Poperinge, city of the good life. Also the city of hop farmers, who may have been responsible for the nickname of the inhabitants of this rural area: "the stubborn heads". The founder of design furniture company Extremis - Dirk Wynants - is one of those. That might explain why he feels so at home there.
Delicious beer & beautiful furniture
Wherever there are hops, there are also breweries. Beers from this region
have already been voted the best in the world. Some say this is equally
true of the design that is created between the hop fields... What happens
when you bring the two together? ...
... designer beer
You get a "designer beer” called Tremist. Originally, this Extremis house beer was designed mainly to treat trade visitors to a fresh drinkable beer with the same (stubborn) character as the other creations. It is a hoppy blonde ‘Saison’ beer, of the type the farmers used to brew in the winter to cool their seasonal workers in the summer. The hop comes from Dirk Wynants’ own hop field next to his home. But since 2010 the brewing has been done in collaboration with experts from the St. Bernardus brewery in Watou. They see to it that Tremist is available worldwide, for use during the many Extremis events. Whereas sister brewery De Kazematten is responsible for actually brewing the Tremist. De Kazematten is located in the old fortress of Ypres, yes, literally "in". This historic site is certainly worth a visit!
The large terraces of Bar Bernard offer the visitor an insanely beautiful view of the region.
Bar Bernard
If you are in the area, you should definitely head over to Watou. In the midst of the fields rises a beautiful sight: the new visitor center of St. Bernardus. On top of this building is Bar Bernard, with large terraces that offer the visitor an insanely beautiful view of the region. It is the perfect place to taste their wonderful beers or have a small snack. Nowadays, they call it ‘food pairing’ and ‘sharing’. Food and drinks are, of course, best enjoyed with friends or family. That's why the "tools for togetherness" by Extremis were chosen to furnish Bar Bernard.
