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.

     Show


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

Rather stable dirty-yellowish head; (cold) hazy peach coloured beer. Chalk, cocos, marked caramel, buttertoffee, malty aroma’s. Heavy burnt-bitterish taste, scorched caramel, sweeter malt and honey caramels underneath. Again faint buttery flavourimpression - if it’s diacetyl, it’s below my ID treshold. Faint citrussy, very slight sourish finish. Rather slick, nearly fatty, some burning sensation in the MF. Feels more carbonised than it looks. Bit strange blonde, very mixed flavours & impressions. Not overly remarkable.

Tried on 01 Mar 2005 at 13:53


5.3
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 5 | Texture - 4 | Overall - 5

This is known as St. Sebastiaan Grand Cru in its country of origin. Pale, drab amber colour; virtually no head, just some transparant bubbles. Quite alcoholic nose, and definitely some oxidation. Dull, lifeless sweetish taste, cookies, old sherry, oxydized. Thin body, flat as a pancake. A beer that hasn’t stood up to - what? Bad storage, transport, age ...? BBD is indecipherable. Will have to try again.

Tried on 11 Feb 2005 at 15:35


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

Thick greige head leaving fine lace; dark, red-brown beer. Very bready nose - and then there’s (some) coffee. Dark malts in evidence. Coffee-ish taste, quite clean, ending more moccha-like, slightly sweetened. Bitterish more roasted malt than hops. Good balance, nevertheless. Very faint sourish in the finish. Rather light bodied, even a bit watery for a dark ale of 7%ABV. Rather dry. Reality or suggestion? I seem to like this better since it’s brewed at Moortgat. Good dark beer, rather original flavour profile.

Tried on 11 Feb 2005 at 09:26


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

Best Before date 9/05 Dark red-chestnut beer; dense, creamy head, first collapsing, thén stable, as dried soap foam. Rather alcoholic nose, leafy aroma’s, sweet nose but with a faint sourish, ironoxyde background. Burnt, roasted malts, roasted peanuts (not salted), bit earthy. After reflection, there IS a certain saltiness, apart from the malt sweetness, the bitterness that is exclusively roasted, no acidity in the taste - there remains a salty touch. Dark malts come even more forward warming up. Medium bodied, burnt impression, bit fizzy. Rather ideosyncratic beer, which is about the last eptithet I would link to the former Sterkens brewery. Which brings me to the main question - who made this, and where?

Tried on 21 Jan 2005 at 14:43


5
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 4 | Texture - 2 | Overall - 4

Ceramic bottle nice aroma: Raisins (including sulphur) , plums, port, burned toast. Cherrywood coloration, no head. Not sure I like the flavor too much: Oaky, burned caramel, coffeground bitterness and somewhat medicinal. Disappointingly light body and flat mouthfeel. Burned sugar aftertaste.

Tried from Bottle on 16 Dec 2004 at 14:07


5.1
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 5 | Flavor - 5 | Texture - 4 | Overall - 4.5

Stoneware bottle Ashen slightly honeyish aroma. Golden, low on visible carbonation, lacing creamy head. A bit of fruit - orangepeel (including the bitter parts), hay, peppery, slight alcohol burn. Unfortunately also a slight gunpowder and veggie note. Medium body, oily mouthfeel. Not overly impressive.

Tried from Bottle on 13 Dec 2004 at 14:19


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

Thanks to bu11zeye for the 16oz bottle of this Belgian. Pours a murky dark brown with a burgundy tint. Thick beige head and nice lacing. The aroma is malty and nutty, but has some characteristics of a Flemish Sour too. Medium-bodied and smooth with flavors of burnt malt, raisin, sour fruit and yeast. The finish is on the thin side and is rather fruity. All in all this is a decent Belgian. At times it is well balanced and at others it is not, but more often than not it is pretty good.

Tried from Bottle on 10 Nov 2004 at 12:05


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

Bottle. Malty aroma. Nice brown colour. Sherry/wine-like undertones reminding me of old/vintage beer.

Tried from Bottle on 26 Oct 2004 at 19:36


6.4
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6.5

Red-ish brown colour. Rich head. Sweet-ish liquorice aroma. Fruity, slightly roasty flavour. Interesting Belgian ale/Porter-hybrid.

Tried on 30 Jul 2004 at 13:23


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

Clear Mahogany body with a creamy smallish head. Aroma is doughy, yeasty, with a flowery honey note. The flavor is sweet but needs more complexity to back up the aroma. Not as good as the Trappists or smaller micro Abbey style Dubbels.

Tried on 18 Jul 2004 at 13:59