respecting the Reinheitsgebot, or German Purity Law.

Unhappy with the mass market beers available in Brazil, Juliano Mendes and his family decided to build a craft brewery and hire a German Brewmaster, a graduated of Weihenstephan, to brew a special lineup of beers, from German-style Weizenbier to special Belgian-style ales.
The name 'Eisenbahn,' which means 'railway,' was chosen because another brewery with the same name existed in Blumenau in 1909, but was not strong enough to fight against the commercial actions of the big breweries, ultimately shutting down a few years later. The new Eisenbahn was born in July of 2002, and hopes to continue as an anchor of the emerging South American craft beer scene for many years to come, always faithful to pure and traditional beers.

In only three years, Cervejaria SudBrack has become the largest craft brewery in Brazil. They are already exporting to Europe, and now Shelton Brothers is pleased to introduce American beer drinkers to this excellent range of beers.

From the brewery's web site:

"Beerbrewery St. Christoffel is a relatively young brewery, founded in 1986. Our brewery is situated in the former coal mining-town of Roermond in Dutch Limburg, and named after the patron saint of Roermond, Saint Christoffel. The brewery started very small and was at first situated behind a house. In 1995 the brewery moved to its present facility. With moving there, the brewing capacity greatly enhanced due to new brewing, fermenting, and lager facilities.

Christoffel brews according to the German “Reinheitsgebot von 1516”: which means the brewing process takes place in a completely natural way [using only malt, hops, water, and yeast]. Around the year 1990, Christoffel Blond was awarded 3 years in a row with the Dutch title: “Best Beer from the Netherlands”.

Founded in 1995, the Coniston Brewing Company is a tiny brewpub, located at the Black Bull, a 400 year-old coaching inn in Coniston, Cumbria, U.K.

In 1998, Coniston's Bluebird Bitter won the U.K.'s most prestigious award -- Supreme Champion Beer -- at the Great British Beer Festival.

Bernard Leboucq and Yvan De Baets are Belgium's newest, perhaps smallest, and most fiercely principled brewers in Belgium.

In many ways, they represent the small, artisanal breweries that are the heart and soul of Belgian brewing. While the big guys work tirelessly to make the brewing process shorter and cheaper - and their beers as sweetly inoffensive to the masses as can be - there remains, thank goodness, a tough and dedicated bunch of small breweries that are not afraid to make a bold statement.

Interestingly, in Belgium, bold now means a return to the way things used to be, before over-sugaring, over-spicing, and under-hopping became de rigueur.

In actual fact, Bernard and Yvan don't even have their own brewery yet, but periodically borrow brewing time and space at the new facility built by Nino and Guido at Brouwerij De Ranke. Does that story sound familiar?

Working in his ultra-scientific brewery in western Flanders, Dirk Naudts is one of Belgium's leading brewmasters. For years, Dirk has been coming up with winning beer recipes for breweries large and small throughout Belgium and Holland. (You would be amazed at how many beers with other people’s labels on them were actually created by Dirk.) It was only natural that when he finally put together his own tiny but ultra-scientific brewery, it would be called De Proef – “the Prof” – Dirk’s fond nickname.

If you get a chance, visit the brewery, which sits most disconcertingly in the middle of a cow pasture, like a shiny techno-modern spaceship that crash-landed hundreds of miles off-course. Remember, however, that this is Belgium, where space aliens hold high positions in government, and meteorites crash and burn next door on a nightly basis. No one paid much mind at the time.

The De Ranke brewery was founded by two good friends, Nino Bacelle and Guido Devos. Their story is a classic in Belgium, where the very best craft brewing usually begins as a passionately pursued hobby, not an occupation. For Nino and Guido, brewing is literally a weekend obsession. For a few hours on Friday and Saturday, every week, the marvelous turn-of-the-century Deca Brewery in West Flanders is turned over to the De Ranke brewers, who make small batches of what many consider the best specialty beers of Belgium. Their beers are robust and flavorful, and famous for their massive hoppiness, which comes from the best Hallertau and Brewer’s Gold varieties.

This brewery is too young and its production too small to get notice in any of the Belgian beer books yet, but De Ranke is developing an awesome reputation among connoisseurs in Belgium. American beer lovers may ridicule the idea that there is one “best beer” of Belgium, but Belgians themselves are given to such strongly-worded opinions – especially when it comes to De Ranke. Let it suffice to say that these are truly great beers that make a very commanding statement. And from a brewery only four years old! Yeast obtained from the nearby Rodenbach brewery lends that Orval-like “Bret” character to the beers. Above all, be warned: It’s a heavy hand that commits the hops to the boil at De Ranke.

The brewery has a very limited capacity, and we were told initially that it was unlikely we could export any of the De Ranke beers to the U.S. Beer lovers also expressed some fear that the quality of the beer might suffer if capacity increased to serve an export market. They actively discouraged us from approaching the brewers. We obtained the blessing of the beer lovers and the brewery, however, by agreeing to take only a small quantity, and to handle the care and marketing of these beers with respect. We are thrilled to have them.

We can't remember a time when there was such a buzz about a new brewery, but these chaps from West Flanders have Belgian craft beer enthusiasts all a-titter. Their signature beer, Pannepot, is a top 25 beer on both RateBeer and BeerAdvocate, and, frankly, is about the easiest beer in the world to sell. Demand far outstrips supply, and though brewers Urbain and Carlo seem to be constantly working, there never seems to be enough beer to keep everybody happy. The lesson here? If you see a bottle . . . . buy it, and savor it.

The name Struise has roots in the Flemish word for 'ostrich' -- the brewers also manage an ostrich farm near the French border in West Flanders -- and the Dutch word for 'sturdy' -- hence the brewery's nickname: the sturdy brewers.

The tiny ‘Dieu du Ciel!’ brew-pub, just at the edge of Montrèal's city center, has developed an incredible reputation and a devoted following in only a few short years. The young brewer, Jean-François, has never had any formal training as a brewer, but he is a natural, with superb skills and flawless instincts.

‘Dieu du Ciel!’ is a common exclamation, meaning ‘God in Heaven!’ more or less, which is undoubtedly the most polite oath you are likely to hear in Montrèal – a city with a well-known penchant for turning religious sentiments into profanity.

Drie Fonteinen is the only remaining traditional geuze blender in Belgium, using only 100% spontaneously fermented lambik beer, aged in oak casks, with no artificial sweeteners or other additives. The blendery is connected to the very popular Drie Fonteinen Restaurant in Beersel, on the outskirts of Brussels. The proprietor, Armand Debelder, buys pure lambik from three breweries in Belgium, ages them in oak, and blends them, employing the skill, knowledge, and supreme passion for real geuze that his father handed down to him. Drie Fontenein’s Geuze and fruit Lambiks (cherry, raspberry) are rare, highly prized, and indisputably among the best of Belgium.

We have been been begging Armand for years to send us some of the exquisite Geuze and Kriek that he blends at Drie Fonteinen in Beersel. He always says the same thing: ‘I am ready only when I know that I have some-thing very, very special for you.’ Suddenly, this Spring, he called and announced: “I have it.” Armand believes that this blend from 1999 is the best Geuze he has ever made. It is a classic blend of one, two, and three-year old lambiks, bottled in 1999 and carefully watched and guarded while it continues to re-ferment in the bottle. Properly stored, it will only get better and better for at least the next 10 years. We will be getting some Oude Geuze 2000 as well. This newer blend is also exquisite.

Jenlain is the second largest independent brewery in France, and by far the largest one making bière de garde – France’s only original, traditional beer style. Jenlain is credited with reviving the style, and encouraging countless smaller bière de garde breweries in Northern France.

Duysters Brewery flourishes in the shadow of one of the world’s largest breweries, Interbrew, in the nearby town of Leuven. But there is no mistaking this exquisite hand-crafted brew for the mass-product of the nearby beer factory. The Duysters Brewery may well be the smallest commercial brewery in Belgium. Annual production of both of its beers is only about 650 cases.

The Brasserie Ellezelloise (pronounced “EL-ZEL-WOZ”), is located in the town of Ellezelles in the gentle “hill country” of Belgium. Founded in 1993, the tiny brewery manages to produce 1000 hectoliters per year - the most of any brewery of the Belgian Artisanal Brewers Guild. Housed in a picturesque converted barn in French-speaking Belgium, the brewery includes a cozy café to which the local folk and connoisseurs from Brussels love to repair on weekend afternoons. There you can enjoy a wonderful Ellezelloise brew, served by the brewer, Philippe Gerard.

Ellezelloise produces three regular beers, a blond and an amber ale, and a hardy Belgian stout. All of them are made in small batches and are lagered for ten days in German oak casks. They are strong, full-bodied, and very satisfying. The Quintine Amber and Blond are named for a witch of local legend. And Agatha Christie’s Detective Hercule Poirot (probably Belgium’s best-known citizen, and a native son of Ellezelles) is the namesake for the “Hercule” Stout. It is the only distinctively Belgian stout, and every bit as sturdy and dapper as its namesake.

The Hercule is considered by many to be a classic, and the Blond and Amber are impressive, delicious companions – very malty, but dry, with a hint of sweetness in the finish, and perfectly hopped. All three share a very distinctive and intoxicating spicy aroma of fresh spruce that suddenly, irresistibly, fills the room when the swing-top is released. This unique house character probably derives from the strains of yeast used by the brewery – and possibly from the fermentation in oak – because the beers are made entirely of malt and hops, without any spices or sugar.

Fantôme’s brewer, Dany Prignon, is a lively character who breaks all the rules when it comes to brewing with special ingredients. (How many other brewers have made a mushroom beer?) In fact, not all of his experiments are a success, but every beer is at least interesting and recall the early days of Belgian brewing.

Fantôme – Golden ale, 8% alc. by volume, with a wonderfully musty and characterful aroma. “Absolutely gorgeous, complex summer refresher with enough interest to drink all year-round.” (The Beers of Wallonia). Both authors give this beer a perfect 10. There are many drinkers out there who believe this is the “Nectar of the Gods.” Certainly no other brewer makes beer like this, in Belgium or anywhere. How many beers of 8% plus offer such fresh fruitiness? A solid Belgian saison beer at its base, with an unusual overlay of fruitiness.

Fantôme de Noël – A very dark and entirely unique holiday seasonal beer, at a whopping 10% alc. by volume. Reportedly spiced with honey, caramel, coriander, black pepper, and other secret ingredients. “[Another 10.] Beautifully warming with an amazing, almost overwhelming, depth of character” (The Beers of Wallonia). Lots of deep-roasted chocolate malt, but still fairly dry and spicy, with a hint of wild yeast sourness at the core.

Fantôme Seasonal Beers – The mysterious Fantôme brewer is always at work cooking up another unique beer, often using secret herbs, spices, and fruits to evoke the current season. The recipes are never the same from year to year. The Spring beers have been dark and very full-bodied, roasty and bittersweet. Summer has brought brisk, authoritative copper ales with refreshing hints of citric tartness. Fall beers have always been especially impressive, usually surprisingly lighter in body than the earlier seasonal beers, but strong in flavor with a tantalizing note of orange peel and perfect hop bite. The Winter beers are dark ruby red confections, with strong, malty flavors and are relatively straight-forward, without any notable trace of the phantom’s usual trickery.

The Brasserie des Géants, or Giant Brewery, is housed in a medieval castle in the town of Irchonwelz, in the French-speaking south of Belgium. Its majestic gate stands stands high to allow the passage of the occasional visiting giant, and the town is famous for its annual giants march. The over-sized representation of Goliath (called Gouyasse in the local dialect) always leads the parade.

Giant is one of Belgium's newest breweries - founded in 2001. Its good, clean beers, made only with malt, hops, water, and yeast, have already become legendary in the south of Belgium and beyond.

The 'Hand' Brewery -- basically four guys brewing in their spare time, on an absurdly small scale -- is among the new crop of brewers beginning to appear in Norway. Craft beer is on fire in Scandinavia, but has been slow to catch on in Norway, where specialty brewers still number in single digits.

Haand is by far the smallest of the new brewers, but this means that they can take chances in the brewhouse. These former homebrewers are making some very unusual beers, and are also responsible for resurrecting an ancient Norwegian tradition of brewing a smoked beer spiced with juniper berries.

We're expecting very great things from these guys.

The brewery at Hook Norton is rooted in an age when most towns and even large villages boasted their own brewery.

Approach the village of Hook Norton from any direction and the first thing you see is the Church tower. The second is the flag waving proudly over the brewery. The Hook Norton Brewery was started over 150 years ago by farmer and maltster John Harris. Today it is run by his great great grandson James Clarke. John Harris' brewery has now achieved a reputation he could have never imagined and the beer it produces today is enjoyed not only in the UK but in many other countries.

Hook Norton Brewery sits on the North side of the Cotswold Hills, an area of rural lushness so pivotal to the ebb and flow of English history, the locals decided long ago that a good, fresh pint should always be within easy reach. A natural spring provided the ideal site for a brewery, and one thing led to another.

2 english Civil War Silders1849 was a milestone year. The young Queen Victoria ruled - the 35th monarch since William the Conqueror - the country had endured Magna Carta, the Wars of the Roses, The Reformation, Oliver Cromwell’s Parliamentarians, the Restoration of the Monarchy and was well into the Industrial Revolution when John Harris set up his brewery at Hook Norton. After Centuries of tempestuous history the locals were ready for a few beers. After a short while the sales of this fledgling brewery began to improve. And before long, the brewery John Harris started in a local farmhouse became the seed for the Hook Norton Brewery Company Ltd, and things evolved rapidly.

Picture of our steam engineHook Norton Brewery remains one of only 32 independent family-run breweries; and you won’t find a finer example of a Victorian tower brewery anywhere. It's also the only brewery still driven by steam. On the ground floor of the brewery is a fine 25 horsepower steam engine, supplying through a series of belts, cogs and shafts most of the motive power the brewery needs to produce it's beer .

The brewery at Hook Norton is still "a real local brewery" and this is a rarity these days; awesome commercial pressures brought about change at the brewery, but the brewers at Hook Norton became adept at keeping a restless World at arm’s length.

Brewery research shows most of us are more familiar with the drinking process than the skilled preparation that leads up to it. But every pint produced by Hook Norton brewery that you raise to your lips has a story to tell. Beer is very much a natural product; and the brewery puts a lot of effort into the whole brewing process to provide you with a refreshing pint. The traditional methods employed at the brewery make traditional beers, and that's what counts at Hook Norton.

The tiny Ij Brewery in the heart of Amsterdam is legendary as one of Holland’s best craft breweries. The brewer/owner is famously cranky and uncommercial, and no one ever thought these beers would make it to the U.S. But, due to a stroke of luck and a special connection, we’ve got them!

The brewery is located in a converted bathhouse, standing next to a windmill – like almost everything else in Holland. Ij (pronounced “eye”) takes its name from a lowly squatter’s flat on the Ij riverfront where the owner spent his formative years. The money to convert the bathhouse into a brewery came as proceeds from a hit song he wrote, “Je Loog Tegen Mij,” which took top Dutch rockers Drukwerk straight to #1 with a bullet. Coffers were swelled by his successful follow-up hit, “Hé Amsterdam.”

“Ij” sound like the Dutch word “ei,” which means egg. This play on words inspired the brewery’s emblem – an ostrich guarding its egg – and the names of the beers Struis (meaning “ostrich”) and Columbus. In Dutch parlance, “I’ve found the Egg of Columbus!” is the equivalent of “Eureka!” or, “I’ve invented something rather smart.” The fiercely independent brewers at Ij have indeed come up with something special. Theirs are unique Dutch craft beers with character, not just slavish Belgian knock-offs. Due to the owner’s musical success, the brewery doesn’t have to answer to investors, or pursue the export of its beers. Annual production is around 1200 barrels, and most of it is consumed in and around the city of Amsterdam. These are truly rare and precious beers, well worth the cost and effort it took to get them over here. (Audio cassettes of “Hé Amsterdam” sold separately.)

Inveralmond Brewery was founded in 1997, but its young brewers are already rated among the best in Scotland. Their 'Ossian Ale' was named Supreme Champion Beer of Scotland in 2002. Look for this fabulous beer in the USA in 2004, along with Inveralmond's other award-winning beers, such as Blackfriar and Lia Fail.

From the wild and stunningly beautiful Isle of Skye, off the northwest coast of Scotland, lies this fantastic new brewery, operated by a former school teacher, and featuring Scotland's only female head brewer.

The Brewery was established in April 1995 and has been winning awards at brewing competitions throughout Scotland and England ever since.

Look for Skye's first U.S. export, Wee Beast, in early 2004. several more great ales, such as Black Cuillin and Red Cuillin, will follow later in the year.

Ron Jeffries is one of our favorite people in the world, and he's also probably the most imaginative, innovative brewer in the United States. Ron's small brewery just outside of Ann Arbor, Michigan is unlike any other in this country, and perhaps anywhere in the world.

Lots of brewers use oak barrels to age their beers these days, but Jolly Pumpkin actually ferments in the wood, and the result is beer of extraordinary complexity and earthiness. Despite the risks of fermenting in oak, however, Ron's beers are nicely balanced and drinkable, and don't seem to suffer from the oxidation and off-flavors so common in aged beer. Jolly Pumpkin ales lean toward a subtle but pleasant lactic sourness that fits perfectly with the wild yeast flavors derived from the wood.

Shelton Brothers is proud to serve as master distributor for Jolly Pumpkin beer in the USA. Who says we don't like American beer?

In the Golden Age of Dutch brewing, before hops were known, brewers used a blend of savory herbs, called “gruit,” to give an exotic accent to their ales. Every brewing town had its own carefully guarded recipe for making gruit beer. The distinctive recipe of Haarlem, which dates to 1407, was so well-loved in the region and important to the livelihood of the town that it was preserved in public records. It is the only traditional recipe for a gruit beer that survives today. Haarlem’s recipe calls for oats, wheat, and barley in the mash, and a gruit of several distinctive herbs.

Koyt is the darker, hardier variation on the basic recipe. It is reddish brown, full flavored, and supremely satisfying. “Koyt” was the name given to the famous gruit beer of Haarlem. The brewery, Jopen, is named after the type of barrel used for beer in the Middle Ages in Holland.

Adriaan is the refreshing, golden amber version of the traditional Haarlem gruit beer. This studied recreation of the original recipe is bottle-conditioned, delightfully brisk, and intriguingly spicy. It is named for an ancient windmill in the center of the town that has been in ruins for centuries. Part of the proceeds from sale of this beer goes toward its restoration.

These are not just great beers, but a piece of history in the bargain. There are no other gruit beers imported in the U.S., but there are a few copies being brewed now in the U.S.

The old brewery at Kerkom is the quintessential farmhouse brewery, set amid cherry and pear orchards in the gentle countryside of East Flanders. Brewer Marc Limet and his wife Marina live here, brew here, and on the weekends, offer sustenance to throngs of visiting beer lovers. On warm summer days, people come from all over Belgium to sit in the great courtyard, sipping the brewery’s briskly bitter and refreshing Bink Blond, or the warmer, satisfying Bink Bruin. In the wintertime, smaller crowds of local admirers and friends huddle by the stove in the perfectly cozy pub that feels like an extension of Marc and Marina’s home.

If you happen to feel that the larger commercial breweries are going down the wrong path – losing their nerve when it’s time to add the hops, using more and more sugar instead of barley malt to make alcoholic but weak-bodied, sweet, characterless brews, and dramatically cutting traditional fermentation times in order to chuck out ever more product, ever more cheaply – you have a kindred spirit in Marc. Someday you should commiserate with him over a cool Bink Blond, lamenting the decline of once great beers, like Chimay Bleu or Duvel, and the rise of insipid characterless beers like Delirium Tremens. Fortunately for you, however, Marc isn’t just stuck in the past. Like a number of other small farmhouse brewers in Belgium, Marc felt compelled to move from amateur brewing to a more commercial operation to counter the general trend of dumbing down in Belgian brewing. He takes his time and brews what he likes, and doesn’t use corn sugar, artificial fruit flavors, and other cheap ingredients in order to appeal to the broadest range of dabbling beer consumers.

Using mostly the older equipment of the old brewery, with a few modern additions, Marc makes full-bodied, slightly earthy, very dry beers. The two everyday beers, the Blond and Bruin, are all-malt brews of about 6% alcohol by volume.

The dry-hopped Bink Blond is Marc’s one-man crusade to put hops back into Belgian brewing. From the keg, the Blond is a bracing, unwavering direct shot of hops to the system – floral bitterness supported by a light but firm, very dry maltiness, and spiced by just a hint of typically Belgian yeast character. The unreserved hoppiness of this beer may remind you of an American West Coast I.P.A. but, as Marc explains it, this is just the way most Belgian beers used to be. In the bottle, the beer takes on more nuances and becomes more complex. The classic Belgian “farmhouse” character develops over time in the bottle; you may notice a little wild yeast after a while. But still this beer remains supremely hoppy.

Bink Bruin, in keeping with the Belgian tradition of brown ales, is not a hoppy beer. Instead the emphasis is on dark, roasted, slightly smoky malt. Marc being Marc, this Bruin is a bit hoppier than most of its kind, but the balance is still tipped decidedly toward the wholesome, bready character of good malt. Still, it remains dry, with roasty flavors winning out over the sometimes cloying sweetness you find in some dark ales. Thus it is at once satisfying but refreshing and easy to drink.

Then there is the distinctive and winning Bink Bloesem, or Blossom. This is a dark, stronger ale with two special ingredients: locally-produced honey, and a thick syrup made from local pears – without sugar. The honey and pear syrup are allowed to ferment pretty thoroughly, yielding once again a predominantly dry beer, but one with just a little sweetness and a range of dried fruit and other subtle flavor nuances that you have surely never tasted in one beer before. Bloesem is a beer of real character and depth, one that you can linger over thoughtfully. It is dark and rich-flavored, yet light on the palate, at 7.1% alcohol by volume.

Winterkoninkske is Marc’s winter brew. The name refers to the Flemish word for the little bird pictured on the label, which means “Little Winter King.” Years ago Marc noticed in a book about birds a picture of a winterkoninkse perched on a sprig of hops. He decided right then that he would use the image for a winter beer if he ever came to have his own brewery. Now the beer is here, and the label is delightful – sort of a song dedicated to the upside of winter. The upside is, of course, the beer of winter. This one is typically dark, rich, and roasty, with a complex yeasty tang and a light spiciness. There are juniper berries in the brew. If there are other spices, Marc is not telling what they are. This is without question one of the best Belgian winter beers.

You’re probably wondering where the name “Bink” come from. It’s a slang term of endearment for a guy in the rustic area around Kerkom – kind of like the American “dude.” The typical character of a local Bink – a bit coarse but cagey enough to make his way in the world, is described in a common story. It seems that a certain Bink is plodding along the dusty road leading a cow by a rope, when he catches the attention of the constable. The constable recognizes instantly that this Bink is not the cow’s rightful owner, and confronts him. He demands, "Why are you walking off with that cow?" The Bink, looking very surprised, replies "Cow? I just found this piece of rope that someone left lying around. I didn’t notice that there was a cow attached to it." In the end, the Bink lands in the klink, but his quick thinking under pressure is still much admired. There is a bronze statue of this famous Bink in the pub of the Kerkom brewery.

Klein Duimpje -- "Tom Thumb" in Dutch -- is the life's work of Erik Bouman, a terrific home-brewer who has managed to parlay his passion and his talent into a tiny but full-fledged brewery in a matter of a few short years. With an interest in styles of beer from all over the world, especially England, Belgium, and his native Netherlands, and brewing as he does in very small batches, Erik has put out an astounding number of different beers.

The very best beer comes from Mahr’s. This tiny brewery in beautiful, historical Bamberg is an offshoot of one of the city’s best pubs. The region of Franconia, in northern Bavaria, is easily the most interesting part of Germany when it comes to brewing. Franconia boasts the most breweries per square kilometer in the world, and by far the widest array of original beer-styles in Germany. Bamberg is the cultural heart of Franconia. It also claims nine breweries within the city limits – for only 70,000 inhabitants – and the best, most eclectic variety of beer styles. It is a matter of intense debate which of Bamberg’s breweries is the best. Mahr’s is our favorite.

The Mahr’s “gasthaus” – built in 1670 – is one of the great places in the world to have a beer. Mahr’s is a rare example of artisanal brewing in a land of increased mass production, consolidation, and narrowing of popular tastes. A larger brewery simply could not make beer like this – unfiltered, unpasteurized, and bursting with flavor. There is no cutting corners or economy-of-scale at Mahr’s. The beers are naturally more expensive as German beers go, but beer drinkers always get more than their money’s worth.

From the brewery web site:

The story of Mikkeller is the story of two young homebrewers, who in a few years have excelled from hobby brewing at home in the kitchen to national and international recognition. Most recently, the two creators, Mikkel Borg Bjergsø and Kristian Klarup Keller, were named Danish brewery of the year and the fifth best brewery in the world in 2006.

In Denmark it’s the association of Danish Beer Enthusiasts’ more than 11.000 members, who awarded Mikkeller the best Danish brewery, while it’s the international beer website RateBeer.com that placed Mikkeller among the absolute world elite on the yearly RateBeer Best list from January 2007. On the same website, many of Mikkeller’s beers are also among the best in the world.

The success is partly due to the brewers’ focus on creating challenging beers that test the boundaries and where quality always comes before quantity. In other words, uncompromising beer.

The brewers want to challenge the Danes’ taste buds with intense taste adventures, and the inspiration is found on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean where the American breweries aren’t afraid to play and break all the rules. Mikkeller wants to provoke some of this inventiveness in Danish beer brewing, so why not show the way?

A year or two ago, not too far from Hell, in southern Norway, a local priest angered parishioners by ‘fraternizing with the devil.’ The ‘devil,’ in this case, is Kjetil Jikiun, brewer at Nøgne-Ø Brewery, where the priest has been taking brewing lessons. Kjetil cannot fail to find some humor in the reaction of some of his neighbors, but as a devout Orthodox Christian, he does bristle at the idea that brewing is the devil’s work.

In actuality, Kjetil is an airline pilot, who, on his frequent trips abroad, has found a taste for better beer, and especially for bold brewing styles. His attempts to re-create these beers as a homebrewer were so successful that he was strongly encouraged to follow his dream of brewing professionally. That dream became reality in 2002, when Nøgne-Ø was born.

Kjetil and his partners gave the brewery a subtitle -- Det Kompromissløse Bryggeri, or “The Uncompromising Brewery,” a plain statement of their mission: to make ales of strong personality and individuality, even if they would be challenging to the tastes of the general public.

Kjetil still pilots Airbus 340’s for SAS Airways . . . traveling for three days at a time, then spending his three days off at the brewery, while his airline colleagues are at home, resting up for the next wearying journey. The hard work is paying off, it seems: as of this writing, the top eight Norwegian beers on ratebeer.com are all brewed by Nøgne-Ø.

Nørrebro Bryghus is a fairytale about succes. We are a brewery selling our beer on bottle and serving it in our combined brewery and restaurant in Copenhagen. Our goal is to give unique experiences in taste and broaden the knowledge of and desire to drink exciting hand craftet beer - in other words to strengthen and broaden the Danish beer culture.

Nørrebro Bryghus is the realisation of brew master Anders Kissmeyers dream and his vision, passion and competence is now a big part of the culture of Nørrebro Bryghus. Today Nørrebro Bryghus is run by a team which is not only highly professional, but also devoted to good beer experiences!

In late 2003, two friends are sitting in front of their computers, creating software for their little programming company. One says to the other: “We’ve been doing this for several years now. How about starting something new – like opening a microbrewery?” “Yeah, why not?” the other answers.

The two friends were Martin and Christian, and that little exchange of words was the beginning of Ølfabrikken.

Their plan was to brew a range of unfiltered and unpasteurized beers, focusing on strong, spicy, and hoppy ales, unlike anything that was being brewed at the time in Denmark. Back then,there were fewer than twenty microbreweries in Denmark, and most of them brewed beer for the untrained palate of the average consumer.

Of course, starting a microbrewery with almost no money is not as simple as that. After many months of searching for used equipment without success, Martin and Christian had nearly given up. But, suddenly, on a sunny day in April 2004, a phone call came at their office. It was from the owner of Glossop Breweries Ltd., a British microbrewery making real ales for the local community. He had heard about the two Danes on the lookout for cheap brewing equipment. During an afternoon of negotiation, a price was agreed upon and plane tickets were ordered. The following week, Martin and Christian went to the UK to try out the equipment, which proved to be exactly what they were looking for.

The brewery, complete with two five-barrel fermenters and several hundred British casks, was shipped to Denmark and deposited on the lawn of Martin’s parents’ farm. As the ‘brewery’ had spent all of its money on the brewing equipment, nothing was left to actually build or rent a facility. Martins’ parents agreed, however, to have the brewery installed in a corner of their barn. After months of working on the barn with friends and family during weekends and evenings, the small brew house was ready for use.

In the meantime, other friends had been helping with the logo, labels, and a web site. A name for the new brewery was found: Ølfabrikken -- which literally means “The Beer Factory.” This was meant ironically, since the new brewery was probably the most primitive in the country.

Ølfabrikken’s first beer was brewed in December 2004. It was a dark, malty winter ale, fermented with two different yeast strains. It was a huge success and sold out in a few days. It seemed that Danish beer consumers craved something a bit different. So, more beers were brewed, and they sold out just as quickly as the first.

If the story ended there it would have been a happy ending. It doesn’t end there, however, and despite the success of the beer in Denmark, Martin and Christian were still working overtime as computer programmers to keep the business afloat. After a year of fighting both brewery infections and creditors, however, times got better. More used fermenters were bought, an extra brewer was hired, and more customers were taken on.

Since its inception in late 2004, Ølfabrikken has won more awards than any other brewery in Denmark, culminating in 2006, when the 12,000 members of the consumer organization “The Danish Beer Enthusiasts,” voted Ølfabrikken both “Brewery of the Year” and brewer of the “Best New Beer.” As of this writing, Ølfabrikken is rated as the 12th best brewery in the world of 7,300 reviewed on Ratebeer.com.

Today the three guys at Ølfabrikken brew approximately 10,000 liters of ale every month. It is sold in specialty beer shops, wine shops, and bars all over Denmark, as well as in Finland and the USA. Though the brewery has grown, its founders’ have remained true to their original principles: to brew unfiltered, unpasteurized, and experimental beers, in small quantities, for the passionate consumer.

Oliver’s Cider and Perry House produce fine, distinguished perries and ciders, in small batches. Each vintage has its own unique character.

Herefordshire’s deep, rich, sandstone-derived clay and loam soil, and its usual daytime sunshine and gentle night time rain, are all perfectly suited to the growing of cider apples and perry pears. Blend in hundreds of years of artisan cider production, and you have the tastiest, most complex ciders and perries available anywhere.

Cider has been produced on the farm in Ocle Pychard for at least three centuries. These quintessentially English drinks are still produced the way they were centuries ago.

Oliver's Cider and Perry House crafts its products in small batches, using fresh (mostly hand-picked) unsprayed fruit, with minimal intervention. These ciders and perries are distinctive and handsomely presented, respecting the great heritage and traditions of the past but with an eye to innovating for the future.

Oliver's strivese to produce premium products, while valuing the health and well being of its consumers, its employees, the earth's natural resources, and the environment. In fact, Oliver's have created a charter that they hope all cider makers will follow. Its tenets are these:

• To help secure the future of UK orchards and their ecosystems
• Preserve the integrity of cider and perry as valuable products of recognised quality using only UK fruit
• Declare ingredients (with traceability), based on a minimum juice content of 85%, control and minimise additives and use only natural products.

To that end, Oliver's products are made from 100% fresh pressed juice, with no artificial flavorings or additives. The fruit is unsprayed and usually from orchards that are grazed through the year by cattle and sheep.

The pears and apples are picked at full ripeness, sometimes stored to mature further, then washed, milled and, whenever necessary, macerated, before being pressed, and then fermented by wild yeasts and aged in old oak barrels for up to 10 months, before being blended and then bottled or released on draught. Sulphites are used sparingly.

André Paeleman was working as a nurse when he began home-brewing. In 1996 he built a small brewery and began bottling his very distinctive beers. Since then he has bought a nice pub, oddly overlooking a waterpark. (Government Warning: Drinking strong Belgian ales while riding the big blue water-slide can cause disorientation and may be hazardous to your health.) Production at the brewery has remained at about 300 hectoliters per year – approximately one thousandth of what they brew at, say, Moortgat, where Duvel is made.

André’s first beer was called Uitzet, which translates as “Outset,” and refers to the brewery’s hopeful beginnings. It is deemed a Tripel, but it is a very unique interpretation of that style. Blonde, spritzy, and a little spicy, it is characterful but very refreshing, without the strong alcohol flavor that dominates in a classic Tripel. This makes the beer very easy to drink. Yet you won’t believe that it’s less than 7%.

The Druivenbier, which is “Grape Beer” in Flemish, begins life rather like the Uitzet. No sugar or syrup is added, and the beer is quite dry, but there is a strong red grape flavor that alternates with the basic flavor of a classic Belgian ale on the palate. This is the most seamless and interesting melding of wine and beer that you’ve ever encountered. André conceived the idea of putting locally grown grapes into the fermentation tank two years ago, when it proved impossible to find the cherries that go into the Uitzet Kriek. The beer is dark purple, rather like grape juice, and it is not highly carbonated. It’s 6% alcohol by volume.

Doctor Renzo Losi's Panil brewery makes many excellent natural beers in time-honored, classic styles. The first to come to the USA is Panil Barriquée, possibly the only remaining authentic sour red ale left in the world. Look for other traditional offeringd from Panil in the near future.

It’s a sad tale, the closing of the venerable Brakspear brewery in Henley-on-Thames, where the most famous and surely the best Bitter in England has been made for centuries. The brewery, in operation since 1779, was sold off in 2002 in parts to make room for an upscale hotel, and everyone who worked there was let go, without so much as a by-your-leave. But for beer lovers, the closing was not a complete disaster. Thankfully, the master brewer at Brakspear, Peter Scholey, determined to strike out on his own. Peter has set up shop as Ridgeway Brewing, not so far from Henley, and already he’s putting out beers so good they could almost make you forget Brakspear altogether.

The Ridgeway Brewery is named for the ancient road – passable now only on foot – that meanders along a low escarpment across the high, rolling pastoral plain that is the southwest of England. The now patchy stone surface of the Ridgeway was laid by Britain’s oldest inhabitants – Druids and the like – thousands of years before the Romans turned up to build their own roadways. It is the oldest road in the British Isles and Europe, running nearly 100 miles, past that other ancient landmark, Stonehenge, as well as Peter Scholey’s relatively modern home, along the way.

The Scheldebrouwerij is a young, traditional brewery, situated in 's- Gravenpolder in the province of Zeeland, in the southwest of The Netherlands. Schelde produces unfiltered and unpasteurized ales, which are all refermented in the bottle.

Bamberg may well be Germany’s most interesting brewing town, with more original specialty beers to its credit than any other. The most famous of all Bamberger styles is smoked beer, or “rauchbier.” The oldest rauchbier brewery in Bamberg is Spezial, which was founded in 1536.

Spezial is right in the heart of the city – a very congenial pub with the brewery in the courtyard behind. The brewery has its own maltings and barley malt is smoked right there in downtown Bamberg. The smoke of special beechwood logs burning just beneath the malt kiln filters up, imparting a natural smoky flavor to the fresh barley kernels. The brewer uses 40% of this smoked malt and 60% high quality Bavarian barley malt to make this delicious smoked beer.

Spezial’s Lager Rauchbier is a surprisingly refreshing treat – not so dark as the brewery’s Märzen Rauchbier (which uses 70% smoked malt). A malty sweetness perfectly balances the mild smoke flavor of this amber brew.

Many people will tell you that they just can’t enjoy a traditional rauchbier. Make them try this one, and it’s a fair bet they’ll end up loving it. The possibilities for creative pairings with good food are almost endless.

The Sint Pieters brewery is the smallest commercial brewery in Belgium, but it is growing quickly. The incredibly spare brewing setup consists mostly of converted dairy equipment, and can’t produce very much at once. For the time being, the only solution to a burgeoning demand is just to brew more and more small batches.

Serge Ricour is one of those guys – probably a genius, but it takes one to know one, and we’re not really sure we can meet that standard – who just produces fantastic beer, but doesn’t seem to know it himself. The Brasserie Ricour, or Brasserie St-Sylvestre (you use either one and everyone in town knows what you’re talking about) makes, arguably, the best beer of France: 3 Monts. We Shelton Brothers would probably argue with that, since we’ve found so many nice beers in France and brought them to the U.S. for your inspection, but you can’t really argue with the proposition that 3 Monts is, at least, one of the very best beers of France.

The thing is, 3 Monts may not even be the best beer that Serge Ricour makes. We think that Gavroche is better.

Problem is, if you were of drinking age about five years ago, you may have seen Gavroche here before. Somebody brought it into the U.S. around that time, and it totally bombed. Brother Daniel tried it back then, and was terribly unimpressed.

When he went to the Brasserie St-Sylvestre about a year later, and sat face to face with the inscrutable Serge, and Serge said, ‘Why don’t you import Gavroche?’ Daniel said, ‘No thanks. Didn’t care for it.’ ‘Ah,’ said Serge. ‘But then you haven’t tried the real Gavroche.’ Intrigued, Daniel replied, ‘All right then, what’s the real Gavroche?’ Serge snapped his fingers, and it appeared: a lovely reddish beer, strong and flavorful, and buoyed by a live yeast culture in the bottle – one of the few bottle-conditioned, re-fermented beers of France. It was good, very good, to say the least. So, Daniel wanted to know, why didn’t you send this beer to the U.S. instead of that unfortunate stuff that you sent before? Well, Serge replied, ‘We had a bad batch we needed to get rid of, and we didn’t think the Americans would notice.’ It’s a French thing. But all is forgiven when you make great beer.

In the little town of Bavay, only a few miles from the border with Belgium, the Theillier family has crafted its fine bière de garde for generations. The charming brewery is built into the Thiellier family home, which was constructed in the 1600’s on sturdy Roman foundations.

The Theilliers now makes only one beer. La Bavaisienne is artfully brewed, in very small batches, using a resourceful combination of ancient and more modern equipment. The newest heir to the family tradition, Michel Theillier, hand-delivers this popular beer within a small area around Bavay. Now beer drinkers in the U.S. can enjoy it too.

“This remarkable brewery deserves to be better known.” (Michael Jackson, The Beer Companion)

Daniel Thiriez’s rustic little brick-and-beam brewery graces the village of Esquelbecq, plunk in the middle of the rolling farm country of French Flanders. With a brewing degree from a Belgian university, and decidedly ‘Belgian-oriented,’ Monsieur Thiriez makes ales with an earthy, slightly wild character that recalls the early days of farmhouse brewing, before there was a border between France and Belgium.