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.
Historic beers by Roel Mulder
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Three ‘beer experiences’ in and around Brussels
15 May 2026 by Roel Mulder - No comments
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.
Become an expert on Belgian beer history with these 10 books
It’s the summer holidays. Time for reading, for instance on Belgian beer. Unfortunately, there are many books out there that teach you not that much, full of falsehoods and fastidiously repeated hogwash. So, which books can actually tell you something useful?
In remembrance of Wieckse Witte
The end was more sudden than expected, we now say goodbye to… Wieckse Witte. Heineken is killing off this Dutch white beer. Time to look back on the life of a beer that may be a symbol of an era.