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Oktoberfest is the largest beer festival in the world. It originated in Germany, but today it is celebrated all over the globe. The very first Oktoberfest was held in 1810, for the wedding of Princess Theresia of Saxe-Hildburghausen and Crown Prince Lodewijk of Bavaria. The five-day festivities included horse races and a celebration of culture […]

Beer enthusiasts have claimed several historical persons. The legend of Gambrinus is one of those stories. Another well-known patron saint is Arnold of Soissons, better known as Saint Arnoldus. Arnold (then Arnulf) was born in 1040 in Tiegem, Belgium. At the age of thirty, he entered Saint Medardus Abbey in Soissons, France. There he lived […]

Namaste! June 21 has been designated International Yoga Day. These spiritual, physical and mental exercises have their origin in Hinduism. That’s all very well, but what exactly does this have to do with beer? Around 2013, a new, playful form of yoga emerged in the United States. While it’s not exactly clear where or how […]

Every year on April 11, beer lovers toast to the legendary beer king Gambrinus (or Cambrinus), also known as the patron saint of beer. Unfortunately, he was no saint or king; Gambrinus never really existed. But that doesn’t mean this legend isn’t interesting. In reality, Gambrinus was probably loosely based on Hertog Jan (Duke John), […]

It is not clear when roasting in rotating drums became popular with special maltsters. It is nowadays the most used and safest machinery to make roasted and caramelised malts and cereals. There was a time roasting was done in partially open spheres and direct fired. Consistent malt quality was very difficult to be obtained and […]

In the middle-ages – before the effects of hop in brewing were known – people used a special herb mixture for bittering and flavouring beer. This mixture – and the eventual beer – is called Gruit, also known as grut, gruut or gruyt. And because 1 February declared is International Gruit Day, we will take […]