A Taste of Belgium
Waking up before the sun with the smell of wheat and hops filling the brewery walls was always a dream for Joran Van Ginderachter.
As he stands high amid four noisy vessels, shouting numbers to the brewmaster in his thick Belgian accent, he reminds himself that he is not dreaming anymore.
“After working so hard, it felt good to finally reach my goal,” Van Ginderachter said.
A long way home from Belgium, he finds himself at Three Taverns Brewery in Decatur, Georgia, after leaving everything he knew behind him.
“I wanted to challenge myself to start a brewery from zero and grow it into the brewery we are today,” he said.
Van Ginderachter’s passion for beer and brewing all started when he took a trip as a teenager to visit his uncle at the New Belgium Brewery in Fort Collins, Colorado. As brewmaster, his uncle Peter Bouckaert was able to show him everything a brewery had to offer.
A few years later back in Belgium, Van Ginderachter was given an assignment in order to graduate from high school. His uncle put him in contact with Frank Boon of Boon Brewery in Lembeek, Belgium, to help him learn more about the art behind brewing so he could write his paper.
“I wrote about a lambic sour Belgian beer, called Gueuze,” he said.
After spending an entire day at the brewery and completing his assignment, Van Ginderachter was sold.
He took his passion and studies to Ghent University in Belgium, where he studied bio chemistry for three years prior to taking brewing science his senior year.
Before graduating in 2008, Van Ginderachter spent three months interning for his uncle at New Belgium Brewery where he began to get his hands on crafting beer and grow accustomed to life in the states.
“The experience was amazing. I love outdoorsy things so getting to learn how to brew and snowboard on the weekends was a lot of fun,” he said.
Once his internship was complete, Van Ginderachter took his new skills back to Belgium where he ended up working professionally at a brewery. In 2011, “Brouwers Verzet” was born and created by Van Ginderachter and his friends.
Most brewers go from home brewing to professional brewing but Van Ginderachter took a different route which translated to the name of his beer, meaning “brewing resistance” or “doing something else”.
He and his friends would rent large breweries on weekends to make 300 barrels of beer. In the beer world, he said it is referred to as gypsy brewing.
Throughout his time creating his very own beer for three years, Van Ginderachter faced a few bumps in the road which was subconscious preparation for what lay ahead.
“We had to figure out planning since we could only rent breweries on Saturdays and learn how to work with a small budget,” he said.
In 2012, Van Ginderachter had bigger dreams. Still finding ways to grow and make “Brouwers Verzet” as large as it could be, one email gave him an opportunity of a lifetime that he could not refuse.
Brian Purcell, president and CEO of Three Taverns Brewery was looking for a Belgian brewer. At the time, there were only two Belgian brewers in the United States, one being Van Ginderachter’s uncle.
After speaking with Bouckaert, Purcell was given the name of Van Ginderachter who was said to be an up and coming brewer at the time.
“I just knew I couldn’t miss out on this opportunity. I had a gut feeling that Joran was going to be able to bring a lot to Three Taverns,” Purcell said.
Purcell extended an invitation to Van Ginderachter to fly to Atlanta and check out what would become Three Taverns Brewery.
That November, Van Ginderachter visited the Peach State and stood in an empty warehouse with Purcell. His vision of becoming a head brewer began to take shape.
“It just felt right. I felt this is where I should be,” he said.
Van Ginderachter knew of the trials that were forthcoming by starting a brewery from scratch, but was eager to take on the challenge and fulfill his dream. He knew he was going to be leaving a lot behind but was looking forward to spending time in the U.S. after he enjoyed his experience at New Belgium Brewery.
Belgian brewing is more of a tradition compared to brewing in America.
“Here, many breweries experiment with American hops to find various tastes but Belgian breweries stick to the books and rarely alter taste,” Purcell said.
With “Brouwers Verzet”, Van Ginderachter and his friends shied away from traditions and experimented to create their beer.
“At Three Taverns, I would get a chance to do the same thing,” he said.
In April, 2013, Van Ginderachter took a leap of faith and moved to Atlanta where he would become the head brewer. The brewery launched on July, 2013, releasing its first two core beers, “Single Intent” and “A Night in Brussels”.
Literally starting from dust on the ground in the warehouse, Van Ginderachter has been there since day one growing Three Taverns Brewery into where it is today.
“I have been around the beer industry for a long time and I have never seen anyone create beer like Joran. If there was a beer wizard, it would be him,” said Three Taverns Beer Emissary Jarret Walker.
Van Ginderachter is now the third current Belgian brewer in the U.S. and proud to represent his country. He let his nationality be known, after placing the Belgium flag on top of the silo outside of the brewery following the Belgian defeat over the U.S. in the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
Making a new life in Georgia, he misses home but enjoys his experiences and meeting new people around Atlanta seeking his passion of being a brewer.
“I look forward to continue following my dream and growing with Three Taverns,” Van Ginderachter said.
