New Belgium Brewing Company's Lauren Limbach (formerly Salazar) takes a break from crushing freshly picked nettles on a Belgian farm to share a beer with her colleague, Cody Reif, as well as brothers Jef and Dries Janssens, during a collaboration brew with Brouwerij Hof Ten Dormaal as part of the Lips of Faith series.
“Feel the sting,” Jef jokes. “I think that’s a good tagline for the beer.”
Heavy Nettle, a 6% ABV Golden Ale, is the last beer that will be brewed on the current Hof Ten Dormaal system. Their tanks were just shipped to Southeast Asia, where a Belgian brewer will begin a brewing venture of his own in Vietnam. Hof Ten Dormaal’s new equipment will arrive soon, and they’ll set it up it in the larger space where the fire once destroyed their farm roof.
It’s Limbach's third time at the farm. She discovered it on a visit a years ago with a friend, and felt an immediate connection. “I met the whole family two years ago when I was here visiting their brewery and I stayed in touch," she says. “I find that the Janssens family is one of the most genuine, kind and gracious families I have met in a long time.”