Schedule of Events The Spirit of Belgium 2005 will take place Friday, Saturday and Sunday, January 14-16, 2005 at the Sheraton National Hotel in Arlington, VA, just outside Washington D.C. Tentative Event Shedule: Friday Evening, January 14 Registration and Welcome Reception Galaxy Ballroom – 16th floor with view of Washington, DC Homebrewed Belgian-style beers Saturday, January 15 Homebrew Competition Judging (Offline) Keynote Speaker Tim Webb - Author of "LambicLand" and CAMRA's "Good Beer Guide to Belgium & Holland" Artisanal Belgian Brewing Jean-Louis Dits - Brewer, La Brasserie a Vapeur - Pipaix, Belgium From Roselare to Fort Collins - A Belgian Brewer's Journey Peter Bouckaert - Brewer, New Belgium Brewing Company - Fort Collins, Colorado Virtual Tour of Belgium - A Beer Tourists Primer Moderated by Andy Anderson, BURP When to go, Where to go, Where to stay, Transportation, Language, and the beers that should not be missed Belgian Beer Tasting - Over 40 very difficult to find Belgian beers Sunday, January 16 Brewing Belgian-Style Beer in America Moderated by Bill Madden - Founders Brewing Company, Alexandria, Virginia Tomme Arthur - Pizza Port - Solana Beach, California Rob Tod – Allagash Brewing Company – Portland, Maine Phil Markowski - Southampton Publick House - Southampton New York Peter Bouckaert - New Belgium Brewing Company - Fort Collins, Colorado Microbiology of Belgium Beer Dave Logsdon – Wyeast Laboratories - Odell, Oregon Chris White – White Labs – San Diego, California Brewing and Enjoying Belgian-Style Beer Phil Markowski - Brewers Publications Author of “Farmhouse Ales Culture and Craftsmanship in the Belgian Tradition” and Brewer, Southampton Publick House - Southampton NY Jeff Sparrow – Brewers Publications Author of “Working Title: Sour Beers” to be released Spring 2005, Homebrewer and Chicago Beer Society Belgian Beer Hoarding Guy Stan Hieronymus – Brewers Publications Author of “Working Title: Monk Beer and Golden Strong Ale” to be released Fall 2005, Homebrewer and Author Belgian-Style Beer Tasting – 16 American Breweries Belgian Banquet Five course Belgian banquet with interpreted beer pairings Spirit of Belgium Homebrew Competition Awards Brewers United for Real Potables (BURP) will sponsor the fourth “Spirit of Belgium” Belgian and Belgian-Style Beer Conference and Competition on the Martin Luther King Day 3-day weekend January 14-16, 2005. The event will be held at the Sheraton National Hotel in Arlington, Virginia with a view of the Potomac River and Washington, DC’s monuments from its 16th floor ballroom. The venue is conveniently located near the Reagan National Airport and the Crystal City Metro subway station with access to the area’s more than fifteen brewpubs and breweries. This nationally recognized three day conference will feature speakers from England, Belgium and the United States. Conference events will include technical sessions on the history, enjoyment and brewing of Belgian beer. There will be receptions featuring Belgian beer, US produced Belgian-style beer, and homebrewed Belgian-style beer. The closing event will be a Belgian Beer and Food Banquet. Saturday January 15 will feature the fourth Spirit of Belgium Homebrew Competition. This competition is the ultimate venue for homebrewers of Belgian-style beers in the United States. The most recent Spirit of Belgium Homebrew Competition Best of Show winner was Brian St. Clair of Cincinnati, Ohio with a homebrewed Lambic-style beer. Michael Jackson, the beloved Beer Hunter and author with sales of more than two million copies of his books on beer and whiskey, wrote fondly of the most recent past Spirit of Belgium conference at www.beerhunter.com. For a printable PDF version of this schedule of events click here