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Smisje Brewery
The Smisje Brewery (''Brouwerij Smisje'' in Dutch), with a tiny production of only 200 hectoliters per year, is one of the smallest existing Belgian craft breweries. Begun in 1995 by former printer and homebrewer Johan Brandt, it was originally titled "De Regenboog" (The Rainbow), the same name as his earlier printing business. Brandt is also a bee-keeper, which accounts for the prominent use of honey in some of the brewery's offerings, including its first commercial beer, which was named '' 't Smisje'' or "the little blacksmith" to reflect the hand-crafted nature of the product as well as a local landmark blacksmith's house near the brewery's original location. From 1995-2008, the brewery was located in the West Flanders municipality of Assebroek, a suburb of Bruges. In 2008 it relocated to the village of Mater in Oudenaarde, East Flanders and changed its name to simply "Smisje". Smisje is known for beers in both traditional Belgian styles and others, but particularly for brewing ...
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Oudenaarde
Oudenaarde (; french: Audenarde ; in English sometimes ''Oudenarde'') is a Belgian municipality in the Flemish province of East Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Oudenaarde proper and the towns of Bevere, Edelare, Eine, Ename, Heurne, Leupegem, Mater, Melden, Mullem, Nederename, Volkegem, Welden and a part of Ooike. From the 15th to the 18th century, but especially in the 16th century, Oudenaarde was a world-known centre of tapestry production. The town's name, meaning “old field”, still lingers on in “outnal”, an obsolete English term for a kind of brown linen thread. History The glory of Ename The history of the current municipality of Oudenaarde starts in 974, when Otto II, Holy Roman Emperor and king of Germany, built one of its three fortifications on the Scheldt at Ename to protect his kingdom against possible attacks from Francia (next to the other frontier post at Valenciennes, later on also the Antwerp). Ename grew very fast. By 1005 ...
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Duvel Moortgat Brewery
Duvel Moortgat Brewery (Brouwerij Duvel Moortgat) is a Flemish family-controlled brewery founded in 1871 in the Antwerp Province (Belgium). Its strong golden pale ale, Duvel, is exported to more than forty countries. Duvel is Brabantian, Ghent and Antwerp dialect for ''devil'', the standard Dutch word being ''duivel'' . Other popular beers include Maredsous and Vedett. History The brewery Moortgat was founded in 1871 by Jan-Leonard Moortgat, who was descended from a family of brewers that lived in Steenhuffel, Belgium. In the 1950s, the third generation of Moortgats took control of the brewery. In the early 1970s, when the company was struggling financially, Moortgat bottled and distributed the Danish beer, Tuborg. The two companies ended this arrangement in the early 1980s, but it did save the brewery, which by then had managed to also set up massive distribution channels for their flagship beer, Duvel. In June 1999, Duvel Moortgat NV went public on Euronext Brussels. Duv ...
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Guido Gezelle
Guido Pieter Theodorus Josephus Gezelle (1 May 1830 – 27 November 1899) was an influential writer and poet and a Roman Catholic priest from Belgium. He is famous for the use of the West Flemish dialect. Life Gezelle was born in Bruges in the province of West Flanders to Monica Devrieze and Pieter Jan Gezelle, a gardener. The Flemish writer Stijn Streuvels (Frank Lateur) was a nephew of his. Gezelle was ordained a priest in 1854, and worked as a teacher at the Minor Seminary, Roeselare. He was always interested in all things English and became the chaplain to the . He died there in a small room, where it is still forbidden to enter. There is a museum of his works close by and also a small bar named after him. He tried to develop an independent Flemish language, more or less separate from the general Dutch language, which had certain more " Hollandic" aspects. The Dutch he used in his poems was heavily influenced by the local West Flemish dialect. His works are often insp ...
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Calvados
Calvados (, , ) is a brandy from Normandy in France, made from apples or pears, or from apples with pears. History In France Apple orchards and brewers are mentioned as far back as the 8th century by Charlemagne. The first known record of Norman distillation was made by squire Gilles de Gouberville in 1553, and the guild for cider distillation was created about 50 years later in 1606. In the 17th century, the traditional cider farms expanded, but taxation and prohibition of cider brandies were enforced elsewhere than Brittany, Maine, and Normandy. The area called "Calvados" was created after the French Revolution, but ''eau de vie de cidre'' was already called ''calvados'' in common usage. In the 19th century, output increased with industrial distillation and the working class fashion for ''café-calva''. When a phylloxera outbreak in the last quarter of the 19th century devastated the vineyards of France and Europe, Calvados experienced a golden age. During World War I, cider ...
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Lemon Balm
Lemon balm (''Melissa officinalis'') is a perennial herbaceous plant in the mint family and native to south-central Europe, the Mediterranean Basin, Iran, and Central Asia, but now naturalised elsewhere. It grows to a maximum height of . The leaves have a mild lemon scent. During summer, small white flowers full of nectar appear. It is not to be confused with bee balm (genus '' Monarda''), although the white flowers attract bees, hence the genus '' Melissa'' (Greek for "honey bee"). The leaves are used as a herb, in teas and also as a flavouring. The plant is used to attract bees for honey production. It is grown as an ornamental plant and for its oil (to use in perfumery). Lemon balm has been cultivated at least since the 16th century. Description Lemon balm (''Melissa officinalis'') is a perennial herbaceous plant in the mint family Lamiaceae, and native to south-central Europe, the Mediterranean Basin, Iran, and Central Asia, but now naturalized in the Americas and e ...
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Valerian (herb)
Valerian (''Valeriana officinalis'', Caprifoliaceae) is a perennial flowering plant native to Europe and Asia. In the summer when the mature plant may have a height of , it bears sweetly scented pink or white flowers that attract many fly species, especially hoverflies of the genus '' Eristalis''. It is consumed as food by the larvae of some Lepidoptera (butterfly and moth) species, including the grey pug. Crude extract of valerian root may have sedative and anxiolytic effects, and is commonly sold in dietary supplement capsules to promote sleep, but there is insufficient clinical evidence that it is effective for this purpose. Its roots and leaves cause a catnip-like response in cats. History Valerian has been used as a herb in traditional medicine since at least the time of ancient Greece and Rome. Hippocrates described its properties, and Galen later prescribed it as a remedy for insomnia. In medieval Sweden, it was sometimes placed in the wedding clothes of the groom t ...
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Tourhout
Torhout (; french: Thourout; vls, Toeroet) is a city and municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Torhout proper, the villages of Wijnendale and Sint-Henricus, and the hamlet of De Driekoningen. On January 1, 2012, Torhout had a total population of 20,149. The total area is 45.23 km² which gives a population density of 445 inhabitants per km². People associated with Torhout * Rimbert, saint * Josse van Huerter, first settler, and captain-major of the island of Faial in the Portuguese Azores. * Karel Van Wijnendaele (Founder of Tour of Flanders (Tour of Flanders)) * Benny Vansteelant (Multiple World Champion Duathlon) and Joerie Vansteelant * Luk Descheemaeker, winner at the 2nd Holocaust cartoon contest in Tehran, 2016. * Hilde Crevits, Vice Minister-President of the Flemish Government and Flemish minister of Economy, Innovation, Work, Social economy and Agriculture; and former mayor of Torhout (201 ...
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Tripel
Tripel is a term used by brewers mainly in the Low Countries, some other European countries, and the U.S. to describe a strong pale ale, loosely in the style of '' Westmalle Tripel''. The origin of the term is unknown, though the main theory is that it indicates strength in some way. It was used in 1956 by the Trappist brewery, Westmalle, to rename the strongest beer in their range, though both the term Tripel and the style of beer associated with the name (strong pale ale), were in existence before 1956. The style of Westmalle's ''Tripel'' and the name was widely copied by the breweries of Belgium, and in 1987 another Trappist brewery, the Koningshoeven in the Netherlands, expanded their range with a beer called ''La Trappe Tripel'', though they also produced a stronger beer they termed ''La Trappe Quadrupel''. The term spread to the U.S. and other countries, and is applied by a range of secular brewers to a strong pale ale in the style of ''Westmalle Tripel''. History The ...
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Phoenix Dactylifera
''Phoenix dactylifera'', commonly known as date or date palm, is a flowering plant species in the palm family, Arecaceae, cultivated for its edible sweet fruit called dates. The species is widely cultivated across northern Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia, and is naturalized in many tropical and subtropical regions worldwide. ''P. dactylifera'' is the type species of genus '' Phoenix'', which contains 12–19 species of wild date palms. Date trees reach up to in height, growing singly or forming a clump with several stems from a single root system. Slow-growing, they can reach over 100 years of age when maintained properly. Date fruits (dates) are oval-cylindrical, long, and about in diameter, with colour ranging from dark brown to bright red or yellow, depending on variety. Containing 61–68 percent sugar by mass when dried, dates are very sweet and are enjoyed as desserts on their own or within confections. Dates have been cultivated in the Middle East and t ...
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Dubbel
The term dubbel (also double) is a Belgian Trappist beer naming convention. The origin of the dubbel was a strong version of a brown beer brewed in Westmalle Abbey in 1856, which is known to have been on sale to the public by June 1861.Jef van den Steen, ''Trappist - Het Bier en de Monniken'' , pages 33 & 41 In 1926, the recipe was changed, and it was sold as ''Dubbel Bruin''. Following World War Two, abbey beers became popular in Belgium and the name "dubbel" was used by several breweries for commercial purposes. Westmalle's Dubbel was imitated by other breweries around the world, both Trappist and secular, leading to the emergence of a style. Dubbels are now understood to be a fairly strong (6–8% alcohol by volume) brown ale, with understated bitterness, fairly heavy body, and a pronounced fruitiness and cereal character. Chimay Première (Red), Koningshoeven/ La Trappe Dubbel, and Achel 8 Bruin are notable examples from Trappist breweries. Affligem and Grimbergen are Belg ...
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Tilia
''Tilia'' is a genus of about 30 species of trees or bushes, native throughout most of the temperate Northern Hemisphere. The tree is known as linden for the European species, and basswood for North American species. In Britain and Ireland they are commonly called lime trees, although they are not related to the citrus lime. The genus occurs in Europe and eastern North America, but the greatest species diversity is found in Asia. Under the Cronquist classification system, this genus was placed in the family Tiliaceae, but genetic research summarised by the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group has resulted in the incorporation of this genus, and of most of the previous family, into the Malvaceae. ''Tilia'' species are mostly large, deciduous trees, reaching typically tall, with oblique-cordate (heart-shaped) leaves across. As with elms, the exact number of species is uncertain, as many of the species can hybridise readily, both in the wild and in cultivation. They are hermaphrodit ...
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Candi Sugar
Candi sugar is a Belgian sugar product commonly used in brewing beer. It is particularly associated with stronger Belgian style ales such as dubbel and tripel. Chemically, it is an unrefined sugar beet derived sugar which has been subjected to Maillard reaction and caramelization. A common misconception is to consider this is the same as invert sugar, while actual candi sugar is subjected to multiple complex chemical reactions during the Maillard process. Also used as a priming sugar, to aid in bottle-conditioning, and carbonation, with the same benefits as listed above. See also *Adjuncts In brewing, adjuncts are unmalted grains (such as corn, rice, rye, oats, barley, and wheat) or grain products used in brewing beer which supplement the main mash ingredient (such as malted barley). This is often done with the intention of cut ... * Inverted sugar syrup * Rock candy References Brewing ingredients Sugar {{beer-stub ...
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