It began with two Belgian expats-turned-local-residents, Fabrice Rondia and Damien Georis, who wanted to share Belgian beer with the Monterey Peninsula by way of various brews at a yet-to-be-opened bistro at 419 Wave St. in Monterey.
But with their minds fixated on sustainability, they ultimately decided about a year ago that the best path forward was not in selling Belgian beer and shipping it thousands of miles – it was in brewing it here.
And the idea for an “eco-brewery” was born.
Rondia hopes the brewery, which he plans to open late this year or early next year, will be the first Platinum LEED-certified brewery on the West Coast, and that will bridge what he considers the world’s two most creative beer-making regions: California and Belgium.
In a nod to those two cultures, the brewery will be named Belgian Pacific, and will brew a craft beer born in Belgium a fews years back, just over a mile from the home of Rondia’s grandparents.
The beer, Leopold 7, is currently being imported by Georis, and is available at several local outlets. It is both creamy and crisp, with lower alcohol than most Belgian brews (6.2 percent), and presents a mild spice of citrus.
In a hand-shake deal, Rondia secured rights to brew the beer last summer on a visit to Belgium – on a day, it so happens, that was perfect for drinking beer; he says it was the hottest day in 102 years.
The only major hurdle that remains is working out his water supply. He’s got water credits on the property, and lauds the brewers at Leopold for how little water they use to brew their beer. He says the brewery will use less water than a family of five, but that the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District is not convinced.
If they remain unconvinced, Rondia says, he’s got a backup plan for water.
What that means is that a year from now, expect to be able to veer off the Rec Trail for some locally brewed Belgian beer, as well as a selection of other hard-to-find bottled or canned brews.
The ultimate vision is that locally, Leopold 7 will only be on tap or in cans. To be a true eco-brewery, Rondia is doing away with glass bottles, and plans to can on-site.
“We want to bring back the canneries,” he says. “It will be the first one re-opening in 40 years.”
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