Aficionados of sour brews are sure to recognize the name of Brussels, Belgium brewer Cantillion. The brewer is renowned for creating some of the world’s best lambic brews and its brewery is always on the itinerary when visiting Belgium. Back in 2008, Cantillion brewed and bottled the first of a special series of beers dubbed Zwanze, a word that refers to a sarcastic sense of humor in the Brussels dialect.
That first beer – a special lambic with rhubarb added – led to more in the series created with untraditional ingrediants, thus Zwanze. As the beers became more and more sought-after, Cantillon brewer Jean Van Roy used his Zwanze series to bring lambic enthusiasts together around the world for Zwanze Day.
At first the celebrations were sporadic and unscheduled. They depended on who could get the brews and when they could be procured. But, in 2011, the Zwanze series was released to select bars and taverns simultaneously world-wide. Zwanze Day had been born and has grown every year since.
This year the celebration will take place on Saturday, September 19 and include more than 50 establishments, 26 in the United States. The closest venue to Jacksonville is Redlight Redlight in the Orlando area.
This year’s beer is Wild Brussels Stout and will no doubt be a rich stout with a bit of tart funk. Previous entries have included a lambic with Pineau D’aunis grapes added, a lambic with elderflowers added and the highly-coveted Iris Grand Cru.
The full list of venues celebrating Zwanze Day 2015 is provided below.
AUSTRALIA
– The Dutch Trading Company — Perth
AUSTRIA
– Tribaun — Innsbruck
BELGIUM
– Moeder Lambic Fontainas — Brussels
– Moeder Lambic Saint-Gilles — Brussels
– Mi-Orge Mi-Houblon – Arlon
– Rose Red — Brugge
CANADA
– Dieu du Ciel — Montréal, Québec
– barVolo — Toronto, Ontario
– Biercraft – Vancouver, British Columbia
DENMARK
– Olbutikken — Copenhagen
FRANCE
– La Fine Mousse — Paris
– La Capsule — Lille
FINLAND
– Stadin Panimo Baari — Helsinki
GERMANY
– Café Herman — Berlin
GREAT BRITAIN
– Kings Arms — London
– Kernel Brewery — Bermondsey
– Six° North — Aberdeen
ITALIE
– Ma Che Siete Venuti A Fà — Rome
– The Dome — Nembro
– LambicZoon — Milano
– The Drunken Duck — Quinto Vicentino
– Ristopub Margherita — Quartu Sant’Elena
– Ottavonano — Atripalda
JAPAN
– Brussels Otemachi – Tokyo
– Dolphin’s Umeda– Osaka
NEDERLAND
– De Bierkoning — Amsterdam
NORWAY
– Nogne O — Grimstad
SPAIN
– Masia Agullons — Sant Joan de Mediona
SWEDEN
– Akkurat — Stockholm
SWITZERLAND
– Erzbierschof — Zurich
USA
– Anchorage Brewing Co. — Anchorage, Alaska
– Apex — Portland, Oregon
– Armsby Abbey — Worcester, Massachusetts
– Avenue Pub — New Orleans, Louisiana
– Bagby Beer — Oceanside, California
– Beachwood BBQ — Seal Beach, California
– Blue Monk — Buffalo, New York
– Brouwer’s Café — Seattle, Washington
– ChurchKey — Washington, D.C.
– Crooked Stave Barrel Cellar — Denver, Colorado
– Fool’s Gold — Manhattan, New York
– Hill Farmstead Brewery — Greensboro, Vermont
– Holy Grale — Louisville, Kentucky
– Jester King Brewery — Austin, Texas
– Lord Hobo — Cambridge, Massachusetts
– Monk’s Café — Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
– Novare Res Bier Café — Portland, Maine
– REAL a Gastropub — Honolulu, Hawai’i
– Redlight Redlight — Orlando, Florida
– Russian River Brewing — Santa Rosa, California
– Schera’s — Elkader, Iowa
– Side Project Cellar — Maplewood, Missouri
– Spuyten Duyvil — Brooklyn, New York
– The Birch – Norfolk, Virginia
– The Trappist — Oakland, California
– West Lakeview Liquors — Chicago, Illinois
