Facon brewery of Bellegem in West Flanders has packed up brewing, at least for a time. A few brands are currently being made at Huyghe while they "sort out a technical problem". Local sympathisers are unconvinced that they will brew again. The only reason to be even slightly hopeful is the rumoured (definitely unconfirmed) re-opening of Duwac in Mouscron. Hard information would be welcome.

Interesting rumours about Oud Beersel, the traditional lambic brewer and gueuze blender from Beersel in Pajottenland. Both the brewery and its brands are in effect for sale. There are problems with various sales contracts for whoever buys it though, and this might make a deal impossible. Two potential buyers are interested but not within the current sales arrangements. Also there may be a problem with the brewery due to ageing equipment not being up to modern health & safety standards. There is a sufficient stock of bottled beers and cask lambics to keep the trade ticking over for some while.

The closure of the Artisans Brasseurs brewpub in Namur and with it the Mibrana brewery continues to be followed by rumours of re-opening. Most money is now on Emines, north of Namur. Meanwhile the Namuroise brands continue in production, courtesy of our friends at Du Bocq.

For a small town in Belgium to acquire a new brewery is an event. To acquire two is big news. Finding that there are three is just plain greedy. Anyway, such a fate affects Philippeville in the rural west of Namur province.

To be fair, none of the breweries in the town as such, they just come within the borough, so to speak. The first was Lautène (?? Lautenne), in the hamlet of Lautène, south east of the town. Here brewer Laurent Scotto is experimenting with getting his Dindon beer right before selling it more widely.

In Mettet, north of the town, the most organized of the three is Saint Donat, where owner Jean Mangon gets his wife to make the beer and his son to distribute it, while he markets it - successfully enough to have 35 cafés regularly stocking them already. Saint Donat Blonde, Ambrée and Brune all come in at 7% abv and are brewed separately to very different recipes. A tasting at the brewery in an 18th century coach house off the market square, followed by more leisurely consideration of the beers back home, suggested some very serious beers trying to get out from under a few technical imperfections - a touch of aldehydes in the otherwise excellent Brune, more noticeable in the Blonde and obvious in the Ambrée. Nonetheless, beers of huge potential. They are sufficiently serious to have named the brewery after the road where the new brewhouse will be constructed in 2005.

Finally, the latest newcomer is Mortal's in Jamagne, where teacher-cum-brewer JPie Nain has set up a pocket-sized brewery in his highly organised garage and intends to expand into a tasting café next door and summer marquee in the field opposite. The first beer, Yellow Mortal (7%) is a spicy orange-amber ale. Sun Mortal (6.5%) will follow shortly as a blonde. A wheat beer, a red ale and a dark brown ale are planned in due course. Watch progress through the website (www.mortalsbeers.be).

More information that the Ecaussinnes brewery is expanding production, with an export contract to Japan - where presumably they will call the beers Eko-san or something. Our informant said they are aiming at 200,000 hl a year but we think they mean 2,000.

This update was delayed by my visit with BBB's Mark Caygill to see the Chimay brewery. All fascinating stuff but I am still checking out a couple of crucial facts so will not yet go into print. An interesting aside however was the news that Rochefort have gone back to all-malt brewing, dropping the 10% maize in their brews.