This is the first beer we’ve featured from La Brasserie à Vapeur – their very traditional Wallonian style Saison de Pipaix.
The brewery is situated in the little village of Pipaix, in Hainaut province, in the south of Belgium nearing the French border.
The unique feature of this brewery is that it is one of only a handful of working steam breweries. It is like going back in time to see how these beers are made.
They brew on the last Saturday of the month, and the brewery is open to visitors for this brew day. If you ever find yourself in Belgium at the right time, it is worth a diversion to see this brewery in action.
The beer is a saison, quite malty and dry which is traditional for the Wallonian region of Belgium. There isn’t a lot of funk to this beer, more a spicy character of ginger and black pepper. The malt body provides a little sweetness, matched against a solid hop bitterness.