#BGGD52 in tweets and pictures
The Beer Edition was a big succes! Check out our Storified collection of tweets and mobile pictures.
#BGGD52 Goodies and prizes. Oh, we’re being spoilt!
What’s in the goodie bag?
The story so far:
- Beer chocolates “Gouden Arend” from brouwerij De Rijk
- Foldable shopping bag, recipe book and e-voucher from John Martin
- Bottle opener Grand Cru from St Feuillien
- Desperados bandana
- Liefmans gadget
- Lefebvre ball point
- Bike seat cover and biking guide from Gouden Carolus
- Brasserie Du Bocq brochure
Sweepstakes
This is what we’re giving away during the girl geek dinner:
- Leather briefcase with assorted beers, cheeses, bottles and tasting glasses from Ter Dolen
- Desperados ice bucket and three tasting glasses
- 10 tickets for the beer tasting and food pairing sessions during Beer Weekend in September
- Books, a.o. Jong Keukengeweld
- Free entrance tickets for the Beer Museum
#BGGD52 The beer sommelier, the beer blogger and other beer experts
Besides are three speakers, six more brewery professionals will attend our girl geek dinner: Anne De Ryck (De Ryck), Laure Van Sluys (Duvel Moortgat), Dominique Friart (St-Feuillien), Sofie Fiers (Alken Maes), Mieke Desplenter (Ter Dolen), Nathalie Eloir (Abbaye Des Rocs), and Sophie Vercamme (John Martin).
Special guest star is beer blogger Sofie Vanrafelghem (@SVanrafelghem) of www.vrouwenenbier.be and www.facebook.com/VrouwenEnBier. In her Twitter bio, she describes herself as “Passionate about gastronomy and beer | Co-author 100x proeven van Straffe streekbieren | hobbybrewer / beerauthor / traveljournalist | beertastings”
And last but not least there’s beer sommelier Anneke Rijkers, who will guide us through the beer tasting and food pairing.
This is what we’ll be tasting:
#BGGD52 Speakers: Rosa, Miek and Els about the history, present and future of breweries
Our three speakers at the 52nd edition of Brussels Girl Geek Dinner are all female, and all beer professionals:
Rosa Merckx, Liefmans (Oudenaarde)
Cult brewery Liefmans was founded in 1679 and was based in the centre of Oudenaarde until it moved to its present site on the banks of the Schelde in 1933. In the 1970s and 80s, Liefmans achieved a greater public profile thanks to the tireless work of its manager, Rose Blancquaert-Merckx, a former ballet dancer. “Madame Rose” eventually retired from the brewery to run a restaurant in the town that featured the local dish carbonade flamande – beef stewed cooked with Oud Bruin.
Miek Van Melkebeke, sales at Brouwerij De Ryck (Herzele)
As we’re a small team at De Ryck everybody wears several hats. But especially in the future i’ll focus more and more on the sales and public relations part, from to local to the world wide market. Since we just started our beer in bottles, this creates a lot of opportunities and off course extra work, but we believe in our products and consider the sky the limit.
Els Van Itterbeeck, promotion at Het Anker (Mechelen)
My official title is “commercial employee”, but my task consists mainly of promoting and marketing the concept of our brewery and distillery to a wide audience.
To Het Anker, brewing beer is a total experience (and soon whiskey experience) in the broad sense of the word.
Registrations for #BGGD52 The Belgian Beer Edition on 20 June are now open
Just a quick note that registrations for the 52nd edition of Brussels Girl Geek Dinner have just opened. This time, on Wednesday 20 June, about 60 girl geeks will taste and try Belgian beers and the finger food that goes with them. Register through http://twikilist.com/BGGD52 to get in for free!
We’re still filling in the details about the speakers (all of them female and beer professionals), but in the meanwhile, here’s the building where we’ll be holding the Girl Geek Dinner: the Brewers’ House right on Brussels’ Grand’Place. From beerparadise.be:
The brewers’ guild, founded in the 14th century, buys the “Gulden Boom” premises at the end of the 16th century. In 1695, however, the French army bombs the city of Brussels under Field Marshal de Villeroi. Most houses on the Grand-Place are destroyed. The brewers, however, decide to finance the reconstruction of their house and commission architect Willem De Bruyn to do so.
[...]
In 1951 the Belgian brewers’ association moves back into the house that had been built under the guild patronage two hundred and fifty years earlier, thus giving back its initial function to the former “Gulden Boom”.
The Union of Belgian Brewers, uniting all the breweries in the country, has made the old vaulted basements into a national brewers’museum.