Belgian Beer - History & Background
By Patrick Anthony
There are 125 breweries in Belgium where 500 different types of Belgian Beer are brewed each year. The art of brewing beer has been carried out in this European country since the Middle Ages and initially it was only carried out by monks in monasteries. Now Belgium is a country where the most varied number of beers are brewed each year.
The alcohol content of these beers is much higher than many other varieties from around Europe and some have a content as high as between 6 and 8 per cent. The reason for this being that a law was brought into force which prohibited the sales of spirits in public houses. At the time beer was classified as being a spirit and to get round this law breweries increased the alcohol content in them. However, this law was then lifted in 1983.
As mentioned there are around 500 different types of Belgian beer one can drink today and they fall into a number of different categories, below we take a look at what these are.
Trappist Beer ? This is a beer which is brewed in one of 6 monasteries in Belgium and in order to qualify as being such a beer the complete brewing process is either carried out or overseen by Trappist monks at their monastery. On each bottle of beer appears the authentic Trappist Product Logo and this clearly indicates to the drinker that the monastery producing the beer has complied with various rules that have been laid down by the International Trappist Association.
Lambic Beer - A very unique Belgian beer where wild yeast that grows around the country's capital Brussels is used in the fermentation process. But this is not a beer that is brewed quickly in fact the fermentation of the beer can take from several (3 to 6) months to complete to sometimes taking between two and three years to ferment.
Because of the fermentation process used which is quite unusual the flavor of the beer is very distinctive. It is dry, cider and vinous and will have an aftertaste that some people dislike because it is sour.
Fruit Beers - These beers are a variation of the Lambic beers and are made through adding either fresh fruit or fruit concentrate to the Lambic. The most commonly produced one is known as Kriek which is made using cherries but there are plenty of others made using fruits such as peaches, blackcurrants or raspberries. The fruit when added to the Lambic beer causes a second fermentation process to take place in the beer.
White Beer - This particular Belgian beer is made using wheat hops and spices and will often contain orange peel and coriander. However, each beer that the various breweries around Belgium produce comes with its own distinctive flavor and this will be down to the ingredients and brewing methods used.
There are 125 breweries in Belgium where 500 different types of Belgian Beer are brewed each year. The art of brewing beer has been carried out in this European country since the Middle Ages and initially it was only carried out by monks in monasteries. Now Belgium is a country where the most varied number of beers are brewed each year.
The alcohol content of these beers is much higher than many other varieties from around Europe and some have a content as high as between 6 and 8 per cent. The reason for this being that a law was brought into force which prohibited the sales of spirits in public houses. At the time beer was classified as being a spirit and to get round this law breweries increased the alcohol content in them. However, this law was then lifted in 1983.
As mentioned there are around 500 different types of Belgian beer one can drink today and they fall into a number of different categories, below we take a look at what these are.
Trappist Beer ? This is a beer which is brewed in one of 6 monasteries in Belgium and in order to qualify as being such a beer the complete brewing process is either carried out or overseen by Trappist monks at their monastery. On each bottle of beer appears the authentic Trappist Product Logo and this clearly indicates to the drinker that the monastery producing the beer has complied with various rules that have been laid down by the International Trappist Association.
Lambic Beer - A very unique Belgian beer where wild yeast that grows around the country's capital Brussels is used in the fermentation process. But this is not a beer that is brewed quickly in fact the fermentation of the beer can take from several (3 to 6) months to complete to sometimes taking between two and three years to ferment.
Because of the fermentation process used which is quite unusual the flavor of the beer is very distinctive. It is dry, cider and vinous and will have an aftertaste that some people dislike because it is sour.
Fruit Beers - These beers are a variation of the Lambic beers and are made through adding either fresh fruit or fruit concentrate to the Lambic. The most commonly produced one is known as Kriek which is made using cherries but there are plenty of others made using fruits such as peaches, blackcurrants or raspberries. The fruit when added to the Lambic beer causes a second fermentation process to take place in the beer.
White Beer - This particular Belgian beer is made using wheat hops and spices and will often contain orange peel and coriander. However, each beer that the various breweries around Belgium produce comes with its own distinctive flavor and this will be down to the ingredients and brewing methods used.
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