Huyghe Brewery Explained

Huyghe Brewery
Native Name:	Brouwerij Huyghe
Native Name Lang:	nl
Founder:	Leon Huyghe
Foundation:	1906
Location City:	Melle
Location Country:	Belgium
Owner:	Alain Delaet
Num Employees:	20
Homepage:	http://www.delirium.be/

Huyghe Brewery (Dutch; Flemish: Brouwerij Huyghe) is a brewery founded in 1906 by Leon Huyghe in the city of Melle in East Flanders, Belgium. Its flagship beer is Delirium Tremens, a golden ale.

History

In 1906, Leon Huyghe purchased an existing brewery in Melle^[1] (at a site that had been in operation brewing beer since 1654). The brewery adopted the present name in 1938. While the company initially brewed a regular pilsner, it soon began brewing the kinds of beers now typically known as "Belgian."

Operations and products

The beers created at Huyghe include a series of beers under the "Delirium" tag that feature pink elephants on their labels.^[2] The best known of these is Delirium Tremens, a blonde, Belgian ale.^[3] Other beers brewed at Huyghe include a Christmas beer and a beer called "Deliria", selected to be brewed by the company from 65 entries made by women brewers.^[3] In addition, the company makes a number of fruit beers with low ABV.^[4]

Huyghe has acquired several smaller Belgian breweries, including Arteveld Grand Cru in 1987,^[2] Brouwerij Biertoren in 1993, in 1994, and Brouwerij Villers in 1999.

Selected beers

• Delirium Nocturnum - 8.5% alcohol^{[5] [6]}
• Delirium Noël - a winter seasonal offering, 10.0% ABV.
• Delirium Tremens - 8.5% alcohol^[7]
  • Named as "Best Beer in the World" in 2008 at the World Beer Championships in Chicago, Illinois.^{[8] [9]} Stuart Kallen gives it the number one spot in his book, The 50 Greatest Beers in the World.^[10]

Name controversy

The Delirium Tremens beer product was banned in the United States for a period of time when it was first exported there. The reason was that the authorities thought the imagery and name of the beer were "too provocative" and "encouraged excess drinking".^{[11] [12]}

See also

• Beer in Belgium

Notes and References

1. Book: Hampson, Tim. World Beer. DK Publishing. New York. 2013. 9781465422637. 93. registration.
2. Book: Oliver, Garrett. The Oxford Companion to Beer. 2011. Oxford UP. 9780199912100. 472–73.
3. Book: Yenne, Bill. Beer: The Ultimate World Tour. 2014. MBI. 9781937994419. 127.
4. Book: Hampson, Tim. The Beer Book. 2014. DK Publishing. 9781465437679. 206.
5. Web site: Delirium Nocturnum - Brouwerij Huyghe - Melle, Belgium . BeerAdvocate . 2013-09-28.
6. Web site: Sudo . Chuck . Chicagoist's "Beer of the Week": Delirium Nocturnum . Chicagoist . 2006-12-06 . 2013-09-28 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20150311222233/http://chicagoist.com/2006/12/06/chicagoists_beer_of_the_week_delirium_nocturnum.php . 2015-03-11 .
7. Web site: Delirium Tremens. RateBeer. 4 January 2015.
8. "A Welcome Home", Fritz Hahn, The Washington Post, 10 January 2003.
9. "Sip of the Week", Peter St. Onge, Charlotte Observer, 11 October 2006.
10. Stuart A. Kallen, The 50 Greatest Beers in the World, Replica Books, 1999.,
11. Web site: Delirium Tremens Beer International Beer Collector . beercollector.com.au.
12. Web site: Orient . The Bowdoin . Riding the pink elephant: a look at Delirium . The Bowdoin Orient . en . 3 December 2010.