Belgium, the beer country

Belgian beer is known all over the world and is sold practicly in every bar, but although it sais belgian beer, it often isn't the real deal.

Like for instance, one of the most well known belgian beers is Stella Artois, a mild lager, of about 5% alcohol(which is normal for a pils beer in belgium), when you drink a stella in spain, well it's the same, but when you drink it in New York, the tast is totally different, and more supplied to the american taste.

The real beer lover knows the difference instantly.

Beer in belgium varies in different types; pale lager, lambic, and Flemish red, but also trippel, and trappist, evedence showed that beers where already brewed in belgium since the early middle ages. There are approximately 125 breweries in Belgium, ranging from small micro breweries to large international ones, in this country almost every city or town has his own beer, that's how this country lives with this great tasting product. Breweries in Belgium produce about 800 different kinds of beer, but when you count all special beers, local beers,etc;.. all together, you may count 8700 different beers that are being brewed in this small country.

History:

Beer has been made in Belgium since the early middle ages, it is said that, beer was brewed in monasteries in the country, altough no written proof exists to that. The Trappist monasteries that now brew beer in Belgium were occupied in the late 18th century primarily by monks fleeing the French Revolution. However, the first Trappist brewery in Belgium (Westmalle) did not start operation until 10 December 1836, almost 50 years after the Revolution. That beer was exclusively for the monks and is described as "dark and sweet." The first recorded sale of beer (a brown beer) was on 1 June 1861.

Distribution:

Belgium contains 1000's of café's that offer a wide variety of beers, going from about 10 beers including draft and bottled, to 1000 different beers in a special beers café. But many of the major brands of beer are also available in every local supermarket, or in specialized beverage centers(called bier bazaars in flemish), those bazaars offer much more kinds and brands of beers and chances are grat you'll find some specials there, which you probably won't find in the supermarket. But at a slightly higher price.

The vast majority of Belgian beers are sold in bottles, draft beers tend to be, lagers, weat beers, trappist, trippel, kriek(kriek, is a fruitbeer with cherries), Also always on draft are the regional favorite beers, like the kriek in Brussels, or De koninck in Antwerp. Customers who purchase a bottled beer (often called a "special" one) can expect the beers to be served ceremoniously, often with a free snack, like cheese or olives.

How to serve?

Every Belgian beer has it's own serving glass, beyond the basic shape, like can be found all over the world, all these glasses are printed with there logo or name, the brewery usually selects a glass form to accentuate certain qualities of their beer. A goblet, for example, lets the drinker's nose inhale the beer's aroma at the same time the mouth is drinking in the liquid. A tulip glass, for example, is very good for foam retention.

International:

About 60 % of the Belgian beers are exported. Some draught beer brands produced byI nbev —Stella-Artois, Hoegaarden and Leffe  — are available in several European countries. Aside from these, mostly bottled beer is exported across Europe. Cafés exclusively or primarily offering Belgian beers exist beyond Belgium in Australia, Canada, France, the U.K. and the United States, amongst others. In North America, a growing number of draught Belgian beer brands are becoming available, often at "Belgian Bars". Among these brands are , Karmeliet, Kwak, Maredsous, Mont Saint-Aubert. Palm, Rodenbach and St. Feuillien. Duvel, one of the strongest belgian beers(9.8% alcohol) is gaining a lot of fans all over the world, especially north americans, visiting the small country tend to ask after the real Duvel, often, do they know the beer from hearing about, and altough it is available in the States, it just doesn't taste the same.

Trappist Beers:

Trappist beers are beers brewed in a Trappist monastery. For a beer to qualify for Trappist certification, the brewery must be in or near a monastery, the monks must play a role in its production and policies and the profits from the sale must be used to support the monastery and/or social programs outside. Only seven monasteries currently meet these qualifications, six of which are in Belgium and one in the Netherlands. The current Trappist producers are Achel, Chimay, Koningshoeven (the Netherlands), Orval Rochefort, Westmalle, and Westvleteren. Trappist beer is a controlled term of origin: it tells where the beers come from, it is not the name of a beer style.

There are 2 different types of trappist beer, the Dubbel and Triple, the Dubbel, is a dark brown beer, with a stronger taste, a soft bitterness, and has some sweet influances as well, people who learn how to drink the beer, often drink it with grenadine, to make it a bit sweeter.

Triple: Is the light colored version of the 2, mostly with a honey yellow colour, and a higher bitterness that the darker one.

Abbey Beers:

Abbey beers (Bières d’Abbaye or Abdijbier) are either:

• produced by breweries under an arrangement with an extant monastery that does no meet all the criteria for a Trappist brewery; or,
• branded with the name of a defunct or fictitious brewery by a commercial brewer; or
• given a vaguely monastic branding, without mentioning a specific monastery, by a commercial brewer.

Abbey beers can be in a number of styles, but often include dubbels and tripels, the most recognizable and distinctive Trappist styles as explained above. Some beer writers warn against assuming that closeness ofconnection with a real monastery is indicative of quality of product. The most internationally well-known brand of Abbey beer is Inbev's Leffe. Others include Grimbergen, Tripel Karmeliet, Maredsous, St. Bernardus Abt, Saint-Feuillien, Floreffe, and Val-Dieu.

Most Popular Types of Belgian Beers:

Amber ales:

These are beers  kind of similar to the traditional pale ales of England, although somewhat less bitterly hopped. A good example is the 5%  De Koninck brand, with its distinctive spherical glasses (called 'bollekes'-My personal favorite-). It is popular in its native city of Antwerp. Another is Palm Speciale( which produces a another special palm, during Christmass season, calles Dobbel Palm). Some, such as Vieux Temps, were based on British styles to please troops stationed in Belgium during the 1st world war.

Wallonian amber or ambrée ale, such a La Gauloise Ambrée is considered to be somewhat distinct by some beer writers, and to be influenced the the French style of ambrée.

Dubbel:

Dubbel has a characteristic brown color. It is one of the classic Abbey/Trappist types, having been developed in the 19th century at the Trappist monastery in Westmalle. Today, some commercial brewers using abbey names call their strong brown beers "Dubbel". Typically, a dubbel is between 6 and 8% abv. In addition to the dubbels made by most Trappist breweries, examples include Sint Bernardus Pater, Maredsous 8 and Witkap Dubbel.

Dubbels are characteristically bottled, but are always available in every café from the draft

Lambic beers (Also Gueuze and Fruit Lambics)

Lambic is a wheat beer brewed in the Pajottenland region of Belgium (southwest of Brussels) by spontaneous fermentation. modern beers are fermented by carefully cultivated strains of brewer's yeasts, Lambic's fermentation, however, is produced by exposure to the wild yeasts and bacteria that are said to be native to the Senne valley, in which Brussels lies. The beer then undergoes a long aging period ranging from three to six months (considered “young”) to two or three years for mature. It is this unusual process which gives the beer its distinctive flavor: dry, vinous, and cidery, with a slightly sour aftertaste.

Lambic can be broken into three subclasses: Gueuze, Fruit Lambic, and Faro.

The first of these, gueuze, blends both old and young mixtures to stimulate a second fermentation. Many are laid down like fine wines to age for several more years. In its most natural form, Lambic is a draught beer which is rarely bottled, and thus only available in its area of production and a few cafes in and around Brussels. Major brands include Mort Subite, Belle-Vue, Cantillon and Saint-Louis. Some more mainstream brewers like Mort Subite and Saint-Louis do not subscribe to the orthodox rules of lambic production, adding extra sugars to sweeten their beers. Gueuze, also known informally as Brussels Champagne, is a sparkling beer produced by combining a young Lambic with more mature vintages. Exponents of this style are Girardin, Oud Beersel, 3 Fonteinen, Cantillon and Boon. Fruit beers are made by adding fruit or fruit concentrate to Lambic beer. The most common type is Kriek (made with cherries). Other fruits used are raspberry (Framboos), peach and blackcurrant. Kriek and Framboos blend the fruit to trigger the second fermentation. The last of the Lambic brews, Faro, adds sugar or caramel to prompt the fermentation.

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White or wheat beer:

This type of beer, commonly called witbier in Dutch, biėre blanche in French and Wheat beer in English, originated in the Flemish part of Belgium in the Middle Ages. Traditionally, it is made with a mixture of wheat and barley. Before hops became widely available in Europe, beers were flavored with a mixture of herbs called gruit. In the later years of the Middle Ages, hops were added to the gruit. That mixture continues today in most Belgian/Dutch white beers.

The production of this type of beer in Belgium had nearly ended by the late 1950s. In the town of Hoegaarden, the last witbier brewery, Tomsin, closed its doors in 1955. However, ten years later, a young farmer, by the name of Pierre Celis, in the same village decided to try reviving the beer. In 1966, Celis began brewing a wit beer in his farm house. Ultimately, his beer took the name of the village and became very successful and famous.

Some notable current examples are Celis White, Hoegaarden, Blanche de Namur and Watou's Wit. Their alcohol strength is about 5-6 percent ABV, and these beers can be quite refreshing, especially during the warm summer months. The herb mixture traditionally includes coriander and orange peel, among other herbs. White beers also have a moderate light grain sweetness from the wheat used. In recent times, brewers have been making fruit flavored wheat beers.

There are offcourse a whole lot more of belgian kinds of beers, but it would be a bit to much to write about, maybe in another article next time.