Water & Soil

Flanders is flat, and where the land does rise, the hills carry proud names. Mont Cassel, Mont des Cats and Mont des Récollets are the three hills referenced in the name of the beer 3 Monts. From up there, you can see across fields, canals and brick villages all the way to the horizon.

Beneath the fields of Artois lies mostly chalk. Where wells draw from it, the water is mineral-rich and hard. Exactly which source an individual brewery uses is something breweries rarely spell out. What's certain is that almost all breweries today treat their water, either softening it or adding mineral salts. The idea that water alone defines the style belongs to the past.

Behind this lies a rule of thumb. Carbonate-rich water, meaning water with plenty of dissolved lime, suits dark malts and rounds them out. For a pale Bière de Garde, the Blonde, brewers prefer softer water so the malt sweetness doesn't turn dull.

The climate along the edge of the North Sea is mild and damp, rarely freezing in winter. For farmhouse brewers, that was a blessing: they could brew well into spring and let the finished beer rest in cool cellars or barns. Only this cool aging gave the beer the soft edges so prized in Bière de Garde today.

It was aged in casks, later in bottles. A beer meant to rest for months needs a space free of heat and sharp temperature swings. The cellar beneath the farmhouse did the job perfectly; no refrigeration was ever needed.