Cristal
Cristal
The brewery of Alken in Flemish Limburg lies on the edge of the village of Alken, where the imposing Alken-Maes site still shapes the townscape today and where the roots of the pils brand Cristal Alken lie. The Indekeu brewing family began its activity as early as the 19th century, and in May 1928 Jozef Indekeu and Edouard Boes launched Cristal as one of the first bottom-fermented pilsner beers in Belgium, at a time when many Belgian brewers were not yet able to produce bottom-fermented beers. The product was therefore received as revolutionary, consumers appreciated it immediately, and the brewing family thereby laid the foundation for Belgian pils production. Cristal became the best-known pils brand of Limburg, and because of this success the brewery carries the nickname «Pearl of Limburg».
In 1988 the brewery Cristal-Alken merged with the brewery Maes from Kontich-Waarloos to form Alken-Maes, both of which specialised in pils, and since 2008 Alken-Maes has belonged to the Heineken group and is number two on the Belgian beer market. In Alken, alongside Cristal, Maes Pils and other brands are brewed today, and the beer is distributed far beyond Limburg. In 1989 the brewery received the Monde Sélection gold medal in London for the quality of its pilsner, and between 2007 and 2012 the stadium of the football club KRC Genk bore the name of the brand as the Cristal Arena.
Cristal is a bottom-fermented pils with 5.0% ABV and around 28 EBU, brewed from barley malt and matured in lager tanks. It is clear and light golden with a white head, tastes light and refreshing with subtle malt sweetness, mild hops and fine bitterness, and is served at about 5 °C with salads, poultry, fish and young, creamy cheeses. Alongside the classic pils, the range of the Alken-Maes group also includes brands such as Grimbergen, Mort Subite and Kronenbourg 1664, but Cristal Alken remains the flagship of the brewery in Limburg. With its history as one of the earliest Belgian pilsner beers and its rootedness in the region, Cristal stands for a piece of Belgian brewing culture that has been brewed in Alken for almost a century.