Brewery Vivant Wins Gold in West Coast Beer Competition

From Brewery Vivant:

Brewery Vivant is excited to announce that their soon to be released “Lange Wapper” has been awarded the gold medal at the Best of Craft Beer Awards out of Oregon. The 2022 competition took place March 4-6 and included 482 breweries from around the globe and 2,721 individual entries.

Lange Wapper won gold in the Rare and Historical beer category #33. Submitted as an Uitzet (Uytzet in Dutch) style beer, Head Brewer Chris Mitus discovered the beer more than 10 years ago during his homebrewing days researching lost beer styles. Vivant first brewed the beer in the summer of 2017 and decided to bring it back again this year.

According to Mitus, “I was able to piece together a recipe based on some old brewing literature from the 1700’s. Being able to drink a style of beer that hasn’t been brewed for hundreds of years gives you a feeling of drinking a bit of history..”

Uytzet is a 19th century farmhouse style ale from The Netherlands and Belgium. The tasting notes impart a light spiciness from use of buckwheat and unmalted wheat, and the color is deep from an extra long boil.

Brewery Vivant co-owner, Jason Spaulding recalls a few years ago when Mitus approached him with this lost beer style:

“He was excited to brew a beer using similar methods of the farm brewers of the old days” explains Spaulding.  “Many times farm brewers took any leftover grain they did not sell during harvest and made beer with it. Mitus worked hard to source the buckwheat as a main ingredient which is seldom used in brewing today, but really makes this beer distinct”  Spaulding adds.

The Lange Wapper name comes from ancient Belgian folklore of a shapeshifting creature that wreaks havoc on the townspeople in the Belgian countryside, especially as they leave to walk home from the pub late at night. A bronze statue of the legendary Lange Wapper stands in the city center of Antwerp, Belgium. 

About winning the gold, Spaulding says, “We never intended to enter Lange Wapper into competition but after looking at competition guidelines, it seemed to fit the historic beer section to a tee. The name seemed fitting to tie together with the Belgian countryside folklore.” He continues, “I love this beer because it is left unfiltered and rustic just like it would have been 200 years ago. You can taste the spiciness of the buckwheat and it transports me to another time when I drink it.”

Folklorish images of Lange Wapper have been interpreted by Grand Rapids artist Sarah Lindstrom who did the artwork for the can labels. Vivant has worked with Lindstrom previously for their Wizard Burial Ground imagery and she is currently working on new art for an old favorite called Devastation, which will be released this summer. 

Lange Wapper will be released on tap and in packs of four 16oz cans on April 21. It will be a very limited run and can be purchased at Brewery Vivant, Broad Leaf Brewery & Spirits and in select stores.

Who we are

Brewery Vivant is the world’s first LEED® certified commercial microbrewery and a Certified B Corporation. We brew beer in the European tradition with the addition of American ingenuity. At our pub we strive to elevate the enjoyment of beer & food and the sense of community in everything we do. Brewery Vivant prides itself on being a destination brewery in the “Beer City” of Grand Rapids and has distribution throughout the State of Michigan.

Broad Leaf Brewery & Spirits is a Certified B Corporation and one of the first brewpubs and distilleries in the city of Kentwood. At our tasting room, we focus on flavor exploration, building community and finding the connections between industry and the natural environment. Broad Leaf explores what it means to be a modern American craft brewery and distillery.

IMAGE 1 CHRIS MITUS (L), JASON SPAULDING (R)