Pop That Cork!
In 2002, a completely new Belgian beer style was introduced to the market. Bières Brut, sometimes referred to as “Champagne beer,” met with much critical acclaim as an extraordinary new beer style. Bières Brut is a very pale beer with delicate aromas and flavors (fresh apples, pears, ginger, mint, thyme, lemon and allspice), alcohol in the 11.5 percent range, a silky texture and a spectacular creamy, moussey white head with lots of “Belgian lace. While it resembles Champagne in many respects, many aficionados find it considerably more interesting than the French bubbly. Bières Brut brewers did not set out to make a Champagne substitute; they set out to make a great beer with unique character.
Bruz Beers Brut La Grande
Ever since 2017, Bruz has produced limited quantities of our own Bières Brut – Brut La Grande. We were one of only a few breweries making it back then and it has become an annual tradition. It is brewed in February and released just before Thanksgiving - in time to kick off the holiday season. And now, the 2023 Brut La Grande has arrived!
Brut La Grande is a clear, golden beer with a moussey white head. Yeasty aromas of apples and pears lead you into rich flavors of crisp fall fruits with a touch of citrus and vanilla. Its hop rate is low and its 12 % alcohol is smooth and well-hidden. As a bottle-conditioned beer, it is well carbonated and finishes quite dry. Brut La Grande is an excellent interpretation of the style and has gotten very favorable reviews in comparative tastings with other Champagne beers.
It All Started With Two Rival Belgian Breweries
Bières Brut was first made by two rival breweries in the same Flemish town of Buggenhout. Brouwerij Bosteels makes DeuS Brut des Flandres Cuvée Prestige (Deus is Latin for God).
Brouwerij De Lantdtsheer makes Malheur Extra Brut, Malheur Brut Reserve (which is similar to DeuS) and Malheur Dark Brut, a dark version. “Malheur” is French for misfortune.
Complex Production Process
Brut beers use similar processes. DeuS uses gently malted barley for a pale color, and is only lightly hopped during its brew. It comes out with a high gravity and very high attenuation (dryness). After it goes through primary fermentation, it gets a dose of candi sugar and Champagne yeast before it is transported by tanker trucks to Reims, the main Champagne city in France. In a Champagne facility, it is bottled in champagne bottles and allowed to bottle-condition for several weeks, which naturally carbonates the beer. It then gets a year of maturation at cellar temperature (55ºF) before several weeks of rémuage or riddling (turning the bottles every two days until they eventually wind up in a vertical position).
After riddling, the yeast sediment has settled down into the neck of the bottle. The bottle neck is then placed into dry ice to freeze the yeast sediment into a plug. The bottle cap is removed and the frozen yeast plug is ejected (disgorged) from the bottle, which then gets a small amount of young beer (to replace the liquid lost in disgorgement) followed by a cork and wire cage. This is the traditional Methode Champenoise used by Champagne houses, and results in clear sediment-free beer. Other brewers may use different methods for carbonating and clearing their beer, but this is the traditional way.
Champagne beers are naturals at Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years and Valentines Day, but honestly, you can drink them any time you want to treat yourself to something special. They go with pretty much any kind of food. Friends and family will love it when you show up with a bottle of our Brut La Grande for a party or special meal. But really, the bubbly brew is a party in a glass and a celebration of all things good! Sante!
