Belgian beer - the drink of the gods

[LitNetIsGreat]

The world of Belgian beer is like no other. For a small country it has a huge amount of beers, all of them unique and individual. The vast majority of them come with their own specially made glasses, designed to bring out the tastes and flavours of their unique characters.

Belgian beer denotes quality and ritual, in a world that seems increasingly geared towards fast-paced mass production, Belgian beer offers a genuine and real experience, with a taste that is fit for the gods. They are sipping drinks, they are drinks to take your time over, not just because they are so strong, which they are, but because they demand it.

The Trappist Beers

The Trappists are the kings of the Belgian beers and the most sought after. They are officially brewed by monks in working monasteries, with seven of them in total, six in Belgian and one just over the boarder in Holland/Netherlands. All of the Trappist brews represent extreme quality, as one of my servers said at my Devonshire Cat, "you simply can't go wrong with Trappist beers".

The breweries are:

Westmalle - Located in the Belgian province of Antwerp, the dubbel and the tripple are the only commercial beers sold and both of them are particular favourites of mine, absolutely divine on the palette. Both of them are subtly different brews of course, but the tripel in particular is very strong and lasts for ages on the tongue, forming little bubbles on the tip and never fading, (I could still taste this drink one hour after sipping it). For more information visit this site: http://www.trappistwestmalle.be/en/p...ersoorten.aspx


The monks of the monastery drink this stuff daily, I could quite happily convert to Christianity and join them for it! (Though the Devonshire sells it readily enough.)

Chimay - The Chimay is the most readily available Trappist beer on the market, and in my opinion (and generally regarded) not quite as good as Westmalle, but still a wonderful beer. They come in three brews, the red, the white and the blue, increasingly going up in strength. You should be able to get hold of these in large supermarkets, go buy!
http://www.chimay.com/



Rochefort - These are monster beers, mostly dark and demanding in nature. They come in the Rochefort 6, 8 and 10, the 10 being 11.3% ABV, though that is not unusual for strong brews. These beers are deeply satisfying but you have to be in the mood to tackle the dark and bitter nature of them.


La Trappe - I believe that these have only recently been allowed to officially call themselves trappist, (2005), instead of the abbey label. Abbey beers are brewed under direction of monks, but they aren't officially allowed to be called Trappist beers. These beers are also some of my favourites, particularly the dubbel, which is dark red in colour but highly refreshing - those little bubbles are back! By far the main brews are the la Trappe Blonde, (highly refreshing), the La Trappe Dubbel, La Trappe Tripel and guess, yes that's right, the La Trappe Quadruple. Not quite as explosive as the Westmalle, but highly refreshing stuff.



Westvleteren - This is an extremely withdrawn brewery!!! Don't expect to be able to try this one without a trip directly to the brewery. Here you will be served the beer by one of the brewing monks. They are supposed to be the very finest of all the Belgian brews, but until I get out there I will never get to taste it for myself.



Achel - Achel brews five Trappist ales and I have yet to taste any of them for myself. I believe that the Devonshire only serves one of them, so I am going to try that next time I think, I'll tell you what I think then.



Orval - Orval produces only two brews, the Orval and the petite Orval. I've had the Orval brew before, but I can't remember what it was like! In my defence I do try a lot of brews and they are strong; so I'll just have to try another.


OK, so that is the Trappist beers, only about another 400 breweries to go!!!

[Scheherazade]

So, after how many pints does one dedicate a whole thread to the Belgian beer?

[LitNetIsGreat]

Ha, actually none today unfortunately, which is why I'd had to settle for looking at the pictures. And as for "a whole thread", we could devote this whole website to Belgian beer, it is that huge a subject, in fact we definitely need a Belgian Beer section at least, right next to serious discussions!

Oh, and most Belgian beers are not served as pints, but in smaller glasses of varying amounts, on average around the 330ml mark.

Here is where I am mostly to be found if I am not on lit net:
http://www.devonshirecat.co.uk/ it is where my serious contemplation occurs.

[Niamh]

I'll be in belgium tomorrow and cant wait to have a few Cherry Kriks!

[LitNetIsGreat]

I'll be in belgium tomorrow and cant wait to have a few Cherry Kriks!

I do hope you're joking, extremely jealous if not.

[JCamilo]

What does Harold Bloom have to say about this?

[The Comedian]

Those brews do indeed look tasty, and I would love to go to the Devonshire Cat some day as it looks to be an establishment of supreme worth.

[Virgil]

Sounds great. Excellent idea for a thread Neely. I have never been disappointed with a Belgium beer.

[Niamh]

I do hope you're joking, extremely jealous if not.

Oh i aint joking! will be sipping beer in Bruges.

[prendrelemick]

What does Harold Bloom have to say about this?

[LitNetIsGreat]

Those brews do indeed look tasty, and I would love to go to the Devonshire Cat some day as it looks to be an establishment of supreme worth.

Yes they are indeed very tasty brews and the Devonshire is indeed of supreme worth, it is quite a rare place, I mean 100 bottle beers, all served in their correct glasses by experienced and devoted bar staff! Of course if you are ever in the area pop in, more than likely I'll be there, especially at the weekends. I'm the good looking one in the corner...

Sounds great. Excellent idea for a thread Neely. I have never been disappointed with a Belgium beer.

Thanks, I'll will be adding another couple of chapters so keep tuned in.

Oh i aint joking! will be sipping beer in Bruges.

No comment.

[LitNetIsGreat]

Lambics

Lambics are very distinctive and genuinely unique Belgian beers. They are produced via spontaneous fermentation, which means they are left out in the open in order to capture specific wild yeast cells. These only exist in the south west region of Brussels, and therefore, the drink can only ever be made there. After the magic fairies ferment the beer, it is then stored in large oak barrels for up to three years before it is ready to drink.

In terms of taste it could best be described as tasting like a light, sour cider and definitely not like standard beer. The pure Lambics can certainly take some getting used to, but once you have a taste for them (if you do) they can be extremely rewarding. They are often called the champagne of beers, due I suppose to them only been brewed in one particular area, like the French wine equivalent, and to the effervescent nature and quality of the drink.

The Cantillon brewery is perhaps the very best and most exclusive producer of pure Lambic beer. http://www.cantillon.be/br/3_1 and the Grand Cru is arguably the best of all: http://www.cantillon.be/br/3_104.



Variations of Lambic: Gueuze, Faro and fruit beer

Because the Lambics can be quite sour they are blended with a variety of things to suit all palates. A Gueuze (pro. Gu-za) is a blend of young and old Lambic and is less sour than the pure form of Lambic.



A Faro contains added brown sugar and has a much sweeter tang to it.



Fruit beers based on Lambics are numerous and very popular little numbers, including cherry Krieks, peach, strawberry, raspberry, banana, pineapple, anything really:




I quite like the Timmermans strawberry which the Devonshire serves on tap (I don't have shares in the place honest).



Overall though, if I am going to have a Lambic I like to drink the Cantillon Grand Cru, a real Lambic, but the strawberry is highly refreshing though, it has to be said.

[LitNetIsGreat]

Here is a particular Belgian beer that me and my brother are addicted too at the moment, a very tasty little one called Delirium Blonde:



It is easily noticeable by the pink elephant logo:



It is so popular in Belgium that they named a whole bar after it, incidentally one of the most famous bars in Belgium: http://www.deliriumcafe.be/

Feel free to share any favourite Belgian beers, I would be greatly interested...

[LitNetIsGreat]

Achel - Achel brews five Trappist ales and I have yet to taste any of them for myself. I believe that the Devonshire only serves one of them, so I am going to try that next time I think, I'll tell you what I think then.

Orval - Orval produces only two brews, the Orval and the petite Orval. I've had the Orval brew before, but I can't remember what it was like! In my defence I do try a lot of brews and they are strong; so I'll just have to try another.

Yes, I had the Orval last night and it didn't suit me at all, very harsh bitter taste to it, I actually struggled to drink it, but that is the nature of beer, some you like and some you don't. I might be trying the Achel later, we'll have to see how that compares to the other Trappist brews...

[LitNetIsGreat]

The Achel is heaven. I want to be a monk...