braupakt

While collaborations are common in craft breweries, it is rather unusual in traditional breweries to brew together with other brewers. The traditional Belgian brewery St. Bernardus has not had the pleasure of collaborating with colleagues in the past. That has now changed: Connected by spiritual founding fathers and a shared passion for the brewing craft, the Bavarian State Brewery Weihenstephan and St. Bernardus have come together.

The joint project is called Braupakt and was launched by the Weihenstephan team back in 2018. At that time, the Bavarians brewed with the craft beer legends of the American craft brewery Sierra Nevada. For the second edition, they didn’t have to travel far: St. Bernardus shares their love of detail and eye for quality. In addition, the two breweries have known each other for a long time because St. Bernardus brought the good Weihenstephan beer to Belgium and distributes it there.

The friends chose a beer style that connects their two countries. Their brewing pact is a blond ale that is similar to Bavarian wheat in many ways. The hops grew in the sunny gardens around the St. Bernardus brewery, while the malt was kiln-dried from Bavarian grain. The yeast comes from the Bavarian State Brewery Weihenstephan’s own strain and the water comes from their own well. And in terms of taste, the brewing pact combines the best of both worlds: wonderfully spicy, grippy texture, fine yeast notes, juicy fruity and strong.