Celis beers

[cdh]

Michigan Brewing Co appears to be making Celis beers...

Has anybody had the opportunity to give the revived Celis a try? Does it live up to its former glory? The website makes it look like the Celis is being shipped back to Austin, which makes one wonder why the brewing moved from there to Michigan in the first place... Anybody know anything about the future plans to broaden distribution? I'm really missing my Celis... the closing of the Austin brewery was a tragedy... but the worse tragedy was the decision to cut the distribution before they closed the plant.

[Craig Camp]

Celis was originally Belgian. I never thought the stuff they made in Austin was up to the original.

[cdh]

Originally Belgian? Not the way I heard it... I'd thought that Pierre left Hoegaarden (sold it to Interbrew?) and retired to TX... where he developed the Celis beers with his children, letting them run the company. Then he licensed the recipes out to some euro-brewer to meet distribution requirements there...

[Craig Camp]

Originally Belgian?  Not the way I heard it...  I'd thought that Pierre left Hoegaarden (sold it to Interbrew?) and retired to TX... where he developed the Celis beers with his children, letting them run the company.  Then he licensed the recipes out to some euro-brewer to meet distribution requirements there...

Yes that's right. He just took the recipe from Hoegaarden to recreate it here. I never thought it was as good.

[slkinsey]

Celis was originally Belgian. I never thought the stuff they made in Austin was up to the original.

Actually, no... Celis was not originally Belgian. Unless you're talking about Pierre Celis the man. He was (and still is AFAIK) Belgian.

What happened is this: Wit beer -- which used to be very big around Leuven, Belgium -- had pretty much died out by the 1960s when Pierre Celis decided to try reviving the style. He bought brewery equipment and founded the De Kluis brewery and began producing a wit beer named Hoegaarden. This basically brought the style back to popularity, and some other brewers started making their own examples in the 1980s. Pierre Celis is, in a very real sense, the father of wit beer today. Anyway, at some point there was a fire in the De Kluis brewery and Celis was forced to sell the brewery to Interbrew (makers of Stella Artois, etc.) in order to keep it in operation. Around that time, his daughter was going to school in Texas (or something like that) and he moved to Austin where he opened the Celis Brewery, making Celis White, the delicious Celis Grand Cru and several other Belgian-style beers. These were the first beers named "Celis" of which I am aware. Also, to my taste, Celis White was in every way a superior beer to Hoegaarden... like maybe he learned something after a decade or two making wit beer. Unfortunately, at some point he entered into a partnership with The American Specialty & Craft Beer Company, which is an arm of Miller Brewing. Before you knew it, Miller had acquired a majority of the company and decided to close it down and auction off the trademark and equipment. AFAIK, the Michigan Brewing Company bought the trademark, equipment (?) and recipes and is re-starting production of Celis. I haven't heard anything as to their results.

[Craig Camp]

I never thought the Texas version of Hoegaarden - had the bright fruity flavors of his original in Belgium, but then the current corporate version they brew there now does not either.

I was distributing Hoegaarden when Celis had to sell it and remember being disappointed in the Texas beer when it came out. Perhaps I had been drinking his Belgian version for too many years to like what they came up with in Texas. The current Hoegaarden is a shadow of what Celis was making when I was selling it many years ago.

[rickster]

Unfortunately, at some point he entered into a partnership with The American Specialty & Craft Beer Company, which is an arm of Miller Brewing. Before you knew it, Miller had acquired a majority of the company and decided to close it down and auction off the trademark and equipment.

This a little unfair to Miller. Miller set up ASCBCo hoping to take advantage of the boom in craft beers that appeared to be imminent in the early-mid 1990's, and entered into partnerships with a few small breweries. You can argue that Miller did not know how to market it, but it is also true that there was a boom and bust in the craft beer market and many breweries and brew pubs went out of business. The venture was a steady money loser for Miller and it was clear that there was never going to be a decent sized market for Belgian style beer in the US. I believe they tried to sell it but were unable and decied then to shut it down.

[Craig Camp]

What about the current success of Blue Moon - it is everywhere in Chicago. For better or worse it is presented as a Belgian style beer.

[theakston]

Blue moon is awful. Coors.

Celis is currently made (in Belgium) by The van Steenberge brewery

http://ratebeer.com/ShowBeer.asp?BeerID=9696

I don't believe it can be imported as Miller still own the rights to the name.

IMHO Allagash make the best witbeer (in the USA) simple called Allagash white.

[Craig Camp]

Blue moon is awful. Coors.

Celis is currently made (in Belgium) by The van Steenberge brewery

http://ratebeer.com/ShowBeer.asp?BeerID=9696

I don't believe it can be imported as Miller still own the rights to the name.

IMHO Allagash make the best witbeer (in the USA) simple called Allagash white.

Where is Allgash from?

I thought I had remembered tasting a Celis at some pub in Europe, but I was not sure. Thanks for confirming that.

[Craig Camp]

Blue moon is awful. Coors.

Don't they add "fruit flavor" to Blue Moon?

[theakston]

Allagash is from Portland Maine. Is is widely available on the East Coast (Wholefoods etc). I't isn't raining so I'm going to have one in the garden NOW.

[cdh]

I'm not a fan of the Allagash white... too much body to it. A Wit should be lighter in mouthfeel than that it... That is what Celis had going for it... the best white anywhere, in my experience.

On a similar note, the Belgian Black style, as exemplified by the New Belgium 1554 is another good thing that is not nearly available enough. I've taken to brewing my own... basically a wit with some dark malt thrown in...

[Craig Camp]

Sipping on a Wittekerke Wit Bier right now. It is fresh, light and fruity. Quite nice.

[jess mebane]

you folks are missing the larger point. Clint Eastwood and the Celis fellow created a lovely beer, Pale Rider, after the movie of the same name. When Celis was sold, Pale Rider disappeared from coolers faster than Sandra Locke's career, so what I wanna know is, will the folks from Michigan dare revive Mr. Eastwood's recipe?

[malachi]

Ghost, sadly. I've tasted the "new" Celis and it is as one might fear -- a pale and dumbed down imitation of the old Celis.

[cdh]

Sad to hear it is only a ghost... maybe they'll pump some life into it yet... but not likely. I guess I'm stuck homebrewing.