St-Feuillien Brewery

On Saturday, Giedre's friends who live in Brussels took us to see the St-Feuillien Brewery in the town of Le Roeulx, about 50 kilometers away. The brewery has been operated by Friart family since 1873, but the monks of the Abbey St-Feuillien du Roeulx had been brewing this beer for centuries until the abbey was destroyed during the French Revolution.

We were fortunate to get a private tour - and though the brewery wasn't working on the weekend, we could really get a feel for the small scale, family run production. The original building (where the beer making process and tour begin) still houses the original machinery which they still use in order to preserve the family tradition.

In 2008, the brewery expanded and updated their fermentation room with shiny vats and high tech machines. It was really interesting to go from the first building which looked more like a museum than a working brew-house to the second ultra-modern building. 

The best part of the tour was the tasting room - where we each tried a couple different varieties of St-Feuillien beer, each served in their own special glasses. I had the Grand Cru, and the Bruin - both were very good and might even creep into my list of favorite beers. I should probably have a second taste, just to be sure....

Since poor Didz couldn't join us, I brought home a few bottles that we'll taste-test together (after his big exam this week), and hopefully we'll have a chance to travel around and visit some of the other Belgian breweries this spring. 

Cheers!