Belgian Beer - History & Background

In Belgium today there are 125 breweries which are able to produce 500 different kinds of Belgian Beer. Beer has been brewed in Belgium since the Middle Ages when originally it was produced in monasteries only. However today this is a country where the most varieties of beer are brewed and can be drunk.

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 mentioned there are around 500 different types of Belgian beer one can drink today and they fall into a number of different categories, below we take a look at what these are.

Trappist Beer - Only a beer where the brewing process has been overseen or carried out by the Trappist monks living in one of 6 monasteries in Belgium can be classified as this type of beer. Each bottle of beer after it has been produced will carry on it the Trappist Product label that clearly identifies that the monastery where it has been brewed have complied with particular laws that are laid down by the International Trappist Association.

Lambic Beer - Is a very unique beer to Belgium and wild yeasts grown in abundance near Brussels are used in its fermentation process. The actual time that it takes for this beer to ferment is considerably longer than many others. Some forms of this beer the fermentation process lasts between 3 and 6 months and others it as long as 2 to 3 years.

It is this fermentation process which provides this particular variety of beer with its very distinctive flavor, which some people may dislike. It is very dry, vinous and cidery which results in it having a somewhat sour aftertaste.

Fruit Beer - These are made using fresh fruit or fruit concentrate which has been added to Lambic beer. Kriek is one of the most well known of these types of Belgian beers and contains cherries, but other varieties have in them fruits such as peaches, blackcurrants and raspberries. What is strange about this particular beer is that when the fruit is added a second fermentation process takes place in it.

White Beer - This particular Belgian beer is made using wheat hops and spices and will often contain orange peel and coriander. However, each beer that the various breweries around Belgium produce comes with its own distinctive flavor and this will be down to the ingredients and brewing methods used.