Brasserie Gengoulf

Brasserie Gengoulf is a small Belgian craft brewery located in Villers-devant-Orval, in the municipality of Florenville, in the south-west of Luxembourg province, close to the French-Belgian border. It was founded in 2013 as a cooperative limited liability company (SCRL) by four friends: Vincent Habran, Marc Hisette, André Odwa and Olivier Tarnus. The idea originated in 2011, when the group decided to create a beer with limited bitterness that would appeal to a female audience. Vincent Habran, a laboratory technician at the nearby Orval Abbey brewery, worked full-time at Brasserie Gengoulf until 2019. Production grew each year, and in 2016 the brewery inaugurated new facilities with a maximum production capacity of 300 hectolitres per month. The brewery is situated on the right bank of the Marche river, which forms the border between Belgium and France, about 2 km south of the well-known Orval trappist brewery. The name Gengoulf refers to Saint Gangolf of Avallon, a pious French noble born in 702, who became the patron saint of cuckolded husbands and of the parish of Villers-devant-Orval. His stylised statue figure appears on the beer labels. The brewery's original beers are recognised as Belgian Beer of Wallonia, a protection granted by the Walloon Agency for the Promotion of Quality Agriculture (APAQ-W). Its two main beers are Gengoulf, a special blonde beer with a slightly amber hue, top-fermented, at 6.1% alcohol by volume, and Gengoulf aux Cèpes, a top-fermented blonde beer at 7.5% ABV produced since 2014.

Brasserie Gengoulf was born from an idea conceived in 2011 by four friends: Vincent Habran, Marc Hisette, André Odwa and Olivier Tarnus. They wanted to create a beer with limited bitterness that would appeal to a female audience. In 2013, the brewery was officially established as a cooperative limited liability company (SCRL). Among the founders, Vincent Habran was a laboratory technician at the nearby Orval Abbey brewery and worked full-time at Brasserie Gengoulf until 2019. Production increased each year, and in 2016 the brewery inaugurated new facilities with a maximum production capacity of 300 hectolitres per month. The brewery is located in Villers-devant-Orval, in the Gaume region, on the right bank of the Marche river, which serves as the border between Belgium and France, about 2 km south of the famous Orval trappist brewery. The name Gengoulf refers to Saint Gangolf of Avallon, a French noble born in 702 in Varennes-sur-Amance near Langres. He was very pious and honest, married to Ganéa, a frivolous and libertine young woman. He eventually retired to a hermitage near Avallon, where he led an austere life before being killed by one of his wife's lovers in 760. He became a saint and is, among other things, the patron saint of cuckolded husbands. He is also the patron saint of the parish of Villers-devant-Orval. His statue stands in a niche above a washhouse near the church dedicated to him. The original stylised figure of this statue appears on the beer labels. The brewery's original beers are recognised as Belgian Beer of Wallonia, a protection granted by the Walloon Agency for the Promotion of Quality Agriculture (APAQ-W). The two main beers produced are Gengoulf, a special blonde beer with a slightly amber hue, top-fermented, at 6.1% alcohol by volume, and Gengoulf aux Cèpes, a top-fermented blonde beer at 7.5% ABV produced since 2014.

• 2019

  Vincent Habran ends full-time work at the brewery.

• 2016

  New facilities inaugurated with a maximum production capacity of 300 hl per month.

• 2014

  Gengoulf aux Cèpes beer is first produced.

• 2013

  Brasserie Gengoulf is founded as a cooperative limited liability company (SCRL).

• 2011

  Four friends decide to create a beer with limited bitterness.

Artisanal Belgian craft brewery producing limited-bitterness beers, recognised as Belgian Beer of Wallonia.

• Gengoulf

  Special blonde beer, slightly amber, top-fermented, 6.1% ABV.

• Gengoulf aux Cèpes

  Blonde beer, top-fermented, 7.5% ABV, produced since 2014.

1. 1Brasserie Gengoulf - Wikidatawikidata.org
2. 2Brasserie Gengoulf - Wikipédiafr.wikipedia.org