Van Twee

Commercial Description:
Ingredients and techniques from two different areas come together to produce the beer in this bottle. Van Twee (From Two) is the remarkable result of a collaboration between two breweries know for extreme innovation: Bell’s Brewery of Kalamazoo, MI and De Proef Brouwerij of Lochristi, Belgium. Special emphasis was placed on using ingredients from both Belgium and Michigan in designing this beer. Michigan is renowned for producing sour, dark cherries of superior quality, and a significant quantity of cherry juice was added to the brew. Deep hued Belgian candi sugar adds to the complex flavor of the beer. The sugar used for bottle conditioning came from native Michigan sugar beets. A finishing fermentation with vinous Brettanomyces strain of yeast complements the unique New Zealand hop variety, Nelson Sauvin. The result is broadly a cherry infused ’mash-up’ of the porter and dubbel styles, brewed to an original gravity of 1.072 and fermented with multiple strains of yeast. Each ingredient used brings a subtle hint of a varied fruit such as plum/prune from the roasted malts; gooseberry/grape from the hops; pear/banana from the yeast and specialty sugar; and of course cherry. These flavors are wrapped in a rich and complex roasted malt base that imparts flavors reminiscent of chocolate and coffee--much like the famous filled chocolates of Belgium. We hope you enjoy drinking this beer as much as we enjoyed making it for you.