The Rapid Rise of Belgian Beer

Many countries are renowned for their beer culture: the Czechs have their pioneering Pilsner, the Irish have their bestselling Guinness, the Germans have their froth-filled steins and the British have their lukewarm ales. However, in the last few years there has been another European country that’s gained huge plaudits for its unique beer culture, and for its quantity of world-class brews… and that’s Belgium.

It may be one of the country’s smallest states, but Belgium is home to around 180 distinct breweries, ranging from big international companies like Stella Artois and Leffe to microbreweries and Trappist monasteries. However, unlike some of its competitors Belgian beer making isn’t a tradition that goes back for centuries and millenia… in fact, the very first Trappist brewery in the country (Westmalle) didn’t start brewing and selling until the 1860s, while brands like Stella are very much 20^th century creations.

However, that might explain exactly why Belgian beer is so different. Having been able to look at what other countries around them were doing, the Belgian monks could mix-and-match techniques and styles they liked to create unique blends unavailable anywhere else. For example, Belgium’s famous ‘amber ale’ (such as Ambrée and Speciale) is very similar to the traditional pale ales of England, although with the added touch of being less bitter, while their ‘blonde ale’ is a lighter variations on the pale ale using Czech pilsner malts. Meanwhile, Belgian ‘wheat beers’ borrow an significant amount from their German and Dutch equivalents, while ‘lambic’ and ‘saison’ beers take great inspiration from light French lagers.

This experimentation, though, has also led to Belgium producing beers which have their own particular style. For example, the ‘Dubbel’ (Double) is a highly renowned Belgian brew that is characteristically brown, heavy and fruity (and a little bitter), with a high alcoholic content of between 6% and 8%. Then there’s the Flemish Red, which is created using specially-roasted malt and matured in oak, and has a unique reddish-brown colour, plus a wide variety of fruit beers – including the strawberry-flavored Früli.

But it’s not just the beer that is distinctly brilliant… Belgian breweries are also world-renowned for the way they serve their products. Whether it’s the uniquely hexagonal glass of Hoegaarden, the tulip glass of Duval or the scientific-looking glass-and-wooden-stand combo of Kwak, almost every Belgian brewer has their own distinct way of serving up beer, which makes it quite unlike anywhere else in the world.

Yet despite all these brand differences, perhaps the very best thing about Belgian beer is the fact it can be easily brewed at home by anyone! Just search online, or in your local brewing store (if such a thing exists!) and you’ll come across a variety of suppliers selling ingredients for almost all types of Belgian beer – particularly the fruit ones – as well as kits to help make the production process idiot-proof.

So the next time you’re sipping a unique Belgian beer it could be one of your own. Just remember that, in time-honored Belgian fashion, you’ll need a uniquely-shaped glass before you really call it your own!

Joseph Reaney is freelance British travel journalist who has written articles and guides for The Telegraph, Reader’s Digest, Shoestring Magazine and various other publications around the world. He is a senior writer for Pimsleur Approach, leading retailers of language learning programs including Learn Brazilian Portuguese and Learn Japanese. You can find out more about him at josephreaney.com.

Home Brew Tips and Tricks

If you are just starting out in brewing or you have been doing it for years, you can always learn more about it. Years of brewing beer, you get your techniques down and know just about everything there is to know about how You brew your beer. But, learning how others do it gives us a hint how we can get better.

So, I’ve put together a list of tips and tricks about home brewing beer. The next time you start to brew a delicious batch, try some of them. You just might find value in some of these…

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Craft Brews Defined

Craft beer is a part of history every bit as much as it is the new thing sweeping the nation. The irony is that craft beer isn’t new at all. It was just recently defined and now it’s a buzz word because many of the home brewers find themselves in a nationally recognized brewing category.

But, the fact of the matter is that craft beer has gone through its own historical changes just like everything else. A few centuries ago, each town had its own brewery or they carted brew in from a town next door. Then of course, as in all things, someone gets the bright idea to mass produce beer and sell it to everyone for less than what the craft breweries could.

Cost effectiveness comes with mass production. When you have tons of supplies onboard and can produce beer day and night in mass quantities, then ship it out to all the major cities and all the pubs across the nation are stocking it, you can run the prices down and craft beers become obsolete. So, how have they managed to stay in business throughout the centuries?

You are always going to have your beer enthusiasts who want a taste of something new, something different, something distinct. Mass production of beer has to satisfy the majority appeal. It has to be made mainstream so that everyone likes it. But, there isn’t anything distinct about it because then you run the chance of a majority of beer drinkers not liking it.

So, craft beer has survived. It is not new. But, it feels new because now it’s in a nationally recognized market as a cause of its growth. More and more pubs are stocking craft beers. Microbreweries and brewpubs are popping up all over the place. Contract breweries are filling more orders. Regional breweries are getting more attention. Thus, craft beer is actually starting to get more attention than traditional brewing companies that have stood the test of time.

What defines craft beer is actually several things. The first thing is the amount of beer that is brewed yearly, and this is where all home brewers get their first distinction. A craft brewer produces 6,000,000 barrels of beer or less a year. Anything more than that and you are considered a large brewery.

The next item gives the home brewer its second distinction, a craft brewer is independent. That means that the brewer itself has most of the ownership, thereby having all of the control. Home brewers have all the control, thereby fulfilling the second criteria. The final criteria is that the brewer must have an all malt beverage as its flagship, which means that is has an all malt beverage that represents the most volume of all of its brands. Of course, unless the home brewer is making more cider or wine than he is beer, then he is a craft beer brewer.

Obviously, each criterion has specifics that needed laid out in full detail because of the complexity between different breweries and what constitutes an actual craft beer. But, I’m taking broad strokes here as they apply to the home brewer. The home brewer can now feel confident as he walks among other brewers because now he has a distinction and a market.

Don’t hesitate to find your taste and chase it! Brew your beer until you finally find the one you like or several you prefer. Put them in shows and take them to your local bar. Let them stock it and give your locals a taste of what you can do. That’s the way it’s done. That’s the way it has always been done. Nothing has changed!