Bellfield Brewery
We have arrived at the third stage in the Hop Trophy and this is a special one! As it happens, Bellfield came to the Netherlands as part of the brewery of the month at A.B.T. pubs across the Netherlands. We meet at the renowned beer café In De Wildeman in Amsterdam.
You can read all about Bellfield and how they ended up at In De Wildeman here. First of all, have a look at the video below where we speak to head brewer Keith about his beer and the brewery.
A.B.T.
A.B.T. stands for Alliance of Beer Taprooms, founded in 1986. De Wildeman is one of the founding members of this association of pubs where beer holds a special place. Since its foundation, "the A.B.T. aims to raise awareness and raise the level of knowledge, quality and skill in serving speciality beers." (Source)
So not just any club. "You have pubs where beer is served, and you have beer pubs where there is knowledge and expertise about beer. I'm certainly not going to judge the first, but only the latter can become A.B.T. members, ", is how A.B.T. chairman Rob Alphenaar describes it.
Every month, A.B.T. assigns a brewery of the month and in February 2023, it is Bellfield Brewery from Edinburgh. They brought the third Hop Trophy beer: a special edition of their flagship IPA Lawless Village, with, of course, only hops from European soil. The beer is exclusively on tap at A.B.T. pubs and that's how we met the Bellfield crew in Amsterdam In De Wildeman.
Craft beer for all
Bellfield Brewery was founded in 2015 by two friends with celiac disease. Celiacs' immune systems react harmful when they consume gluten, causing severe intestinal damage, among other things. Barley naturally contains gluten, which is why celiacs cannot drink most beers. Head brewer Keith: "Because of their auto-immune disease, they couldn't taste the beautiful beers that were available. So they decided to start a brewery where only gluten-free beer is brewed. Not only that, the beers are also vegan friendly. So a brewery with a Craft beer for all philosophy."
Hops at Bellfield
Hops play an important role at Bellfield. Keith: “Off course, hops, as one of the 4 main ingredients we use in brewing, is incredibly important to Bellfield. For our Lawless Village, which is really a homage to those mid-2000’s Westcoast American IPA’s, the hops are there for flavour, for character, we want pine, we want bitterness and fruit character. The correct use of hops in a beer can really elevate it and make it just brilliant.”
Hops with character, closer to home
For the third Hop Trophy beer, Bellfield went to work with Cascade and Centennial from European soil. These two originally American hops are always in the Lawless Village IPA, for this special release Lilly and Petit Blanc were also used. Keith was happy to use them: “Lilly and Petit Blanc are hops I never been able to use before you suggested them. So that was great, to go to you guys at Hollands Hophuis to get those up and coming or slightly rare European varieties. While a lot of British and Scottish brewing is focused on ‘what’s the newest, big muscley-citrus guy coming out of America’, actually you have load of that character, closer to home, in Europe, and that’s brilliant.”
That there is a difference in hops from American and European soil is evident to Keith: “When you take those American varieties like cascade and centennial, and grow them in Europe, of course you gonna get differences. I think actually that you gain a kind of that rounded fruitiness. Maybe you lose a little of that intense citrus, but you gain more warmth and depth in the hops.”
How that plays out in the third Hop Trophy beer you can see in the video above and read about it here.
Bellfield Brewery, A.B.T. & In De Wildeman info:
Bellfield Brewery is located in Edinburgh, a beautiful city in Scotland with many attractions.
More than worth a visit is the Taproom next to the brewery in Abbeyhill, within walking distance from the end of the famous Royal Mile. It hosts regular events around food and beer and you can go there for a tour through the brewery. You can find all the info here.
Bellfield is available throughout the UK and is doing a lot to spread their beers throughout Europe. The beers are available in their online shop (shipping within the U.K.). You can follow them on Instagram or visit the website.
The Alliance of Beer Taprooms (A.B.T.) is best followed on their Instagram page. On the website, you will discover all the affiliated cafés you can find throughout the Netherlands, literally from Texel in the north to Maastricht in the farthest south. The diversity of pubs is huge, but the love for and knowledge about beer is shared.
Beer tasting room In De Wildeman is located in the Kolksteeg, a 5-minute walk from Amsterdam Central station. An institution when it comes to beer, with 18 beers on tap and an endless choice in bottles; the beer cellar is simply impressive. You can find all the info on their website, Untappd has the most up-to-date beer selection available at In De Wildeman.
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