Step 1: Fruit selection and cutting.

The aim of distillation is to extract and concentrate flavours and aromas. So we choose the best fruits – untreated and of premium quality – from the best soils.
The selection criteria are the result of a long and rigorous tradition, and differ depending on each type of fruit. Each producer is required to comply strictly with our quality charter. All deliveries are accompanied by phytosanitary certificate.

When Belgium cannot offer the requisite quality, the Biercée Distillery chooses its fruits from among the finest European regions known for the quality of their fruit-growing soils: lemons from Murcia in Spain, Williams pears from the Valais in Switzerland, mirabelle plums from Lorraine, …
Some 300 metric tons of fruit, plus another 2 tons of berries and other plants, and 15,000 litres of apple juice are used every year. The Biercée Distillery works apace with the various fruit harvests in what amounts to seasonal production.

After being inspected and sorted, the fruits are cut by a special fruit cutting machine, and the must thus obtained is sent directly to the fermentation and maceration vats.

Step 2: Fermentation or maceration.

Only fruits rich in juice and sugar can be fermented: pears, plums, cherries, apples, mirabelle plums… Fermentation is the slow transformation of the fruit’s sugar into alcohol by means of specific yeasts.

Our fourteen, 10,000-litre thermo-regulated, stainless steel vats are used to ferment the fruit musts for 3 to 4 weeks under controlled temperatures.
Fruits, berries, plants and vegetables with a low sugar content cannot be fermented. They are therefore macerated in the brandy which will absorb their flavours and aromas.

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