[Trappist]

Written by Administrator   
Sunday, 19 November 2006

Hi,
These days, thousands of people participate a Hoegaarden witbier tasting experiment.
This, to find out if the original Hoegaarden taste has been achieved.
If the taste has been approved, bottling and packaging can start in a few weeks time at Altenaken.
But at brewery Hoegaarden, there are still big concerns about the taste and the planned closing date.
So, at the end of this week, there should be more clearness about the "new" taste of Hoegaarden.

"Business as usual", says Liane Verhoeven, representative InBev. "We do alot of consumers tests, But now this is extra important, because a migration of a brewery is involved. We can actually like a beer, but we have to know what the consumer thinks about it. The moving-date is inferior to the quality of the beer, but we are certainly on schedule."

In the mean time, the migration of the packaging machines from De Kluis to Alkenaken, where 69 people are employed, is abundance busy. "Altenaken should do its job in two weeks time", says Danny Vanmechelen, representative labor union ABVV.
"Then, the actually bottling and packaging of the Hoegaarden beer - the one from Hoegaarden and the one from Jupille - can begin". But, there are some doubts at the brewery. "The last weeks, some beer has been moved from Jupille to Hoegaarden, but the beer is absolutely not as right as it should be" we hear from the employees.
"There is still some lacto-acid infection. Bottling is no problem, but after a while, the beer becomes sour. The brewing at Jupille is not succeeded yet. One has forgotten that brewing witbier is completely different as brewing some pilsener" it sounds. So, many people are thinking that the brewery at Hoegaarden will be open for some months more than the planned closing date, end of December.
     
Cheers,
Filip