Belgian Beer

The people of Belgium are certainly passionate about their beer – where else can you find over 450 varieties, approximately 8,000 brands and over 160 breweries ranging from microbrewing houses to multinational giants?  A major percentage of its beer is exported annually. Beer is for Belgians as wine is for the French – there is a certain cultural pride in the production and even the serving of this frothy beverage that there are as many glasses designed for the many varieties of beer, festivals all over the country are held annually to showcase it such as the Belgian Beer Weekend in Brussels, the Essen beer festival during the Christmas season, and beer tours and museums can be seen all over the country.

While there are no official records to attest to it, beer brewing in Belgium is said to have started in the Middle Ages with some of the monasteries making batches of it for consumption by the monks. The Trappist monasteries were among the first known beer breweries in the 19th century with the first recorded sale of beer on 1861. Since then, there has been an explosion of beer production and distribution in Belgium that it is difficult to even classify and keep track of the diverse selection that is now available in the market.

Belgian Beer Styles

Here are some of the major beer types that are produced in Belgium.

Lambic Beer. A dry and cidery wheat beer which has remained mostly unchanged since its introduction over 400 years ago. Lambic beers are brewed predominantly in the Brussels region where the wild yeasts and air-borne bacteria needed for the fermentation can be found. There are three types of Lambic beer – Geuze, also called “Brussels Champagne” is a mixture of young and mature limbic brew with a golden to light amber in colour and has a champagne-like carbonation; Faro or “Lambic Light” is a sweetened variety owing to the addition of sugar or caramel; and Fruit Lambic uses fruits or fruit concentrate in the fermentation process. Popular fruit limbic varieties are made with cherries, raspberry, peach and black currant.

Amber Beer. Also referred to as Belgian “session” beers, this easy drinking beer is popular in Antwerp. It does not have a high alcohol content and not at all sour. Good examples of fine Belgian amber beer are De Koninck and Palm Speciale.
Brown Beer. “Bruin” or Brune beers are typically characterized as dark, less acidic than the amber beer and has a pleasant combination of malty sweetness and a hint of sourness from the maturation. Goudenband and Grottenbier are a couple of popular brown beer brands.

Pils or Pilsner. This is the most common type of beer found in Belgium and other European countries. Pilsners are bottom-fermented and characterized by their light color, smooth taste and a distinct hop aroma. Belgian Pils are also known for a having a slightly sweet taste. The most popular pilsner brand internationally is Stella Artois while locals in Belgium swear by Jupiler.
Blonde or golden beer. Similar to Pilsners, golden beers have a clean and fresh taste, a distinct malt and hops flavor and typically a high alcohol content. The benchmark for a well-crafted blonde ale in Belgium is Duvel (meaning “Devil”), a standard-bearer amongst the bottled beers in the country. Other blonde ale brands include Delerium Tremens, Hoegaarden Grand Cru and Straffe Hendrick.

Trappist and Abbey Beer. Trappist beers are called as such because the first criterion is that they have to be brewed in a Trappist monastery. There are only seven monasteries that are certified to make Trappist beer and six of those are in Belgium. Famous Belgian Trappist beers include Chimay, Orval and Westmalle. On the other hand, Abbey beers are not necessarily made in monasteries but by commercial breweries. They would either use similar styles of brewing as that of Trappist beers or brand the beer with the name of an abbey to take advantage of the religious association such as the Affligem Abbey and the Augustijn.
Saison beer. Also called “seasonal beers” these are typically bottle-conditioned pale beers brewed in small batches in farmhouses in the French-speaking region of Wallonia.  They are generally low in alcohol content, fruitier and would range in color from pale to golden to brown.

Witbier. The white beer is made with pale barley, unmalted wheat and a mixture of herbs and very little filtration. Also called “bier blanche” in French and wheat beer in English, it is slightly sweet, light, cloudy and has a hint of citrus and spice from the addition of coriander and orange peel.

Flemish Sour Beer. This is a type of Belgian sour beer with a moderate alcohol content and have a fruity and floral aroma. It is also related to the Flanders Red, another tart beer. Good examples of the Oud Bruin are Goudenband and Petrus.