Golden Lambikstoemper Award 2022 won by …

… café De Bascule in Bellingen!

Based on an impressive list of catering businesses, a number of criteria (which were drawn up after many hours of discussions) and after an anonymous site visit to the proposed businesses, we – De Lambikstoempers vzw – presented our Golden Lambikstoemper Award for the 13th time on Sunday 30th of October 2022 to the business that, in our view, has paid the most attention to lambic beers in 2022.

And the winner this year was the café De Bascule (Hondzochtstraat 3 in 1674 Bellingen) because of the nice selection of spontaneous fermentation beers on the menu: about 30 various Old Gueuzes and Old Krieks. But manager Jef Koolen also has the necessary expertise and sells between 20 and 40 liters of (flat) lambic per week! At the end of this year Jef will also bottle his own Oude Geuze Bascule (75cl), in collaboration with Willem Van Herreweghen, the oldest lambic of which has matured for 3 years in the cellar of De Bascule. At the moment, a sloppy 1,750 liters of lambic is maturing on barrel! In short: a deserved winner of our Golden Lambikstoemper Award 2022!

Traditionally, the Golden Lambikstoemper was awarded during our Day(s) of the Oude Geuze, on the parking lot of the Streekproducten Centrum in Halle, on 29th & 30th of October 2022 or the last weekend of the ‘Month of the Lambic’, organized by Tourism Flemish-Brabant.

The Golden Lambikstoemper Award is an artistic charter with some poetry drawn up by Ludo Buggenhout. Winner Jef Koolen received his award from our chairman, Johan “Wanne” Madalijns.