PRESS RELEASE: Brasserie Dubuisson, Wallonia’s Oldest Brewery, Returns to America with Tradition and “Illegal” Beer

After a year that saw Brasserie Dubuisson change American importers and release yet-another cocktail-inspired beer, the Belgian brewery is kicking off a 2019 full of 250th Anniversary celebrations with a week full of events in the Mid-Atlantic that will double as the brewery’s official re-launch to the American market.

The week will be highlighted by Thursday January 10’s “Brasserie Dubuisson + Cotton & Reed: Belgian Beer (and) Cocktails.” From 6-9PM the Washington, DC rum distillery will welcome the brewery’s export director, Stijn Destatsbader, with an open-to-the-public night where five of Dubuisson’s beers will be re-imagined as cocktails – including a recreation of the illegal-to-import to America “Rasta Trolls,” a rum-infused variant of the brewery’s top-selling Cuvee des Trolls blonde ale.

“For years I told anyone who would listen about Dubuisson’s wine-like ability to pair with food,” said Wetten Importer’s Eastern Regional Sales Manager and Spokesperson Dean Myers, formerly beer director of Washington, DC’s Brasserie Beck. “But this is a brewery that beyond being the most food-friendly in the world, has had a renaissance by releasing core beers inspired by cocktails made with its more traditional releases. Rasta Trolls is on fire over there right now. The teams from Cotton & Reed and Wetten Importers thought it would make for a great night to capture some of that magic stateside and hopefully inspire a bottling of our own. I know they’re as excited for Stijn to get here as I have been to help with the ‘R&D.’”

The week will also feature the American debut of Dubuisson’s Saison Surfine, with the first tappings on Monday January 7 at Pizzeria Paradiso’s Dupont Circle location and Tuesday January 8 at Max’s Taphouse in Baltimore. This version of the saison style, which originated in the brewery’s home region of Wallonia, tips the scales at 6.5% ABV and is brewed with a touch of Brettanomyces to add complexity.

The week will also feature a first-of-its-kind beer dinner at Belga Café, where Chef Bart Vandaele has prepared a menu paired against the brewery’s Scaldis Prestige line of barrel-aged beers that source barrels from some of France’s most-renowned wine regions, including the Premier Cru Meursault Charmes and Nuits Saint Georges. The dinner, which will be held Wednesday January 9 at 6:30PM, marks the first time in America the entire Scaldis Prestige line will be presented together in a sit-down setting.

“Given his versatility when it comes to pairing with both wine and beer, Bart Vandaele was one of the first hosts we had in mind for this project and we couldn’t be happier with what he has in store for everyone,” Myers said. “Be it the Meursault Charmes barrel-aged Tripel or the French Oak-fermented amber, these bottlings are most at home in fine dining settings, a fact that is not lost on Chef. The fact that he’s Belgian certainly doesn’t hurt!”

The week-long celebration will conclude Friday January 11 at 5PM with a party at Tyson’s Biergarten, who’ve quickly become the nation’s biggest supporters of Dubuisson’s most-popular cocktail-inspired release, Scaldis Peche Mel, an 8.5% ABV version of the brewery’s flagship amber ale brewed with all-natural peaches.

For more information please reach out to Wetten Importers (media@wettenimporters.com) or Dean Myers (dean@wettenimporters.com).

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