Beer has been brewed for thousands of years and the Sumerians and Babylonians were brewing beer at least 10,000 years ago. In Egypt the pharaohs controlled the art and it was only the most privileged that were allowed to make beer – probably because it was one of the things that were sacrificed to their gods.  Beer arrived in Europe about 5,000 years ago and the Greeks and Romans knew the tipple very well.  In Belgium, 2,000 years ago, barley brewing was woman’s work at first – at least until the Gauls hit upon the idea of replacing the pottery urns with wooden barrels so that they could make more of the

stuff and store it better. Later, when the Roman empire fell, the Church took over the lands left behind by the escaping nobles and then themonks started setting up breweries in almost all their Abbeys – during  the 14^th century, at the height of the cholera epidemic, beer was considered safer to drink than water because the dangerous bacteria was destroyed by brewing. Since the soil and moderate climate in Belgium is perfect for growing hops, it has become one of the countries that form part of the so called ‘beer belt’. The water, so rich in minerals in this country, is an important factor in the production of the beer here, as is the air that enables the growth of the wild yeasts that have been used through the ages to produce these beers by spontaneous fermentation. Of the more than 125 different beers in Belgium,  the most famous and most desirable are the beers brewed by the Trappist monks (they are actually Cisterian monks attached to the Abbey of La Grande Trappe, in Normandy). The monks started brewing beer in the 9^th

century and in th 11^th century St. Arnold became the patron saint of the  brewers guild after ordering his flock of sheep to drink the consecrated beer, rather than the filthy water from the river in Oudenburg.  At first the monks only made enough beer for their own use, but eventually the started selling it. Today there are six Trappist monasteries and five of them brew beer. They are Sint Sixtus deWestvleteren (the least known but known for brewing rare dark beers), Westmalle (near Antwerp and produces 3 kinds of beer amongst which a simple beer reserved only for the monks), Rochefort (founded in the 13^th century), Orval (founded in 1070) and Chimay (they have been brewing since 1862).  Today the Trappist monks still brew their precious liquid but the systems have changed somewhat.

There are three strict conditions when it comes to Trappist beer:

• the beer must be brewed within a Trappist Abbey
• the beer must be brewed under the supervision and responsibility of the monks
• the majority of the revenue must be dedicated to charitable work

A Trappist beer deserves to be consumed slowly. Because it is refermented in the bottle, there usually remains a yeast deposit at the bottom. When pouring a Trappist, always fill the glass in one continuous movement, without pouring the sediment. Many people will drink it separately afterwards. The Trappist trademark is protected by the trademark certification stating that it is an  “Authentic Trappist Product”. Other beers in the Trappist style must be called Abbey Beer.   The Belgians produce about 8,700 different beers and the drink an average of 93 litres per capita and the beer can be divided, roughly, into three main categories:

• Bottom fermented – brewed at a low temperature, pale and yellowish in colour and slightly dry and bitter in taste;
• Spontaneously fermented –  using a process that is triggered by bacteria and yeasts that occur mainly in the Senne valley;
• Top fermented –brewed at higher temperatures, copper to dark brown in colour and slightly sweet and fruity in taste;

STRONG GOLDEN ALES

Are high-fermenting beers that are pale golden colour with a long-lasting foam and are high in alcohol (6%to 9%). The most famous example in this category is the classic Duvel, derived from the word duivel which means devil in Flemish and most of the beers produced in this category have similar names.

RED-BROWN SOUR ALE

Also know as the  ‘Flemish old brown‘ these beers are unique and come from the  region of Roeselare, in the South-West of Flanders. The colour is from the reddish barley malts used in the brewing process as well as from  long maturation in oak barrels. The red beers have a raw and slightly fruity taste, not dissimilar to the Lambic. They are usually filtered and pasteurised and have an ABV of about  5.5%. These refreshing beers should be drunk chilled and are closer to wine than other beers – brewed using  high-fermentation processes that involve complex mixes of ale yeasts, Lactobacillus and Acetobacteria, the flavour is superb. The beer is matured for  18 to 24 months in oak barrels, filtered and occasionally blended with young beer to sweeten the often tart flavour – the taste thus created.

SAISONS

These beers are are regional specialities brewed in farmhouses or small breweries in Wallonia, mainly in the province of Hainaut.  In times gone by, these beers were brewed in the winter for summer consumption to be. The specific character of a Saison beer depends on the quality of the water and because of the brewing methods and small quantities that are produced, the beers differ from year to year and can be a little ‘wild’. They are sometimes brewed using  malt, wheat, and even ingredients  like spelt, honey, Liège syrup, mustard and hop.  Some of the Saisons are unfiltered and undergo secondary fermentation in the bottle. Typically golden to orange in colour with a fruity, yeasty taste that is moderately bitter the beer is refreshing with a medium alcohol level. One of the best known is the Saison Dupont was nominated ‘Best Beer in the World‘ by Men’s Journal in July 2005. A pale, flowery, hoppy beer called Sezoens is made in the province of Limburg but not fond in Flanders.

LAMBIC

Lambic beers originate in a place called the Pajotteland, in the South-West of the Brussels. The name possibly originated in the small city of Lembeek where beers of spontaneous fermentation were already brewed back in the 15th century. Some brewers still produce the beer the same old way. The beers are brewed from a grist composed of 70% barley malt and 30% un-malted wheat. The wort is exposed to the air which provides the wild yeasts that will start the fermentation process.  Aged hops that are not so bitter, is added for preservation purposes – the beer is matured for at least two years in oak barrels. Young Lambics are a little sour and the older ones, more so. Gueuze is sour and can even be a little harsh, but usually without bitterness. The colour ranges from golden to light amber and the carbonation can be champagne-like.

PILS

These beers are fermented to much – they have a light straw to golden colour and are crystal clear. The hops flavour is dominant and this creates a slightly bitter taste with a long and delicate, almost floral flavour. It is always filtered and saturated  and has and AVB of 5%. It’s probably the most thirst-quenching and digestible beer of all the Belgian beers. The word Pils or pilsner comes from the name of the Bohemian city of Pilsen where this beer was first brewed in the 1840’s and where the citizens, brewers and maltsters of Pilsen formed a brewer’s guild that they called the People’s Brewery of Pilsen.  The beer is very popular in the Germanic countries and it appeared in Belgium for the first time in 1929.

AMBER ALES

Amber Ales are similar to the Pale Ales made in Great Britain. Some are even labelled as Ale, others as Special to distinguish them from standard lager beers. They are top-fermented beers where the amber colour is obtained by the addition of either coloured or caramelised malt. They are lightly hopped with soft aromatic hops, have a yeasty taste and are spicy and soft. Their spicy taste is usually the result of the type of  yeasts used, but often spices are actually added. The alcohol content is slightly higher than in Pils. An amber beer is always filtered and pasteurized and contains about 5% to 7% alcohol.  They are pleasant easy drinking beers that have to be drunk cold and  preferably on draught rather than from a bottle!

WHITE BEER

White beers are usually brewed from equal quantities of pale malted barley and raw wheat, sometimes with the addition of oats. The beer is spiced with coriander seeds and dried Curaçao orange peels. Interestingly enough, the citrus character of Belgium’s white beer owes more to the coriander than to the addition of orange peel. White beer, or witbier, is a traditional style of wheat beer that has been produced since the 14th century in the Leuven region of South-Eastern Brussels. In 1965 a passionate beer-lover, Pierre Celis, started to produce the beer again after the last brewery had closed ten years earlier in the small town of Hoegaarden that also gives its name to the best-known beer in this category. The beers are often unfiltered, which accounts for the cloudy (white) appearance and they are generally re-fermented in the bottle. The highly refreshing, effervescent character of the beer together with the fresh herbal and spicy taste, the unmalted wheat flavour and the small amount of lactic acidity, makes this beer a summertime favourite in Belgium.

SPECIAL BEER

This category of beer provides us with a huge variety of different beers that don’t fall into a well-defined category. They are often the product of a brewing tradition attached to a given region, but others are new creations by beer innovators. In both cases, they are often manufactured by small independent breweries and the products hold pride of place in the local communities. Most are high-fermentation beers, but different in colour, character, and strength. They are often fermented with distinctive yeasts and sometimes made from unusual cereals and malts with additional ingredients, like sugar, honey, various herbs or spices.  On the stronger side are the blonde ales, mostly of high alcoholic strength and with complex flavours, while  on the opposite side one finds the dark amber to brown ales that have great diversity of character and can range from sweet to tart, medium to heavy and spicy to herbal.

FRUIT BEERS

Here fruit, juice or extracts are added to beer – like the kriek (cherry) or the framboise (raspberry) that are two of the most traditional styles and famous in Belgium.  Peach is also a common addition to this type of beer.  Kriek is Lambic fermented with sour cherries and is traditionally found in Schaerbeek, a suburb of Brussels. The cherries are left in the beer for several months, causing a re-fermentation of the additional sugars. There will be no sugar left at the end of the fermentation period and this is why the  traditional kriek has a fruit flavour without sweetness. Framboise or Frambozenbier is similar, but fermented using raspberries instead of sour cherries. Nowadays  raspberries don’t come from Schaerbeek anymore and are often imported, probably from Poland.