Belgian beers 🍻
Pilsener
This type of beer is most commonly drunk in Belgium and is known as a
'pintje'. Pilsener is a golden colored bottom-fermented beer that was
first brewed by Josef Groll in the Czech city Pilsen.
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Amber ale
This beer is similar to the traditional pale ales of England. The
amber color of this beer is obtained by using amber malt during the
brewing process.
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Blonde ale
This is another variation on pale ale. Blonde ale or golden ale is
often made with pilsner malt which gives it a golden yellow color.
Duvel is the archetypal Belgian blonde ale, and one of the most
popular bottled beers in the country as well as being known
internationally.
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Wheat beer
Traditionally, wheat beer is made with a mixture of wheat and barley.
Before hops became widely available in Europe, beers were flavoured
with a mixture of herbs called gruit. In the later years of the Middle
Ages, hops were added to the gruit. That mixture continues today in
most Belgian white beers.
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Trappist beers
Beers brewed in Trappist monasteries are termed Trappist beers. For a
beer to qualify for Trappist certification, the brewery must be in a
monastery, the monks must play a role in its production and the
policies and the profits from the sale must be used to support the
monastery or social programs outside.
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Flemish red
Typified by Rodenbach, the eponymous brand that started this type over
a century ago, this beer's distinguishing features from a technical
viewpoint are a specially roasted malt, fermentation by a mixture of
several 'ordinary' top-fermenting yeasts and a lactobacillus culture
and maturation in oak. The result is a mildly strong 'drinking' beer
with a deep reddish-brown colour and a distinctly acidic, sour yet
fruity and mouthy taste.
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Lambic
Lambic is a wheat beer brewed in the Pajottenland region of Belgium by
spontaneous fermentation. Most modern beers are fermented by carefully
cultivated strains of brewer's yeasts; Lambic's fermentation, however,
is produced by exposure to the wild yeasts and bacteria that are said
to be native to the Zenne valley, in which Brussels lies. The beer
then undergoes a long aging period ranging from three to six months to
two or three years for mature. It is this unusual process which gives
the beer its distinctive flavour: dry, vinous, and cidery, with a
slightly sour aftertaste.
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