When I arrived in Brussels in 2016, I didn’t know that the city was home to so many – smaller – breweries. Wait, do I live in Brussels for almost 5 years? Well, I guess time flies when you visit so many breweries! Today, we’ll uncover brewery l’Annexe in Saint-Gilles.
I took my time to uncover Brussels. When I started guiding beer tasting tours in Brussels city center, I always made sure to stop at Moeder Lambic. Did you know that there are still many hidden gems in the city center – waiting to be uncovered? I know a few but I like to keep them a secret ☺.
Unfortunately, there aren’t many breweries left in the center.
– Cantillon: a not to be missed Lambic visit that brew like the middle ages
– Brussels Beer Project: a small brewpub next to the Canal that brews kickass beers
– There is one more coming soon… but maybe still a secret when you are reading this?
So, when I started craft brewery tours in 2018, my eyes were set towards the outskirts of the city.
That’s when I stumbled upon brewery L’Annexe and Beerstorming.
Beerstorming?
Well, Beerstorming is a concept in Saint-Gilles where the local brewery let you brew and bottle your own beer. How cool is that! I was sold immediately – and I knew that they had to be on my brewery tour – including L’Annexe.
Well, I immediately felt a click – since we are both entrepreneurs. All I had to do was finding a café and my new craft brewery route was complete.
Luckily, I did, and the people on my tour were pleased. To name one example, there was this tourist from Asia that was impressed – and mostly excited – that he got to brew his beer! It is for moments like that, that I became a guide.
One of my favourite Brussels beers!
And that’s when I started to visit L’Annexe. Almost every week. Did you know that they were called Hendrix when they first started? Unfortunately, they had to change their name because a brewery in Bruges had a similar name! And that they had to – manually – change labels on more than 9,000 bottles of beer? What a job!
But luckily, they continued, and now they brew my favorite beers in Brussels: Black Saison, Weize, Rosse Saison, and Saison de Bruxelles. But earlier this year, they started to produce a brand-new beer: L’Annexe blonde. And – again – I was sold immediately.
Virtual tours during Corona
But then, Corona happened. So, tourism in Brussels and the tours, in particular, became near impossible to host. That’s when I – along with JCI Brussels – came up with the idea to host virtual brewery visits. And virtual beer tastings – as you all know.
We sent out parcels of beer to all our clients and tasted them together. It is not the same as before – but it still a great way to discover the many breweries Brussels has to offer.
And that’s what I like to dive deeper into my next blog post.
I assume that Covid will be behind us after a certain time. So in case if you prefer to hear more about L’annexe during our Brussels brewery tour? Then, do not hesitate to book this tour where you’l meet the brewer and discover much more insights about the brewing process and much more about how it is as a brewery founder! And Liselot or another beer guide will share more beer facts and secrets – that’s what we do – and we are passionate about it. 😍
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