A Few Words About Belgian Beer
(long post... scroll down if you're bored, please)

Belgian beer is some of the best in the world. While the Germans are famous for lagers sticking rigidly to their "purity law", the English for their rustic ales, the Scotts for the rich and malty brews, the Irish for their stout, the Belgians have elevated beer brewing to a high-art. They are the innovators, the auteurs of the world of beer. Belgian ale is famous for being full-flavored, aromatic, eccentric and high in alcohol. With 140+ breweries in this small country (11,373 sq. miles), it's no wonder they're so good at it.

I've always preferred a more flavorful beer over the bland and mundane (like Budweiser and so forth). My first great love in the beer-world was German hefe-weizen, a luscious beer made with 50% or more malted wheat (as opposed to barley). Weizens are straw to light brown and hazy due to the yeast-strain. It is an unfiltered beer with a tart, bready flavor and an aroma of fresh-baked bread and a hint of clove or banana. And supremely refreshing! It was originally "illegal" in terms of the purity law because wheat was not a sanctioned ingredient (only water, barley, and hops!). However, an exemption was made because this was one of the only beers that could be brewed in the warmer months (before refrigeration). Thank god for that! Now, almost every German brewery carries a hefe-weizen or weisse-bier.

After wetting my appetite with the only rebellious German beer, it was no surprise that I found a higher appreciation of the beers Belgium has to offer. While many brands have been on the market in the US for years, I never really tried them until I was in Brussels. It was there, quaffing Trappist and abbey ales like Westmalle and Affligem, that I reached a veritable beer nirvana. It changed my entire outlook on beer. The range of complexity in the beer-world is so wide that beer can no longer be wrongly pegged as frat-party material only or the choice of the every-man. The best of the Belgian beers should be considered as high-class as fine wine (and in many circles, it is). Beers like Westmalle Triple or Duvel can be "layed down" to age for years, continuing to change in complexity and flavor. Because they are bottled with living yeast and some additional sugar, the beer is carbonated naturally... in the bottle. This is why many Belgian beers are corked with champagne corks, rather than bottle caps. There is so much that can be said, but in lieu of me prattling on and on, here's a little "introduction" to the many styles of beer in the Belgian compendium:

Trappist ale and abbey ale There are currently six Trappist monasteries making commercially available beer. These beers are typically called dubbels (doubles) and tripels (triples), but you can sometimes find singles. This designates their alcohol content with singles being 6% (abv) or less, dubbels being 7-8% and trippels being 8-10%. Dubbels are usually dark brown with a rich, raisiny quality, while trippels are light brown to golden in color with a spicey, zesty aroma and flavor due to some added spices. Singles are generally just a weaker version of a dubbel or trippel. One of the trappist monasteries, Orval, makes a popular beer akin to a dubbel which has been adulterated by several wild yeasts and bacteria to give it a more sour quality (I know that sounds horrible, but more about this later). The designation "Trappist ale" can only be given to beers that are brewed by Trappist monks. Any beer in the same style not brewed by monks is called "abbey ale". Prime examples: Westmalle, Rochefort, Affligem (abbey), Westvleteren, Chimay.

Wit bier This is the Belgian and Dutch version of the german hefe-weizen. It is much lighter in color (an opalecent pale yellow) but generally with more haze than a weizen. These beers are usually made with almost entirely wheat (traditionally un-malted) and have some added herbs and spices like coriander and bitter orange peel. They are very light-bodied, refreshingly tart, and generally low in alcohol (3-5% abv). This is an old style of beer that fell out of favor when lagers become popular. However, in the late 60's a brewer named Pierre Celis brought it back to life when he opened Hoegaarden. The Hoegaarden wit is considered by many to be the hallmark example.

Saison One of my favorite styles, but one that is not largely produced. These are often referred to as "farmhouse ales" because of their rugged, rustic, earthy character. They are generally straw or gold in color, slightly hazy, highly carbonated and rather hoppy. Medium to light bodied with a thick, rocky head and an earthy, peppery aroma. They are supremely refreshing on a summer day, despite their 6% and up alcohol content. The prime example is Saison DuPont which I've only been able to find in 750 mL champagne bottles.

Lambic, Geuze, Faro, Kriek, and Framboise This is the category of beer that many ardent beer-drinkers hate and even more ardent beer-haters love. The common reaction is "This is beer?". Well, yes and no. Most examples in this category are composed almost entirely of un-malted wheat, a very small amount of hops and are "spontaneously fermented" with airborne wild yeasts and bacteria native to the Sennes valley in Belgium. They are generally quite sour in taste and smell along with some funky smell/taste characteristics like "musty", "horse-blanket", "barnyard", "enteric". Lambic is the pure form of the beer (i.e.- no additives) and is usually aged for 3 to 5 years. Geuze is a blend of young and old lambic which is a bit easier to drink (somewhat like champagne). Faro is a lambic sweetened with cane sugar. Kriek is lambic aged on cherries and Framboise is lambic aged on raspberries. Most examples are carbonated, but there are a fair amount of lambics that are "still" like wine. If you're feeling adventurous, try any offerings from Cantillon, Boon, Belle-Vue, or Lindemann's which are all available in well-stocked liquor stores in the States.

Flanders Red Ale This style is one of the most popular with the Belgians. It is a standard red ale fermented with brewer's yeast and then aged in wood barrels inoculated with varying wild yeasts and bacteria (like those found in lambic). This gives the beer a subtle to aggressive sourness, depending on the sample. One of the most popular commercial producers is Rodenbach which is available in the States, but can be difficult to find. These beers are full-flavored, refreshingly tangy, and sometimes astringent. Also, they are sometimes aged with macerated cherries to provide a fruitier sourness.

Flemmish Brown Ale or Oud Bruin These are complex, dark beers which originated from the town of Oudenaarde. The main characteristics are: medium to full bodied, high carbonate water providing a frothy texture, a complex mix of yeasts and malts, blended with aged brown ales, and a period of aging in the bottle before being released. The flavor profile usually brings to mind olives, raisins, and brown spices. Sort of sweet and sour. They are not hop accented and the bitterness is low. Oud Bruin (Old Brown) has been aged for a longer period of time. A notable producer is Petrus.

Strong Golden ale A style developed by the brewery Duvel-Moortgat and copied by many other Belgian and some American craft-breweries. This beer is 8-10% abv, sparkling gold, highly carbonated, light-bodied and aromatic. Duvel is the prime example: thick fluffy egg-white head, tingly carbonation, floral hop aroma, pear-like fruitiness and dangerously easy to drink! If you've never had a Belgian ale, start with this one. It is available in 750 mL bottles closed with champagne corks or 12 oz. "stubbies". It is re-fermented in the bottle to give it that amazing carbonation, so you'll see a bit of sediment in the bottom. Other examples are Hapkin and Pranqster.

Belgian Pale ale Aside from Belgian lager, probably the most "normal" beer. Not much different than standard English pale ales, though usually less hoppy and with a decidely Belgian yeast quality (raisiny, clovey, fruity aromas). The most famous Belgian pale ale is probably De Koninck which is available in some parts of the US. Another hoppier example is Poperinges Hommel ale.

Belgian lager Really not any different than lagers in the rest of the world and typically only produced by the two conglomerate breweries, Palm and Stella Artois. They produce products similar to Heineken. Stella is a reasonable lager which seems to have a love it or hate it status around the world. As for me, let's just say I don't crave it.

How to drink Belgian ales Most Belgian ales are "bottle-conditioned" which means that they are dosed with a small amount of sugar and fresh yeast before bottling. They are then stored in a, usually, warm room for anywhere from two weeks to four months. During this process, the yeast ferments the added sugar, absorbs any residual oxygen and carbonates the beer. This is also a crucial step in the formation of the aroma and flavor of the beer. However, the yeast sediment remains in the bottle. This can be a turn-off to the uninitiated, but with careful handling should remain in the bottle. Even if it did make it into the glass, it would only cloud the beer (and besides, yeast is really good for you!). It is best to chill the beer up-right for about a day after it has been transported. This allows the yeast to settle back to the bottom. Most Belgian ales should be served at about 50-55 deg F as this will showcase the complex aromas and flavors. Also, virtually every brewery has a special glass for each beer. You don't have to get pedantic, but follow this rule of thumb: trappist or abbey ales in chalice-shaped glasses, strong golden ale in a stemmed tulip-glass, wit in a "jam jar" or a tumgler with octagonal sides and Flanders ales in short fluted glasses. When in doubt, use a large wine glass or cognac snifter. Lambics (and beers of that ilk) are served in anything from champagne flutes to pint glasses.

So, what are you waiting for? Drive down to your most up-scale liquor store and pick up a sample or two!

--RP--

P.S.- There is a brewery in Quebec, Canada that makes fantastic Belgian ales, rivaling beers from Belgium even. It is called Unibroue. These beers are available in most of the US.