Lost Beers

The history of beer from Belgium, The Netherlands (Holland), and elsewhere. Looking for beer types that have vanished, and for the stories behind well-known styles, from IPA to gueuze, from saison to lager.

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Aarschot: no finer beer than a Brown one

1 July 2026 by - No comments

The years 1880-1940 must have been the heyday of various local and regional beers, such as the brown beer of Aarschot. This interesting historical brew, sweet-sour in taste, is still very much alive.


Your historical bullshit guide to Belgian Beer World

Belgian Beer World, a 90 million tourist attraction in Brussels: surely one might expect a bit of quality? Alas: it’s the biggest pile of historical ‘fake news’ I’ve ever seen put together. It’s time for a fact check!

Three ‘beer experiences’ in and around Brussels

For a beer tourist, there’s no better place than Belgium. Let’s go to Brussels for a look inside the Abbey beer museum at Grimbergen, the Beer museum on the Grand-Place, and the Belgian Beer World at La Bourse.

Fact check: the 112 litre ‘Jopen’ barrels

This year, the Jopen brewery in Haarlem celebrates its 30th birthday! Which is fantastic, however: where does that name come from? From the Medieval 112 litre barrels once used to ship Haarlem’s beer, or so the story goes. Let’s check that…

The shifting Dutch bock beer season

The Bock beer book has hit the stores. But what is Dutch bock beer exactly? And was it always an autumn beer?

Listen to me talking about saison on the Beer Temple podcast

Recently, I was invited to talk about saison history on the Chicago-based Beer Temple podcast. Why don’t you give it a listen!

Thanks to the magic lantern: lambic is (slightly) older than we thought

Last week, I found a new starting date for one of my favourite beer types: lambic. And it has everything to do with a magic lantern.

Caves: another lost Belgian beer

The beautiful old town of Lier currently does not have its own brewery. It does however have a story to tell about historical beers.