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Kristof Vandenbussche was a heating engineer, carrying out technical work for bigger breweries and assisting cafe owners in Bruges with the maintenance of their cooling systems. Before that, he had homebrewed with his friends, some of whom had studied chemistry at university and could offer insight into fermentation.
Vandenbussche comes from a farming background, and in 2011, armed with engineering skills, experience in malting and homebrewing, a large network of beer sellers and cafes, and a very strong work ethic, he built his own small brewery in the north of Bruges and called it Brouwerij Fort Lapin after the architect who constructed the fortifications there.
Fort Lapin brew classic Belgian beers. Vandenbussche’s line-up includes a Tripel, a Quadrupel, a Dubbel, a Witbier, a Rouge, a Winterbier and a Kriek. He makes beers for what he refers to as “local people”, the regulars in Bruges who enjoy the familiarity of the Belgian styles on which he focusses.
Vandenbussche is a single-minded guy. He knows what he wants to do and he doesn’t care what people think about him. In conversation he is to-the-point and honest. His beers exhibit this no-frills character, this life experience, this balance.
In our chat, we talk about the growth of Fort Lapin and Vandenbussche’s obsession with making beers for local people as opposed to beer geeks or international markets.
We discuss the construction of his traditional Belgian ales and the ingredients he uses.
And we explore the dichotomy of his championing brewers as opposed to those who contract beers, while at the same time brewing beers on contract for others in his own brewery in order to make his business work.
Sit back, listen and enjoy Kristof Vandenbussche of Brouwerij Fort Lapin.
Special thanks to Nic Crilly-Hargrave for the photographs, to Leander Meuris for the audio recording and to Ales Tales Festival and Beer Merchants for providing the space to record.
