Brouwerij Verstraete bij Brouwerij Deca

Brouwerij Verstraete is closely identified with Papegaei, a Diksmuide beer whose local identity is matched by a distinctly hands-on brewing profile. Adam Verstraete brews it at Deca in Woesten rather than at a separate on-site brewhouse, using whole hop flowers and a grain bill of barley, wheat and oats. At 8% ABV, Papegaei presents itself as a pale Belgian strong ale with a lighter, hop-scented character. A Diksmuide beer with a clear address Brouwerij Verstraete is associated with Grote Dijk in Diksmuide, while the brewing and bottling take place in the installations of Brouwerij Deca at Woesten. The city of Diksmuide describes Papegaei as a local city beer and records its first brew in 2009, giving the beer a documented connection to the town rather than an invented historic lineage. Whole hops and bottle conditioning Papegaei is a high-fermentation blond beer made with fresh hop cones that retain their natural form instead of being processed into extract or pellets. The beer uses barley malt, wheat malt and oats, and is neither filtered nor pasteurized. Bottle re-fermentation is part of its documented brewing character. A glass made for the beer The Belgian Beer Glass Museum records a 25 cl Papegaei goblet manufactured in 2023. Its broad rounded bowl and short, sturdy stem place it within the Belgian strong-ale serving tradition, while the restrained single-colour parrot decoration keeps the presentation closely tied to the Papegaei identity. Papegaei’s defining character is a pale, 8% high-fermentation beer built around whole hop flowers, mixed grains and bottle re-fermentation. Diksmuide, West Flanders, Belgium 2009 2009: Papegaei’s first documented brew was made for Brouwerij Verstraete. 2023: A 25 cl Papegaei goblet was manufactured for the beer.