One of our favourite beers - Belgian Beer

by: PatrickAnthony
Total views: 28 | Word Count: 491

Today in Belgium there are 125 breweries which are now producing around 500 different types of Belgian Beer. The actual making of beer in this European country dates back to the Middle Ages when it was first being produced in monasteries and today remains the country with the most varieties of beer that one can drink.

Compared to other European countries the alcohol content in some of the Belgian beers you can drink today is very high in some cases it is as much as 6 to 8 percent. The reason why the breweries make such high alcohol content beers is to get round a law (now lifted) that prevented the sale of spirits, which beers were classified as in public houses.

As we have already mentioned there are 500 different kinds of Belgian beer being brewed in Belgium today and they fall into a number of different categories. In this article we take a look at what these different types of beer are.

Trappist Beer ? This is a beer which is brewed in one of 6 monasteries in Belgium and in order to qualify as being such a beer the complete brewing process is either carried out or overseen by Trappist monks at their monastery. On each bottle of beer appears the authentic Trappist Product Logo and this clearly indicates to the drinker that the monastery producing the beer has complied with various rules that have been laid down by the International Trappist Association.

Lambic Beer - A very unique Belgian beer where wild yeast that grows around the country's capital Brussels is used in the fermentation process. But this is not a beer that is brewed quickly in fact the fermentation of the beer can take from several (3 to 6) months to complete to sometimes taking between two and three years to ferment.

The fermentation process used to make this type of Belgian beer provides it with a very distinctive flavor and is not to everyone's tastes. The problem is that the beer can taste dry, cidery and vinous and this results in a sour aftertaste when drunk.

Fruit Beers - These beers are a variation of the Lambic beers and are made through adding either fresh fruit or fruit concentrate to the Lambic. The most commonly produced one is known as Kriek which is made using cherries but there are plenty of others made using fruits such as peaches, blackcurrants or raspberries. The fruit when added to the Lambic beer causes a second fermentation process to take place in the beer.

White Beers - These Belgian beers are very popular in Belgium and the main ingredients used in them are wheat hops and spices along with orange peel and coriander. But there are many different varieties of this beer, each with their own distinctive flavor which comes from the various different brewing methods and ingredients used by the breweries in its manufacture.

About the Author

It is quite easy to see why belgian beer is so loved amongst beer and ale lovers throughout the world. Belgian fruit beer as stated above is also loved but it can be a very aquired taste.  

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