BEER! A Love Story

Peter Bouckaert explains why we need to get back to mixed fermentation

tasting beer from the foeder - Rodenbach Brewery, Belgium

Peter Bouckaert and Rudy Ghequire tasting beer still under fermentation from the foeder (cask)

Christoph Bichler (Bierol) having a beer with his father Peter at Stoeffl-Huette on the Waller Alm, a mountain pasture in the Tyrolean Alps

Christoph Bichler tasting his Double IPA during the fermentation process

Maximilian Karner (Bierol) controlling the bottling line

Marko Nicolic (Bierol) quality control of freshly bottled New England IPA

Christoph Bichler, Maximilian Karner, Marko Nikolic of Bierol doing quality control of their fresh bottled New England IPA

approaching Washington DC

At ChurchKey Pub, Washington DC, USA

Greg Engert (Neighborhood Restaurant Group, Bluejacket Brewery) and Julia Herz (Brewers Association) taste beers at Churchkey Pub in Washington DC

Peter Bouckaert (Purpose Brewing & Cellars) looking over Fort Collins (CO), USA

Peter Bouckaert, legendary brewmaster (Rodenbach, New Belgium, Purpose Brewing & Cellars)

Peter Bouckaert (Purpose Brewing) - deer encounter

view over Fort Collins (CO), USA

Peter Bouckaert (Purpose Brewing & Cellars) collecting fruits

old grains - Agriturismo Il Torchio, Reggio Emila, Italy

Francesca Berciotti (Agriturismo Il Torchio) showing her historic grains to Christoph Bichler (Bierol) and Jonas Steiner (Hoppebräu)

old grains - Agriturismo Il Torchio, Reggio Emila, Italy

old grains - Agriturismo Il Torchio, Reggio Emila, Italy

old grains - Agriturismo Il Torchio, Reggio Emila, Italy

old grains - Agriturismo Il Torchio, Reggio Emila, Italy

Alpine Pfauengerste (historic barley variety) grown & brewed at Stiegl's Biergut Wildshut, Austria

Alpine Laufener Landweizen (historic wheat variety) grown & brewed at Stiegl's Biergut Wildshut, Austria

Dinkel (historic spelt variety) grown & brewed at Stiegl's Biergut Wildshut, Austria

Brewmasters Christian Pöpperl and Markus Trinker from Stiegl Brewery in Salzburg opening the amphoras of their 6months fermented Urbier

Brewmasters Christian Pöpperl and Markus Trinker from Stiegl Brewery in Salzburg opening the amphoras of their 6months fermented Urbier

Christoph Bichler (Bierol) counting yeast cells under the microscope

yeast cells under the microscope

the air over the Zenne river at Brewery Boon, Lembeek, Belgium

the Zenne river at Brewery Boon, Lembeek, Belgium

Frank Boon controlling the coolship at his Lambic brewery in Lembeek, Belgium

the wort goes into the coolship to get spontaneous fermentation started - Brewery Boon, Lembeek, Belgium

Belgian brewer Frank Boon inmidst of his foeders of Lambic beers

Kurt Panneels with a bottle of a 50 year old Geuze beer in the cellar of his world-famous beer bar In de Verzekering tegen de Grote Dorst

Kurt Panneels showing us Lambic treasures in the Lambic Café "In de Verzekering tegen de Grote Dorst", Belgium's best beer pub

serving Geuze at "In de Verzekering tegen de Grote Dorst", Belgium

enjoying Lambic beers at the "In de Verzekering tegen de Grote Dorst", Belgium

at the Arrogant Sour beer festival 2018, Reggio Emilia, Italy

Anne-Françoise Pypaert, brewmaster at Orval, holding a bottle of Brettanomyces yeast against the light

Anne-Françoise Pypaert, brewmaster at Orval, holding a bottle of Brettanomyces yeast against the light

boiling the mash - Orval Brewery, Belgium

Anne-Françoise Pypaert is the head brewmaster at the Trappist brewery Orval in the south of Belgium

Christoph Bichler (Bierol) meets Frezi and Peter Bouckaert (Purpose Brewing & Cellars) at the hopfields of the Perrault Farm in Yakima Valley, Washington State

Matthias Siebler (Hops2Brew) controls his Herkules hops just before harvest in Wolnzach, Bavaria, Germany

Simcoe hop cone up close at Perrault Farm, Yakima (WA), USA

hop farmer Matthias Siebler rubbing & sniffing of fresh Herkules hop cone in Wolnzach, Germany

rub'n'sniff bei Matthias Siebler / Hops2Brew in Wolnzach, Germany

Carpenter Ranch, Yakima Valley, USA

Christoph Bichler (Bierol) and Tyler Carpenter watching the processing of the hops during harvest

hop drying kiln at Carpenter Ranch, Yakima Valley, USA

Frezi & Peter Bouckaert and Christoph Bichler listen to Tyler Carpenter during their tour through Carpenter Ranch

dry hops at Carpenter Ranch, Yakima Valley, USA

bumper sticker on a pick-up truck at Perrault Farms

Michael Neureiter (Ottakringer Brewery, Brauwerk) talks about the Braukulturwochen

The Ottakringer Braukulturwochen (Brew Culture Weeks) invites micro-breweries from across Europe into their summer beergarden to present and sell their beers to the Viennese beer lovers

Steve Hindi, founder of the Brooklyn Brewery

The Brooklyn Brewery was the first brewery to re-open in New York in the 1980s and became a hub to revive the entire neighborhood

Paul Jones, founder of Cloudwater Brewing Co banks on ethics - and excellent beers

John-Anthony Gargiulo and Michael Reganeschi from Hudson Valley brewery in Beacon, NY, explain their main concept to Christoph Bichler (Bierol): evoque the memory of childhood flavours

Dan Poppernack and Vern Burling from La Cabra in Berwyn, Pennsylvania, only add things to their recipes which are flavor-positive: if you can't taste them, don't add them

Christoph Bichler (Bierol) and Julia Herz (Brewers Association) taste the wort while homebrewing on Julia's terrace in Lyons, Colorado

Christoph Bichler (Bierol) watching the #SeekTheSeal ad of the Brewers Association

Misho Omar runs the Ammutsøn Craft Beer Dive in Vienna, sourcing his beers mostly from micro-breweries across Europe. In his first year he had over 1000 different beers from over 100 different breweries on tap

Christoph Bichler tasting the Bomboclat chocolate stout just before bottling at Bierol Brewery in Schwoich, Austria