Belgian beer is the most varied and numerous collection of beers in the world. Its origins go back to the Middle-Ages, when monasteries began producing beers. Naturally, Belgians claim that theirs are the best beers in the world. This view is supported by beer experts such as Michael Jackson. Although beer production in Belgium is now dominated by Interbrew (the world's largest brewer by volume), there remain 115 breweries in the country, producing about 500 standard beers. When special beers are included, the total number of types of Belgian beer exceeds 1000.
Those days, Belgian beers are sold in brown (or sometimes dark green) tinted glass bottles (to avoid negative effects of the light on the beverage) whose cap cannot be opened with sole hands. Some beers are refermented in the bottle. The major brands of beer are available at food shops. However, in order to fully appreciate its particular taste, a beer should be consumed on tap, which can be done in cafés but only for a few brands. To taste the others, sometimes one has to visit the producers.
Each brand of Belgian beer is served in a specific glass. Although mainly a marketing ploy, the different shape and size of each glass is designed to enhance the flavor of the particular beer.
Different bottle sizes exist : 25 cl, 33 cl, 37.5 cl, 75 cl and multiples of 75. The 37.5 cl size is usually for lambics. Other beers are generally bottled in 25 or 33 format (depending on brands). The great bottles (75 cl) are sold almost in every food shop but the choice is often not wide. Larger size bottles are named following the terminology used for champane but are quite rare. In Belgian cafés, when someone orders a demi (English : half), he receives a 50 cl glass (with beer from the tap, or from 2 bottles of 25 cl) whereas in France, demi means a 25 cl glass.
Kinds of beers
- Pils: although Belgium is best known internationally for its unique top-fermented beers, it is the common pilsner which heads the lists of both domestic consumption and exports. The most well-known brand internationally is Stella Artois, while Jupiler is the most popular in Belgium, along with Maes pils.
- White beers: a particular kind of wheat beer which often contains spices. Some classical examples are Hoegaarden, Brugs and Steendonck .
- Abbey beers: these are top-fermented ales, made in the Trappist style, which are associated in some way with an abbey. Some of these beers are still produced in abbey breweries to centuries-old recipes, while others are merely licensed by an abbey. The most internationally well-known brand of Abbey beer is Interbrew's Leffe. Others include Delirium Tremens , Duvel, Kwak, Grimbergen, Tripel Karmeliet, Maredsous, Grimbergen, Watou , Saint-Feuillien , Floreffe and Val-Dieu .
- Double beers : brown beverages brewed with double fermentation (Enghien , Westmalle, Grimbergen).
- Triple beers : blond or sometimes brown, it uses the process of triple fermentation, which makes them strong in alcohol and taste (Sint-Iedesbald , Brugse Tripel ).
- Blond beers : like Duvel, Blond Ciney and Brigand .
- Brown beers : try Kwak, Brown Ciney or Forbidden Fruit .
- Trappist beers: now unique to Belgium, this category consists of top-fermented ales brewed in one of only six Trappist monasteries. For a beer to qualify for this category, the entire production process must be carried out by, or supervised by, Trappist monks on the site on the monastery. Perhaps the best know brand of Trappist beer is Chimay.
- Lambic Beers (including Gueuze and Fruit Lambics): unique to Belgium and distinguished by their tart taste, Lambics are neither top-fermented nor bottom-fermented, being prepared through spontaneous fermentation by wild yeasts endemic to the vicinity of Brussels. There are various types of Lambics. In its most natural form, Lambic is a draught beer which is rarely bottled, and thus only available only in its area of production and one or two cafes in Brussels. Major brands include Mort Subite , Belle Vue, Cantillon and Saint-Louis . Gueuze , also known informally as Brussels Champagne, is a sparkling beer produced by combining a young Lambic with more mature vintages. Fruit beers are made by adding fruit or fruit concentrate to Lambic beer. The most common type is Kriek (made with cherries), while other fruits used are rasberry, peach and blackcurrant.
