Today is the 50th birthday — the Big 5-O — of Johan Van Dyck, who founded Seef Beer in Antwerp, based on an old style that he worked hard to resurrect after it had died out, despite having been the most popular local beer for many years before two world wars. I first met Johan in San Francisco when he was here with his importer to launch the brand and I wrote about the beer for my newspaper column. The company is now called Antwerpse Brouwcompagnie. It was originally a contract brew, but Johan has opened a production facility in the Noorderpershuis, which was originally a power plant. I’ve since run into him a few times in Belgium, and I’m very glad to see his beer succeed. Join me in wishing Johan a very happy birthday.
