from LIFESTYLES:
Belgian Beers
My first sip of a Belgian beer was almost my last. It had a strange taste, an acquired one I could do without acquiring. Then it got better. By the time I was finished, I actually spoke to the bottle:
Where have you been all my life?
Most of the truly great beers in the world are Belgian specialty ales. These are beers meant for sipping- from a glass, preferably one tulip shaped or designed especially for that particular beer style-for tasting and savoring, without sensory interference from cigarette smoke or Slim Jims. They have complexity, balance, character-words usually reserved to describe wine. Befitting their status and price, they are sold in individual bottles, ones that usually have corks, and that are sometimes wrapped in paper.
Some Special Styles:
Lambic: The rather unique Lambic brewing process includes some of the following ingredients and stages: wheat that is unmalted; a tremendous percentage of hops, which are appreciated as a wonderful flavoring agent but here are used strictly as a preservative for the long aging process in oak casks; and opened brewery windows that allow wild yeasts to float in and react with the boiled mash or wort. Because the wild yeasts are indigenous to the Payottenland/Senne Valley area, Lambic cannot be made in other areas of Belgium, much less in Milwaukee.
For all that trouble, the beer produced is unpleasantly sour. Once blended, however, it becomes a thing of beauty. Gueuze is a mixture of old and young Lambics. (The youngsters being not as sour). Faro is made by the addition of candy sugar. Fruit infused Lambics include Kriek (cherry), Framboise (rasberry), Pecheresse (peach), and Cassis (currant). A few Lambic producers are Lindemans, Cantillon, and Boon.
Abbey/Monastery Beers: These are beers closely associated with a particular abbey, whether still crafted on site in small batches by the monks, or nearby in accordance with the abbey's standards under a commercial licensing agreement. Some of the better Abbey brewers include Maredsous, Affligem and Corsendonk.
A particular group of brewing styles within the Abbey style are those made by Trappists monks. Presently, there are only five breweries in Belgium that can properly be called Trappist. They are Orval, Westmalle, Westvleteren (St. Sixtus), Rochefort, and Chimay. The only other active Trappist brewery is Schaapskooi across the border in Holland. Brewing may begin again at the Belgian Trappist monastery at Achel, according to the noted beer hunter Michael Jackson.
Red Ale: Belgian red ales have an especially wine-like character to them. Like Lambics, they are aged in barrels. But the end result is much less sour, and is nicely balanced. The best examples of Belgian reds are those made by Rodenbach, of which their Grand Cru is a true classic.Good Belgian beers go very nicely with food. Some of my beer books, including one of Mr. Jackson's, include recipes for using a few bottles for making stews or steaming mussels. I'll never know, however, because as good and expensive as these beers are, no way they are going to hit this boy's mouth except straight from a glass.
Keep a few things in mind. Some Belgians have a significantly higher alcohol content than American beers. Beware of American knockoffs supposedly brewed in the "Belgian Style" such as "Cranberry Lambics." Also, taking advantage of the ever-increasing popularity of Belgian Imports, there are some bland, mass-produced brands being sold by the six packs in supermarkets. Buy your Belgians at a good beer distributor.
These days, I have no trouble finishing an Orval. But I may still talk to the bottle.
Why must you cost so much?
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More on Belgian beers here and belgian style.
By Vincent Kish
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