Celis Anniversary Celebration Sparks Questions About Brewery’s Narrative
Over the weekend of July 12, the Celis Brewery in Austin, Texas, celebrated its eighth anniversary in style. The event featured the usual beer releases associated with Celis anniversaries, along with brunch, mimosas, an all-day DJ, brewery tours, food vendors, dog adoptions, and more. Beer fans flocked to the brewery throughout the day to join the celebration, which paid homage to the brewery’s founder, Pierre Celis. Central to the celebration were the releases of a raspberry and apricot witbier.
In their regular newsletter to subscribers a few weeks before the anniversary, Celis included a surprising announcement in their newsletter: Pierre had kept a notebook of recipes focused on fruit beers, and Nico Juarez—an employee who brewed with Pierre and has worked with both the current and the 90s versions of Celis—had recently discovered it. The notebook contained recipes for the raspberry and apricot witbiers. For one day only, Celis brought back both beers for the anniversary party, attended by over 700 beer enthusiasts.
Pierre Celis is best known for reviving the Hoegaarden witbier style from his hometown of Hoegaarden, Belgium, in 1966. He later brought his witbier to Austin in the 1990s, with a slightly altered recipe. That version of Celis officially closed in 2001.
For a book on Pierre Celis, published by The History Press in 2021 titled ”Celis Beer: Born In Belgium, Brewed In Texas,” this writer reviewed many of Pierre’s personal papers in Belgium and the US, and interviewed people who worked with and knew Pierre in the ‘90s. Additionally, research a trip to Belgium to speak with those who worked with him from 1966 until he departed for Austin in late 1989.
While many were excited about the celebration and the rediscovery of Pierre Celis’s long-lost recipes, not everyone shared that enthusiasm. When asked about Pierre’s leather-bound notebook, a source close to the Celis family, speaking on background, said, “It doesn’t exist,”adding, “Nico did not brew with Pierre; he did processing.”
Traditional Belgian brewers are known for not writing down their recipes to protect them, and when they do share, they often omit minor details.
The same source also said Pierre never brewed an apricot beer in Belgium or Texas, as the legendary brewer wasn’t fond of apricots. “Also, Pierre came up with that [the raspberry witbier] in ‘93 or ‘94.” It has been brewed since the brewery reopened in 2017, and was also produced in the ‘90s, making it no recent discovery.
A source familiar with the current Celis Brewing operation, who also asked to speak on background, said that during a meeting, “we were talking about beers that we could release for the anniversary and they asked what we could do,” and mentioned that Nico Juarez—who worked for Celis in the ‘90s and has been part of the new brewery since it reopened in 2017—said that Celis brewed an apricot witbier in the ‘90s and considered brewing an apple version. “Celis came to the conclusion that there must be a mysterious recipe book that Nico got
this out of,” and added that, “Nico corrected him and said no, I don’t have a recipe, but yeah, we can [brew the apricot beer].”
This source also said that during the same meeting, they discussed the possibility of still making an apricot beer. “After we established that there wasn’t a pre-existing recipe from Pierre, we would have to create one from scratch,” and a Celis executive said, “we can just do that, and then if you want to get a leather-bound book, we can just tell people that this is a historical recipe.”
Recently, this writer contacted Celis president Jason Cook for comment on the apricot beer. Cook said there was a misprint in the newsletter and other promotional materials for the anniversary, and that a notebook had not been found. Nico had mentioned seeing a recipe in a leather-bound book and discussing it with Pierre. Cook explained that the apricot witbier they released was based on Nico’s recollection of an actual recipe. Cook also mentioned that their marketing firm, Searchfire Media, might have misunderstood the story when preparing the newsletter.
Nico Juarez was also contacted, but did not respond.
Additionally, a source familiar with Celis brewing operations in the ‘90s, who requested to speak on background, confirmed that they never brewed an apricot beer during that time and that no such book was ever seen at the brewery.
Additionally, Celis recently announced on their Facebook page the release of “Celis Honey,” a beer brewed with wildflower honey, stating, “This award-winning brew has taken gold at both the Great American Beer Festival (GABF) and the World Beer Cup (WBC).” What the brewery is likely referring to is the Great American Beer Festival and World Beer Cup gold medals that former Celis brewmaster Bobby Mullins won while brewing for Armadillo Ale Works, specifically for a different honey beer recipe. The current Celis has not won any medals at the GABF or WBC.
