How many beers brewed in belgium

Once again a type of beer rather than a particular brew, Kriek is made from a base beer to which cherries are added or, in the case of the more commercial brands, cherry juice and perhaps even sugar. It is decanted from a bottle with a cork, as with sparkling wine. The better examples are not too sweet and taste simply wonderful.

Other fruit beers are available too, but Kriek is perhaps the most successful. This Flemish beer, the main product of the family-run Bosteels brewery, is not all that special — it's an amber ale sweetened by a little sugar — but it's served in dramatic style with its distinctive hourglass placed in a wooden stand. Brewed in Leuven, just to the east of Brussels, Leffe is strong and malty and comes in two main varieties. Leffe Blond is bright, fragrant, and has a slight orangey flavour, whereas Leffe Brune is dark, aromatic and full of body.

Very popular, but a little gassy for some tastes. One of the world's most distinctive malt beers, Orval is made in the Ardennes at the Abbaye d'Orval, which was founded in the twelfth century by Benedictine monks from Calabria. This Belgian beer is a lovely amber colour, refreshingly bitter and makes a great aperitif.

Produced at a Trappist monastery in the Ardennes, Rochefort beers are typically dark and sweet and come in three main versions: Rochefort 6, Rochefort 8, and the extremely popular Rochefort 10, which has a deep reddish-brown colour and a delicious fruity palate. Located in the Flemish town of Roeselare, the Rodenbach brewery produces a reddish-brown ale in several different formats, with the best brews aged in oak containers.

The much fuller — and sourer — Rodenbach Grand Cru is far more difficult to get hold of but is particularly delicious. Forbidden Fruit is worth buying just for the label, which depicts a fig-leaf clad Adam offering the strategically covered Eve a glass of beer in the garden of Eden. The actual drink is dark and strong with a spicy aroma and has something of a cult following in Belgium. Produced by Hoegaarden. The Trappist monks of Westmalle, just north of Antwerp, claim their beers not only cure loss of appetite and insomnia but reduce stress as well.

Whatever the truth, the prescription certainly tastes good. Their most famous beer, the Westmalle Tripel, is deliciously creamy and aromatic, while the popular Westmalle Dubbel is dark and supremely malty.

These two are the most common, dark and full-bodied, sour with an almost chocolate-like taste. Want to put your beer knowledge to the test? Try our world beer quiz. Planning to travel here? Chosen by Christopher Barnes. All their beers are based on their excellent triple, including the Generaal. Rich, roasty, and elegant; the Generaal takes this beer to a dark place with the addition of darker specialty malts to their bright and lovely triple.

Christopher Barnes is an American beer writer, blogger, and brewing industry professional with a passion for travel, Belgium and Belgian beers. You can find his writings at I think about beer or follow him on Facebook or Twitter. Chosen by Sophie Atherton. Nothing could be further from the truth. Mort Subite is a fantastic example. Tart, dry and fruity it pairs devilishly well with pulled pork or suckling pig. A beer drinker for more than 25 years and a journalist for 15 she writes, broadcasts, speaks and trains people in all things beer-related.

The wooden barrel, the surrounds, and in my then-girlfriend, now wife the company; all were perfect. As was the beer — estery, warming alcohol and mellow, sweet spiciness. The perfect meeting of brewing and context. It was, and remains, the best beer I have ever tasted.

Richard Taylor is a beer writer and blogger based in Edinburgh, and has been writing about beer since starting the BeerCast website in mid As well as this, he now works for Brewdog , where he writes everything from magazines to beermats beermats are harder. Chosen by Melissa Cole. Melissa was also identified as one of the Most Powerful Women in the Drinks Industry by Channel4 Food and won the acclaim of her industry peers when named Educator of the Year by Imbibe magazine in Today, wort is produced to Oud Beersel specification and the Beersel brewery transfers it to oak and ferments.

This Kriek is very rounded. It should appeal to geeks and newbies alike — the sharp acidity tempered by the natural sweetness of the cherries. I think it is the perfect introduction as it is old, new, contract and craft all rolled into one! Added to that, the increased interest in lambic and fruit-lambic is pushing the price of authentic products upward.

This beer is a bargain when compared with Cantillon or Drie Fonteinen. Russell Erskine started as an Assistant Brewer with Brewdog at Fraserburgh in September , having had no previous brewing experience or qualifications.

He has worked his way up over subsequent years to his current position as a Senior Brewer in Ellon and will be studying towards IBD Diploma in the coming years. Russell has visited Belgium several times which has cemented his preference for Belgian beers. Chosen by David Le Roy. And so the history of the Contreras brewery in the small village of Gavere took a new turn. The Valeir Extra is his flagship beer.

The delicate use of American hops like Amarillo gives it beautiful citrus and grapefruit aromas, and a taste that makes this beer loved by amateur and experienced beer drinkers alike. Chosen by Zak Avery. As blenders rather than a brewers, Tilquin purchase worts from Boon, Lindemans, Cantillon and Girardin, and ferment them in their own oak barrels. Magma is a massive exception, displaying all the mouth-watering juicy new-world fruit of a modern IPA with the warmth and nuance of classic Belgian strong ale.

Bold yet accessible; strong without being heavy: a real beer for all seasons. The monks of the Abbaye St. Remy near Rochefort only make three beers, with Rochefort 10 being the ultimate expression. Its rich, deep brown colour and multi-faceted aroma evoking rich red wine, bonfire toffee, almond and smoke are mysteries waiting to be solved by those who can wait.

The reason I love this majestic Trappist beer is because it rewards patient drinkers, and once warmed a little, its raisiny, toasty body reveals decadent, rum-like flavours of leather, cocoa, fig, vanilla and gentle spice. With its aromatic hoppy nose, wheat accents and crisp, refreshing taste it not only smells and tastes good, but it also looks good: in the bottle thanks to the fabulous emblematic artwork and in your glass because of that big, white creamy head over a pale, golden and hazy beer.

With its lowish ABV of 4. Kevin Desmet , a 30 something lover of Belgian beers. He turns his love for beer into words on his blog Belgianbeergeek. Married and father of 2, he has a soft spot for bitter beers, sour beers and pitch-black, thick stouts.

He has yet to refuse a beer. It was brewed first in to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Brussels Gueuze Museum.

It is a complex brew with a unique taste. Lorenzo Dabove , aka Kuaska, is an Italian professional beer taster, beer writer and judge in major international beer competitions. It is slightly peppery, sometimes but not always has a subtle whiff of banana, with a sherbet fizz.

Boak and Bailey are beer bloggers and authors of the book, Brew Britannia. Chosen by Erik Verdonck. This beer is produced using three varieties of malt and three strains of Belgian hops. Surfine owes its lovely balance to the alchemy of its ingredients.

Remarkably, the Surfine is subject to three fermentation stages, using a different yeast each time. The third and final fermentation stage uses wild yeasts that convert the remaining sugars into carbon dioxide, giving the beer its dry character. This is a fine example of innovation out of tradition, typical in family breweries such as Dubuisson. Erik Verdonck is content manager for www. He is an experienced writer in travel, beer and gastronomy.

Erik has been a freelance editor, writer and photographer for years. He has collaborated with numerous Belgian magazines. His main focus is story telling with Belgian beers. Which Belgian beers would you recommend people try? Are there any you think should be added to this list? Leave your suggestion in the comments below with your reason as to why you think it should be included. The 37 amazing Belgian beers you should try: 1.

See all results. Award-winning stories, podcasts, and resources about Belgian beer and culture. Straight to your inbox. For Free. Join Thousands of Others. Award-winning stories, podcasts, and resources about Belgian beer, straight to your inbox. In , over beer breweries were active in the country, nearly double the number of just five years prior. Together, these breweries produced around The majority of the beer produced is therefore exported.

In , beer exports from Belgium amounted to roughly Belgian beer is however also exported further afield, with hte United States ranking thirdin the list of leading destinations for beer exports. Belgian beer is also popular in Canada, the China, Korea and Japan.

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