VBDCK Brewery

Microbrewery in Tielrode, East Flanders, Belgium 🇧🇪

Established in 2015

Contact
Antwerpse Steenweg 12, Tielrode, 9140, Belgium
Description
The Verbeeck-Back brewery has been around since the end of the 19th century, when it became one of the most beloved independent breweries in the northern region of Belgium. The brewery was, is and remains a family affair: no monks or big corporations in sight. The secrets of its successes were passed on from father to son until they became fathers themselves... and so on. However, the sons of the sixties-generation had other plans. In 1966, the brewery dozed off for a short nap.

In 2015, a new generation has risen and so has the brewery. The Verbeeck-Back family bloodline was reinforced by the De Cock family. Together, they have formed the formidable, reassuringly Belgian-sounding name Verbeeck – Back – De Cock. VBDCK. This new crop of VBDCK heirs to the family tradition of Belgian quality and craft has literally been digging up history by its roots. They are ripping through the nostalgic silence with KEREL, the beer that says it all, and the transformation of the original brewery and family residence into a new place to stay.

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6.8
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6.5 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 7 | Overall - 7

Lys gul klar med hvitt skum. Lukter karamell og alkohol. Fyldig. Smaker alkohol, fløtekaramell og brød.

Tried on 06 Sep 2025 at 16:05


7.8
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8

Dunkler, karamellig röstiger Beginn mit alkoholischen Tendenzen. Malz, Rosinen, etwas Whiskey, cremig. Würzig, holzig, langer karamelliger Abgang. 9/11/12/12/8/11

Tried from Bottle on 01 Sep 2025 at 19:16


Beer tick image

7.6
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7.5 | Flavor - 7.5 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5

7574 17
Clear, Slight Cold Haze Cloudiness, Yellow Straw Color, Huge White Foam Head, Wet Cream Top, Good Retention, Thin Soapy Rings and Dashes of Lacing. Slightly Fruity, Citrus, Lemongrass, Faint Belgian Yeast Aroma. Juicy, Lightly Sweet, Fruity, Citrus, Lemongrass, Mellow Belgian Yeast, Dusty Hops. Juicy, Lightly Sweet, Fruity, Citrus, Lemongrass, Belgian Yeast, Light Spiciness, Dusty Hops Aftertaste. Light And Easy Going. Good. Enjoyed It. Recommended...

Tried from Bottle on 30 Aug 2025 at 16:48


7
Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 7 | Overall - 7

A slightly hazy orange golden beer with an off white head. Aroma of dried fruits, caramel, raisins, wood. Taste of dried fruits, boozy malt, caramel, rye, raisins. Strong body.

Tried from Bottle on 22 Aug 2025 at 13:41


5.1
Appearance - 4 | Aroma - 5 | Flavor - 5 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 5.5

16/IV/25 - 33cl can from Albert Heijn supermarket (Oostakker), shared @ holiday in France, BB: 12/II/26, L4256B5? 10:02 (2025-362)

Clear light blond to yellow beer, big aery irregular white head, unstable, dissipates quickly. Aroma: malty, grains, hay, cow fodder. MF: ok carbon, medium body. Taste: gentle bitterness, grains, a bit sourish, bitter hops, some sweet malts, grains, corn flakes. Aftertaste: sweet malts, grains, a bit yeasty, some banana. Weak excuse for a lager.

Tried from Can on 16 Apr 2025 at 20:30


6.8
Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 6.5 | Texture - 7 | Overall - 6.5

VBDCK, self-described craft brewery which came onto the market in 2015 with their slogan "untouched by monks", has increasingly chosen the path of commercialism lately, producing a Pilsener-like blonde before this one, a 'true' Belgian blonde, which ironically does have a certain link to the tradition of monastic brewing in this country - it almost seems Kerel is forsaking its own principles now, but I guess this is a way to survive in a time when the craft beer hype has sadly passed its peak, an evolution which has already lead to the closure of several innovative 'postmodern' breweries (Atrium is one example). I think this brewery, which I have been following from even before it was officially launched, would be well advised to return to its original state of mind and come up with a more 'internationally' oriented beer soon, but that is just me being nostalgic. Anyway: an ordinary Belgian blonde literally named Blonde is what we have here today, sold in those typical 'pharmaceutical' bottles, but - at least for now - only through the Colruyt supermarket chain, which does present an exclusive brew of their own every now and then (see e.g. a few excluvise Liefmans editions - but do not get me started on that annoying Cara Pils). From the Colruyt in Zele. Medium thick, off-white, very regular, tiny-bubbled and tightly knit yet slowly breaking head on a completely crystal clear, very pure 'old gold' coloured robe with disparate strings of visible sparkling. Aroma of cold French fries, crackers, dried peach, pear, withering kitchen herbs, leftover brioche dough, baked banana, dried apple peel, something oddly smoky or sulphuric (freshly lit match - maybe DMTS?), vague (natural but old) rubber, half-cooked kale, chamomile and that cooked smell of pasteurisation faraway in the background. Sweetish onset, a layer of honeyish sugars over impressions of dried banana slices, pear and apricot, with a moderate minerality from active (even slightly stingy) carbonation; smooth, slick body. Cereally-sweetish pale maltiness in the middle, under ongoing residual sweetness and a trace of that dried banana continuing, towards a rather brief finish with a dash of floral hop bitterness sticking a bit to the root of the tongue, paired with clove-like phenolic spiciness and some of that kale and sulphur returning retronasally (could be DMS and DMTS, respectively, but pasteurisation could also be at work here). I can even feel the alcohol, in a wry, 'jenever'-like way, and that of course should not at all be the case at this ABV... By far the most mass-oriented, simplistic and 'empty' Kerel beer I had to date - and I dare say I had literally all of them, even every test brew leading up to the official opening of the brewery. Why is this filtered and pasteurised, and deliberately made sweeter than I am used to from this brand? Because Colruyt said so? Well, f*ck Colruyt then (excusez le mot). It is very obvious that Kerel is trying to address the lowest common denominator here with yet another meaningless blonde - do we not already have enough of those in this country? Instead of trying to imitate blonde Leffe or Grimbergen, which do belong to a tradition of being "touched by monks" whether you like it or not, VBDCK better stays true to itself. Granted, after swallowing, that typically Kerel yeast strain breadiness does pleasantly linger in the aftertaste and that is the one thing that withholds me from giving me this a really low score, but that white sugar sweetness, unusually badly hidden alcohol and those 'cooked' aromas should never have appeared in this altogether proud brand. Sorry Charlotte, but I am still looking forward to the next one, hoping it will not be a tripel - so that once again, your output can become a tad more 'agressive' towards the sleepy average-Belgian palate!

Tried on 11 Apr 2025 at 23:09


4.5

Weird taste but looked fine. Avoid.

Tried from Bottle on 08 Apr 2025 at 02:24


5.6
Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 5 | Texture - 4 | Overall - 5

330ml squat bottle. Pours a thin black with dark brown edges and a small tan head. Aroma is dark roast malts and some semi sweet chocolate. Beer is slightly thin, medium bitter and off dry with the slightly sweet chocolate flavours over burnt malts.
OK but a bit thin and the mix of bitter & sweet doesn't work for me. Not a stout I'd buy again.

Tried from Bottle on 22 Mar 2025 at 04:25



7.1
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 7 | Overall - 7

Bottle Can Het Biermeisje 2025-02-21 Göteborg - First from this brewery
AR: farmhouse yeasty funk, wee cheese, roasted malt, light rich carbonated, grapes (white)
AP: pale brown, thin beige lid
F: farmhouse yeasty funk, wee cheese, roasted malt, light rich carbonated, grapes (white)

Tried from Bottle from Het Biermeisje on 21 Feb 2025 at 18:42