Bierfirma NoordSter bij Brouwerij De Vlier

In Balen, Antwerp province, Bierfirma NoordSter grew from Norman Sterkens’s home-brewing passion into a small, personal beer house whose labels keep family close to the glass. Its range is marked by beers named for the brewer, his wife and his godchild, while the brewery’s local identity remains rooted at Zilverberkdreef and in the Kempen landscape. A personal beginning in Balen Norman Sterkens began Bierfirma NoordSter in 2011, launching a first beer named Norman after himself. The brewery’s beers were produced in collaboration with outside breweries rather than in a conventional large-scale brewhouse; historical listings identify Brouwerij De Vlier and Brouwerij Anders! among its brewing partners. NoordSter is based at Zilverberkdreef 1 in Balen. Names that become part of the label The brewery’s second established beer, Lusja, took its name from Sterkens’s wife, Lucia Van Gool, and was described as a reddish-brown top-fermented beer. Later releases continued the family thread: Wijze Gijs was first brewed in 2021 for NoordSter’s tenth anniversary and the tenth birthday of Sterkens’s godchild Gijs. Its name plays on both the child’s nickname and the beer’s wheat character. A local beer presence NoordSter has repeatedly opened its garden terrace during Balen’s summer streekdranken events, presenting its beers alongside other local drinks producers. This gives the beer firm a distinctly regional profile: not a historic abbey brewery or an industrial landmark, but a contemporary Belgian beer project built around home-brewing experience, named recipes and direct local contact. NoordSter’s defining character is intimate Belgian beer-making where family names and local place remain part of the product’s identity. Balen, Antwerp, Belgium 2011 2011: Norman Sterkens started Bierfirma NoordSter and launched the first Norman beer. 2013: NoordSter presented Lusja, its second beer, named for Lucia Van Gool. 2016: Lusja Barrel Aged was created for NoordSter’s fifth anniversary. 2020: Abraham was made for Sterkens’s fiftieth birthday and aged in Macvin du Jura casks. 2021: Wijze Gijs was first brewed for NoordSter’s tenth anniversary and the tenth birthday of Sterkens’s godchild.