Brouwerij Sterkens

Client Brewer in Meer, Antwerp, Belgium 🇧🇪
Associated Venue: Bierparadijs

Established in 1651

Contact
Wenenstraat 9, Meer, 2321, Belgium
Description
Brouwerij Sterkens has a particularly rich and very tasteful history. In 1651, the Sterkens family began to brew their own beer out of interest. In that time, they were local farmers with small amount of money to brew some quantities. As they were brewing, they wrote down every single detail of the recipes they made and the way they produced the beer. These notes were given from father to son, for generations on. When the family noticed that brewing beer gradually got more priority than working on the farm, they chose to professionalize the brewery and to fill out more quality beers. The delicious and spicy St. Sebastiaan and St. Paul beers were well appreciated in Belgium, what led to the fact that Brouwerij Sterkens was one of the first breweries who went abroad for exportation.

The current 14th generation of Brouwerij Sterkens have ensured that the beers of Sterkens are appreciated in more than 30 countries on all 5 continents. The Sterkens family is looking to the near future with a lot of enthousiasm and confidence, without forgetting the past. After all, Brouwerij Sterkens is still bottling their beers in distinctive and exceptional packaging.

Sterkens did stop with brewing and became a client brewer in 2008.

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6.8
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7

330 ml bottle. Clear brown body with a fine beige head. Aroma of dried fruit, caramel and sweet malt. Flavor is rather sweet, malty and spicy. Aftertaste has a pleasant bitterness. Nice Belgium beer, but not outstanding.

Tried from Bottle on 04 Jan 2007 at 11:04


7.1
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5

Bottle. Brown colour with a beige head. Aroma is yeastie and spicy. Flavour is sweet, caramel, yeast, alcohol, spices.

Tried from Bottle on 01 Jan 2007 at 05:28


5.9
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 4 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6.5

Danish-Belgian cooperation that turns out quite well. 330ml compact bottle from Vinmonopolet (Harstad). Great clarity in a deep, golden brown body. Pretty yellow brown foam blanketing the glass. Fresh fruity aroma with roastiness. Rounded, moderate taste of spicy sweetness, hints of burnt malts and anise. Ends up with a short brush of bitterness. Medium palate (12.12.2006).

Tried from Bottle on 12 Dec 2006 at 14:38


6.6
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6.5

Sampled at the Richmond Beer Industry Gathering 2006. Clear dark amber body with a small tan head. Sweet caramel aroma. Strong caramel flavor. The bottle mostly just adds cost to a fairly mediocre beer, but atleast I have a ceramic swingtop to bottle into later.

Tried from Bottle on 29 Nov 2006 at 15:03


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

Bottled. Pours clear, sparkling, brown with a deep reddish hue and a creamy, beige, lasting head leaving nice lacings. Sweet and lightly spiced aroma with dried fruits and vinous notes. The flavor has a good deal of sweetness, along with spices, prunes, dried apricot, wine-notes and alcohol. Warming, full-bodied and a bit oily mouthfeel. The finish is quite spiced, with the alcohol coming stronger towards the very end. Will buy more of this one for sure. (061113)

Tried from Bottle on 13 Nov 2006 at 14:22


8.1
Appearance - 10 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5

330 ml bottle (BB 13/09/09). Now also available in Norway (Vinmonopolet). Copper coloured, huge light tan creamy and lingering head. Moderate but pleasant aroma of dark fruits, spices and oak, hints of claret. Flavour has plenty of malts, caramel, Christmas spices, Christmas fruitcake and oak, hints of sherry. Not too sweet. Nice mouthfeel, pleasant to drink. Definitely a treat for "Julemanden" (Father Christmas / Santa Claus).

Tried from Bottle on 09 Nov 2006 at 14:00


5.4
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 5 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 2 | Overall - 6.5

Like the dark, this beer doesn’t age. It is flat, but the flavor and aroma is ok. Once again I wonder why a Belgian brewer is following the German purity law. Some fruit in the aroma and flavor. Belgian yeast flavor as well, and I bet this had decent palate at one time. Hazy gold but no visible sediment.

Tried on 14 Oct 2006 at 22:39


7.3
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 8

[Tasted under the name of Basiliek van Scherpenheuvel] Dirty-hazy amber, small white ring. Very oxydized nose, plums, portwine or Madeira, higher alcohols. Expiration date is in ’07, but it is long gone for fresh beer lovers. Sweet, with a very vinous, portwine-like sourish flavouring. Actually it presents itself like a real portwine, made from other fruit than grapes, say plums and fresh dates, if you can imagine that. I like this very much, but I could imagine it’s not to everybody’s liking. Thinned body, but quite slick, even oily MF. For the lovers of old beer - you couldn’t have placed it better, Bart - thanks, buddy!

Tried from Can on 24 Sep 2006 at 12:58


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

Thanks to Joebrew for donating this beer to Footbalm’s September 2006 tasting. Sadly this beer disappointed. Sweet malt and light fruit aroma. Flavor was sweet but lacked depth, and like the palate was too thin. The beer was also lacking carbonation. It was probably very nice at one time. But what hell is a Belgian brewery doing, if they are adhering to the Reihengesboht?

Tried on 23 Sep 2006 at 23:12


6.2
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7

Bottle. Dark mahogony beer with a huge lt cocoa colored head. Creamy, yeasty, spicey aroma with some licorice. Darker malt flavor with yeasty, spicy flavor. Some background toffee/caramel/chocolate. LIghter bodied. Easy to drink. Not bad, just needs a bit more oomph.

Tried from Bottle on 31 Aug 2006 at 18:51