belgium.beertourism.comBelgian Beer and Food Culture - BeerTourism.com

☰ ˟ HOME BREWERIES BELGIAN BEER ABOUT BEER FOOD RECIPES ABOUT BELGIUM TRAVEL CITIES BLOG No.1 travel guide for Belgium; dedicated to Belgian beer and food culture. HOME BREWERIES BELGIAN BEER ABOUT BEER FOOD RECIPES ABOUT BELGIUM TRAVEL CITIES BLOG Brussels Beer Challenge 2019, and the winners are... BRUSSELS/MONS - We’ve made our way down to the historic city of Mons (Bergen) for the eighth edition of the internationa ... [ more ] Brugge Tripel contributes to renovation of Burgundian chapel of worship BRUGES - This city draws you back in time to the heydays of the Burgundian era. After years of renovation works the Gruu ... [ more ] Brewers of Europe Forum 2019: Craftsmanship on the old continent ANTWERP - Brewers from 59 different countries flocked to attend the Brewers of Europe Forum 2019 in the prestigious Quee ... [ more ] Craftsmanship and balance at brewery Van Steenberge ERTVELDE - To track down a brewer within his own domain is a high-ranking form of sports, or that’s the impression I get ... [ more ] Brussels Beer Challenge 2018 - The results! MECHELEN - The historic city of Mechelen, halfway between Brussels and Antwerp, is truly a hidden gem. The presence of t ... [ more ] Belgian Beer Wipers Times 14 is the first beer from Brouwerij Kazematten. It gets its name from the famous ‘trench gazette’ written by British soldiers during the First World War. This small newspaper was an exceptional mix of jokes, black humour, sarcasm and... [ more ] Belgian Brewery Charles Leclef, the owner, is a descendant of a brewing family related to the Van Breedam family from Blaasveld. Between 1930 and 1963, Charles van Breedam was in charge of the brewery. In 1962 van Breedam decided to st... [ more ] Belgian Food All of us Belgians were born with a thoroughly sweet tooth. We enjoy 'babelutten', 'bonbons', 'gommetjes', 'nougat', 'spekken', 'veters' or 'karamellen'. Complete the list with our endless range of regional specialties and y... [ more ] Belgium Travel Guide Ostend Travel and beer guide for the Belgian coastal city of Ostend (Oostende). Information about where to eat, drink, stay and things to do when visiting Ostend. [ more... ] Hasselt Beer, travel and tourism guide for visitors to Hasselt in Limburg. Information about where to eat, drink beer and visit in and around Hasselt. [ more... ] Genk Beer, travel and tourism guide for visitors to Genk in Limburg. Information about where to eat, drink beer and visit in and around Genk. [ more... ] Durbuy Beer, travel and tourism guide for the picturesque city of Durbuy in the Ardennes. Things to see, do, where to stay, eat and drink when visiting Durbuy. [ more... ] Leuven A brewery, beer, travel and tourism guide about Leuven in Belgium. Information on tourist attractions, where to shop, eat, stay and drink beer in Leuven. [ more... ] Namur A beer, travel and tourism visitors guide to Namur. Details of tourist attractions, where to eat, sleep and drink when visiting Namur. [ more... ] Tongeren Beer, travel and tourism guide for visitors to Tongeren in Limburg. Information about where to eat, drink beer and visit in and around Tongeren. [ more... ] Bastogne Beer, travel and tourism guide for those visiting Bastogne in Belgium. Information about where to eat, drink, stay and visit in Bastogne. [ more... ] Beer Tourism Prize Draw Name: Email: Age: 18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65 or Above By entering you confirm that you are of legal drinking age and agree to our terms and conditions. Latest winner/s: Lindsey Davies Belgian Beer Guide No, we really don’t want to come across as arrogant. That is simply not in our nature. We are a small country and we are well aware of our place in the world. But we do like to make an exception for beer. Barrel aging Belgian beer © BeerTourism.com We have made our mark on the world beer chart and it has awarded us a rising star. How did all this happen? Well, it is far from a coincidence. In Belgium we are brewing far more beer than we are consuming ourselves. Relatively speaking we are Europe’s largest beer exporter. Every year, 18 million hectolitres of beer is flowing from the tanks of Belgian breweries and 11 million of this output flows across the border(s), to our neighbouring countries of France, the Netherlands, Germany and the UK as well as farther-flung destinations such as Italy, Spain, Scandinavia, the USA, Japan and China… Belgian beer is at the pinnacle of quality craft beer and is now a top reference on a global level, attracting the same status as Scottish whisky or Italian wine. So what makes ‘brewed in Belgium’ so special? Top of the charts has to be our respect for centuries-old tradition. We don’t mean to say that we are living in a dusty beer museum. Far from it. Many brewers here are using brand-spanking new, gleaming stainless steel brewing kettles and have access to fermentation and maturation tanks that are forever increasing in size. Rochefort, a Belgian Trappist beer.. © BeerTourism.com In the brewery labs everything is analysed down to the minutest detail. This is how the brewers manage to produce beers of consistent quality. After all, this is what the average beer drinker looks for in their beer. When he or she orders their usual pils, they will expect the same familiar taste in the glass every single time. All this sounds far easier than it actually is. And the more accessible the beer, and the less alcohol it contains, the harder it is to produce the same brew time after time. This is where science comes in to lend a helping hand, and increasingly so. Belgium is also home to many renowned experts: international experts when it comes to hops, fermentation etc. even down to the specialised field Lambic Belgian beer at Mort Subite © BeerTourism.com of beer economics. These experts act as advisers to the brewers. Just to provide an example: most established breweries are having clones of their yeast strains stored in the yeast banks managed by the universities. The academicians act as advisors for the development of new beers and collaborate with the brewery to find the right strain of yeast. In the meantime, they have developed a taste for test brewing themselves to the point where nowadays, albeit on a very modest scale, in their own microbrewery they try to resurrect beers that were thought to have vanished from the brewing world. Family breweries with roots going back to the 19th century or even more ancient have managed to ensure the survival of traditional beer styles, as shown by the story of the Belgian Family Brewers. In addition to the omnipresent pils there is a wealth of other options. There is lambic brewed in the artisan way, using spontaneous fermentation, which has matured on oak for a number of years before it is judged ready to be served; or to be re-incarnated as a re-fermented, sparkling, oude gueuze. Beer in Belgium © BeerTourism.com The same procedure gives rise to the oude kriek, enriched with sour cherries this time around. This style of beer is given plenty of time to develop its complex flavours, just like the new generation of top-fermented beers matured in recycled wine, whisky or cognac barrels. The process allows the beers to absorb the rich aromas and tastes of the alcohol previously stores in these barrels. One of the finest aspects of Belgian beer culture is that it allows you to re-trace the origin of various traditional beer styles through the ages. This is not just another hype or marketing stunt. If the saison from Hainault is scoring highly at the moment, it only bears out the respect for the authentic farm ales, traditionally brewed in winter and ready to Belgian beer - Kriek © BeerTourism.com quench the thirst of the farmers and seasonal workers in the summer to come. Abbey beers point out the historic importance of the monks, who were the educated people of their time. They advised people to drink beer instead of water as the quality of drinking water, especially in the cities, was way below par. Two hund...