Catalogue no. BBG008

Hommel bier

Brewery: Leroy Breweries
Beer style: Belgian Blond
Glass style: Balloon
Place: Watou (Flanders)

Curator’s Notes

A wonderfully busy balloon glass celebrating Poperings Hommelbier and its intimate connection with the hop-growing country around Poperinge. The beer was created in 1981 for Poperinge's triennial Hop Festival; appropriately, hommel is the local dialect word for hops, and the beer is brewed entirely with hops grown around Poperinge.

The colourful wrap-around design makes those connections explicit. Hops and brewing equipment mingle with the Hommelbier name, Leroy brewery insignia and even the pouring of the finished beer. Green dominates, reinforcing the hop theme and giving the glass an unusually coherent visual identity despite the sheer amount going on.

At the bottom of the bowl is a discreet concentric-circle engraving, apparently designed to provide a nucleation point and encourage a steady release of carbonation.

The glass itself is a generously proportioned balloon, with a rounded bowl, short decorative stem and broad foot. There are no visible capacity or manufacturing markings. This example was given to me by a member of the Leroy brewing family — an appropriate provenance for a glass so thoroughly devoted to the brewery's relationship with Poperinge and its hops.

Hommel bier

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Hommel bier