Badjawe Blonde, a beer with a story of local Liège ingredients
Brewed by a cooperative in Alleur, Badjawe connects barley from Wanze with crops from Lantin. An organic blonde with floral and citrus notes, and a name rooted in Liège.
A chatterbox with something to say
Badjawe means a chatty woman in the Walloon dialect of Liège. It is a fitting name for a beer born of a wish to connect producers and local people. APAQ-W presents the cooperative as a project launched in late 2015 and subsequently established in Alleur. This article therefore distinguishes the project's history from its current production address, in the municipality of Ans in the Liège district.
The Brasserie Coopérative Liégeoise website describes an unfiltered blonde, brewed in Alleur with organic, local ingredients. It names barley from the Schiepers farm in Wanze, along with wheat and hops from Ferme à l'Arbre in Lantin. The geography can thus be traced through the ingredients, not just the name on the bottle.
Understanding the profile without jargon
The blonde has a golden colour, a generous head and floral and citrus notes. The brewer describes its bitterness as balanced. These words offer a direction rather than an obligation to experience exactly the same sensations. The aroma comes from the brewing process as a whole; recognising a citrus note does not necessarily mean that lemon juice is an ingredient.
The cooperative's introductory document gives the blonde's strength as 6.5% ABV. Always check the label of the product you choose, as the range includes other beers. A small amount in a clean glass is enough to observe the colour, head and changing aroma. The aim is to discover the work behind it, not to increase the amount consumed.
A distinctive human story as well as an agricultural one
The cooperative structure is another distinctive feature. Several people contribute to a shared production facility, with a social purpose and attention to short supply chains. That does not automatically make every beer a product whose every ingredient grows behind the tanks. Here, the interest lies precisely in being able to identify the farms and places named by the maker.
Check the official website for current visitor arrangements and places to buy. When purchasing, distinguish the blonde from the other Badjawe beers. The photograph locates Alleur through its Waroux heritage: it shows the château's tree-lined avenue, not the brewery or a place where the beer is necessarily sold. Drink in moderation.
Photos and credits
Photo 1 — The tree-lined avenue at Château de Waroux in Alleur in 2006: geographical context, not a photograph of the Badjawe brewery. Eric Vyncke · Public domain · Source.
