2014 Zwanze Day at Jester King Brewery

We are very honored and excited to once again be selected to host Zwanze Day! Zwanze Day is when Brasserie Cantillon in Brussels, Belgium — one of the oldest and most authentic makers of Lambic and Gueuze in the world — releases a very rare and special beer simultaneously at fifty-two locations across the globe. Our keg of 2014 Zwanze will be tapped at 2pm (9pm Brussels time) at Jester King Brewery on Saturday, September 20th.

For 2014 Zwanze, Cantillon is releasing a new version of “Cuvée Florian” — Iris Grand Cru, an unblended, dry-hopped lambic, aged with cherries. This beer was first blended in honor of Florian Van Roy, son of Cantillon brewer and blender Jean Van Roy, on Florian’s eighteenth birthday. You can read a full description of the inspiration and process behind the beer here.

We’re also excited to announce that in addition to our keg of 2014 Zwanze, we’ll also be receiving kegs of Cantillon Gueuze, Rosé de Gambrinus, and Cuvée St. Gilloise! This will mean that more people than last year will be able to taste beer from Cantillon at our brewery and understand and appreciate one of our biggest inspirations. Instead of last year where we could only offer 150 free tickets for Zwanze Day, this year we’ll be offering 450 free tickets. Due to the Texas alcoholic beverage code, which places major impediments upon small, artisanal, out-of-state breweries seeking to sell their beer in Texas, tickets for Zwanze Day are 100% free.

We will be conducting a random lottery to select 450 names. The 450 names will be randomly assigned to one of three sessions (150 people per session):

2:00pm to 4:00pm
4:15pm to 6:15pm
6:30pm to 8:30pm

All four kegs of Cantillon will be tapped at the start of the 2:00pm session and will be available on a first come first serve basis with a limit of one 4 oz. pour per ticket holder for the Cantillon beer of your choosing. This means that ticket holders for the first session will be able to choose from any of the four Cantillon beers, but ticket holders for later sessions are likely to have their choice of Cantillon beer limited as the various kegs run out. However, please know that every ticket holder for 2014 Zwanze Day is guaranteed to receive a free 4 oz. pour of one of the four kegs of Cantillon, which we still think is pretty exciting.

REGISTRATION FOR 2014 ZWANZE DAY HAS NOW CLOSED

• We will select 450 names at random. On Monday, September 15th, you will be notified via e-mail whether or not your name was drawn to receive a ticket, and if so, what session you will attend.

• You must be 21 or older to enter.

• You may only submit one entry. If you submit more than one, all of your entries will be deleted, and you will not be eligible to receive a free ticket.

• You must be present at the brewery on Saturday, September 20th to receive your free sample. You must present a valid photo ID, and your name and date of birth must match those on the entry form. We will begin checking in ticket holders on September 20th at Noon — no earlier.

• Tickets are non-transferrable. If your name is drawn and you cannot be present at the brewery for your selected session September 20th, 2014 to claim your free, 4 oz. pour, please let us know so that we can draw another name.

• Samples will only be given out to individuals whose names were selected in the drawing. No exceptions.

• Commemorative Zwanze 2014 glassware and t-shirts will be available for purchase. Your name does not need to have been selected in the drawing in order to purchase commemorative glassware and/or t-shirts.

Although you must have your name selected in the drawing to receive a free 4oz. pour of Cantillon, you do not need to have won the drawing to visit Jester King on September 20th. We’ll still be hosting our usual tasting room hours and tours on the 20th from Noon to 10pm, with a full range of Jester King beer, as well as guest beer, wine, cider and sake, available for purchase, and wood-fired pizza for sale next door at our neighbor Stanley’s Farmhouse Pizza. If this sounds good to you, please come out and join us on the 20th for 2014 Zwanze Day!