__NOTOC__ The High Council for Artisanal Lambic Beers ( Dutch: ''Hoge Raad voor Ambachtelijke Lambiekbieren'', HORAL) is a non-profit organisation that brings together the

gueuze Gueuze (; ) is a type of lambic, a Beer in Belgium, Belgian beer. It is made by Blending (alcohol production), blending young (1-year-old) and old (2- to 3-year-old) lambics, which is bottled for a second Fermentation (food), fermentation. B ...

brewers and blenders of the

Pajottenland The Pajottenland (; in English occasionally Payottenland) is a distinct region within the Flemish Brabant province and the south-western part of the Brussels Region of Belgium. The region is located west-southwest of Brussels. The Pajottenland i ...

and Zenne Valley in

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

.Horal.be. ''The High Council for Artisanal Lambic Beers.''
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Goals

The stated goals of HORAL are: * To promote artisanal lambic beers and their derivates, with attention to the complete process from brewing process till serving. * To report irregularities with regard to artisanal lambic beers and their derivates. * To take the necessary steps to protect artisanal lambic beers and their derivates.

History

In January 1997, at the invitation of 3 Fonteinen's Armand Debelder, HORAL's founder members met in

Beersel Beersel () is a municipality in the province of Flemish Brabant, in the Flemish region of Belgium, south-west of the centre of Brussels. The municipality comprises the towns of Alsemberg, Beersel proper, Dworp, Huizingen and Lot. On 1 Janua ...

. HORAL was formally established with its original members: 3 Fonteinen, Boon, De Cam, De Troch, Lindemans, and Timmermans. The first ''Toer de Geuze'' was organised on October 19 1997, when HORAL's member producers decided to open their doors to the public. Since then the open brewery day has become a biennial event. Over the past two decades, the ''Toer de Geuze'' has effectively become the largest beer event of

Flemish Brabant Flemish Brabant ( ; ) is a province of Flanders, one of the three regions of Belgium. It borders on (clockwise from the North) the Belgian provinces of Antwerp, Limburg, Liège, Walloon Brabant, Hainaut and East Flanders. Flemish Brabant also ...

.British Guild of Beer Writers. ''20 YEARS OF TOER DE GEUZE.''
/ref>Het Laatste Nieuws. ''Lambic brewers launch the first bottle of Megablend 2019: The twelfth edition of Toer de Geuze takes place on 4 and 5 May.''
(in Dutch) HORAL successfully campaigned for the creation of a

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

"traditional specialities guaranteed" (TSG) designation for the names "lambic" and "gueuze". This ensures that only products genuinely originating in the region are allowed to be identified as such in commerce. In 2016 HORAL met with representatives of Jester King Brewery to discuss a disagreement over the Americans' use of the term ''Méthode Gueuze.'' It was agreed that the

Texan Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous state in the South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the west, and has an international border wit ...

brewers would in future use the designation '' Méthode Traditionnelle'' as a style name. HORAL's Megablend Oude Gueuze was first brought to the market in 2009. It is a blend of old and young

lambic Lambic ( , ; ) is a type of beer brewed in the Pajottenland region of Belgium southwest of Brussels since the 13th century. Types of lambic beer include gueuze, kriek lambic, and framboise. Lambic differs from most other beers in that it is Bre ...

s from HORAL's members. A gueuze enthusiast from Great Britain paid 300 EUR for the first bottle in 2015. In 2018 lambic producers Girardin and 3 Fonteinen left HORAL. Werner Van Obberghen of 3 Fonteinen said: "We decided to leave HORAL because we could no longer agree with its current values. In 2020 Lambiek Fabriek (

Sint-Pieters-Leeuw Sint-Pieters-Leeuw (; , ) is a municipality in the province of Flemish Brabant, in the Flemish region of Belgium. The municipality comprises the towns of Oudenaken, Ruisbroek, Sint-Laureins-Berchem, Sint-Pieters-Leeuw proper and Vlezenbeek. Si ...

) joined HORAL and in 2022 brewery Den Herberg ( Buizingen).Beer.be. ''THE DEN HERBERG BREWERY BECOMES A MEMBER OF HORAL,''
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Member producers

* Boon * De Cam * Den Herberg * De Troch * Hanssens * Lambiek Fabriek * Lindemans *

Mort Subite Alken-Maes is a Belgium, Belgian brewery created out of the 1988 merger of two small breweries, Maes located at Waarloos, Kontich-Waarloos and Cristal-Alken located at Alken, Belgium, Alken. It was bought by Scottish & Newcastle in 2000, who wer ...

Oud Beersel Oud Beersel is a Belgian lambic brewery. It is a member of HORAL, whose main event is ''Toer De Geuze'' every two years. History Oud Beersel is an artisanal lambic brewery, based in Beersel and founded in 1882 by Henri Vandervelden. His so ...

* Tilquin *

Timmermans Timmermans is a Dutch language, Dutch occupational surname meaning "carpenter's". It is a common name with (in 2007) 11,658 and 6,663 carriers in the Netherlands and Belgium, respectively.The Brussels Times. ''Lambic craft beer honoured at the 12th "Geuze Toer."''

Méthode Traditionelle. ''On Méthode Gueuze, The Disagreement with HORAL, and A New Way Forward.''
{{DEFAULTSORT:High Council For Artisanal Lambik Style Beers Beer organizations Alcohol in Belgium Beer in Belgium