Making sense of V Cense

Seb, one of my eternal guides to Belgian beer no matter where he may be in the world, has done a bit of research on V Cense, the fantastic new discovery of a tasting about 10 days ago -- which I knew nothing about, not even how to pronounce it...

"V Cense" is indeed "5 Cense". It is presented by their brewers in this article in french as the little sister of the "4 Seasons". Cense comes after the brewery's location: la Cense de la Féculerie. Cense comes from latin "censa" and means farm. The word (a word I'd never heard) is used in parts of Belgium and France. Féculerie is the process of extracting starch from potatoes and other roots and tubers. From what you write, I think they found in brewing a better used of this potato farm.

Note the brewery is located in the village with the funniest sounding name heard in Wallonia: Jandrain-Jandrenouille.

Article says label is designed by one our best: cartoonist François Schuiten, author of "Brüsel" among other stuff.

Here's a translation of what the brewers have to say about this beer first released in 2009. Forgive the Sunday morning hangover English wording:

IV Saison was a blond beer. Its little sister is amber, with 7% of alcool. It is hoppy and very special thanks to spices from distant countries - these spices are our brewing secret. Even since it was launched (article written late March 2009), 33 000 IV Saison bottles have been made. We hope for the same success for the little sister. In the future, we will not release other beers, because quality is more important than quantity. (...)

Our [champagne] bottles aren't just a show off. The advantage is Champagne bottles are strong and can sustain without problems fermentation pressure issues. Another advantage is [champagne bottles] are common and inexpensive. Moreover, their green-brown color allow to block some UV frequencies that may produce a cardboard aftertaste.

We could go together when I'm around in July. What do you think?

I think that sounds rather like a plan...