Thursday, 10 December 2015

Brewery Visit: De Koninck

Brewery: De Koninck
City: Antwerp
Country: Belgium

Well the old brewery, so more like a museum..

Last weekend i visited the old Koninck brewery in the Belgian city of Antwerp!
Although the brewery no longer brews its beer there, which is now done at Duvel Moortgat (which bought the brewery), it still functions as a museum and brewery "experience". Why did we decide to visit? My sister is currently conducting her thesis research for the brewery!

De Koninck!
But first, a little history lesson..

The brewery was founded in 1833 (3 years after the formation of Belgium as a country) and was originally called "the hand". The reason for this original naming was that the building hosting the brewery was located at a boundary crossing between Antwerp and Berchem. A signpost with a hand sigil indicated that payment of a toll was necessary to pass. The hand has since become the symbol for the city of Antwerp.

The name "De Koninck" appeared in the first half of the 19th century, and as such the brewery was now named after its founding family. Around the same time, the beer also became the most popular drink in Antwerp and the surrounding countryside.


Ill just have one…..
But back to my story,

I visited the Brewery last weekend, on a Sunday. Looking back this was unfortunate as, although the brewery was open, all surrounding restaurants and bars (which are in the same complex) were closed. Although unfortunate, the brewery was open and that was the main reason for visiting.

Like i previously mentioned, the brewery has stopped brewing beer and has been turned into a brewery "experience" and museum. The experience guides you through the old brewery which has been renovated into a semi-interactive museum with televised tour guides and exhibitions.

Glasses, glasses everywhere!
For example, in the space shown by the picture above, a video guide informed us about different beer glasses and their corresponding beers (all owned by Duvel Moortgat, off course). Exhibitions like this really characterized this brewery museum, as each space had some form of video instruction or interaction. Probably the best part was taking a seat in a Koninck delivery truck as it, as a simulation, raced through the streets of Antwerp.

Grand Theft Koninck
But apart from a few other limited, tangible, interactions it was really just a museum and not so much an experience. Although informative, these semi interactive (press a button) video guides and interactions dont really let a visitor experience anything "real"(with the exception of being able to touch barley).

Moreover, even though the brewery is no longer in use, it was not possible to walk through the actual brewery. Instead, a suspended walkway with windows was seemingly constructed and as such it felt a little artificial.

An old Koninck cafe and a history lesson

Don't get me wrong, the exhibitions were nicely made and looked great, but the lack of physical or human interaction made this less of an "experience" for me. It would have been great if more activities were included, or for example places where one can taste and feel the brewing process and ingredients.

But first, let me take a brewfie..


So in terms of the "experience" in itself, i experienced it more like a museum. The exhibitions were great and the information displayed was great, however there was nothing really there to entice or motivate you to really explore and "experience" the Koninck.

The ending was good..
The end of the tour was nicely done however, as here you could exchange your ticket for either a tasting platter of three different beers or a single glass. The "brewery" bar was also very nice, and had a great atmosphere.

I selected the single glass as i was eager to taste on of the new test brews currently being made by de Koninck.

Cheers!

All in all a good day, but not really an "experience" which was unfortunate. However, if you ever find yourself in Antwerp and looking for something to do, de Koninck is a nice place to visit.

I hope my sister's research will contribute to some improvements to really make this a brewery experience!

Cheers!








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