‘A pleasant alternative to a lager’, still Antwerp’s ‘Bolleke’ is becoming less and less popular

If you walk into any traditional pub in the city of Antwerp, there’s a good chance you’ll see someone drinking a ‘Bolleke’. The amber-coloured beer from the De Koninck brewery has been a staple in Antwerp’s pubs since the 1950s.

The brewery on the Mechelsesteenweg has been in existence since 1833. The ‘Bolleke’, also kown as an APA or Antwerp Pale Ale, wasn’t created until much later, in 1952. “The beer style, a ‘spéciale belge’, had already been around for several decades, but De Koninck put its own spin on it with its ‘Bolleke’,” explains Xenia Pauwels of the De Koninck brewery.

The glass in particular was important for the beer’s name. “The distinctive rounded glass gave rise to the name ‘Bolleke’ or little ball,” says Pauwels. “On top of that, when the beer is poured correctly in two stages, it forms a rounded head.”

Special glass

Modeste Van den Bogaert is regarded as the ‘father’ of the Bolleke and made the final adjustments to the beer in 1952. “Originally, De Koninck’s ‘spéciale belge’ beer was served in ordinary glasses,” explains beer expert Jef Van den Steen.

He is a microbrewer, has written several books on beer, contributes to publications such as Zytholoog and Bier Passie Magazine, and regularly gives talks on beer. “Van den Bogaert came up with the idea of using a special glass for the ‘Bolleke’,” says Van den Steen.

Name thanks to pub-goers

However, until 2019, ‘Bolleke’ was not the beer’s official name. Until then, the beer glasses and bottles simply bore the name ‘De Koninck’, but the brewery followed the lead of the regulars and changed the name to reflect the name commonly used by the public at large.

‘In Antwerp, nobody ordered a De Koninck in a pub, but rather a Bolleke or a “Bolleke Keuning”,’ says Xenia Pauwels. ‘The people of Antwerp actually gave the beer its iconic name themselves.’

City beer

But what makes this beer so iconic for the residents of the city on the River Scheldt, apart from the special glass and the name? “It’s a real city beer,” explains beer sommelier Ben Vinken. He has been the publisher of quarterly magazine Bierpassie since 1998.

“A love affair developed with the beer in a city that is as large and chauvinistic as Antwerp,” Vinken continues. “It’s an appealing alternative to lager. And it hasn’t remained just another local beer; it was also extensively exported to the Netherlands.”

“Still, just because the beer is iconic doesn’t mean it sells well,” Van den Steen interjects. The ‘spéciale belge’ beers reached their peak in the 1980s. “Unfortunately, amber-coloured beers are drunk far less these days, and it’s mainly lager that’s popular.”

Duvel Moortgat

According to beer connoisseurs, consumption of the ‘Bolleke’ is on the decline. “It remains very popular in Antwerp, though,” says Xenia Pauwels. “It has strong local and cultural roots here. It is true that the beer market has changed significantly; the classic ‘spéciale belge’ is less dominant than it used to be. However, our ‘Bolleke’ is holding its own within that category.”

Since last year, the ‘Bolleke’ has no longer been brewed in Antwerp, despite its strong link with the city. “I was one of the first to taste the ‘Bolleke’ brewed at the Duvel Moortgat brewery,” says Ben Vinken. “It doesn’t taste any different. You can easily brew a beer somewhere else, as long as you use the same recipe and the same technology.”