JUPILER ~ BRASSERIE PIEDBOEUF

5.2% from Jupille-sur-Meuse, Belgium

Julpiler is the Molson Canadian/Budwiser of Belgium. Sampled from a bottle on Konigsdag in Amsterdam, when everyone was walking around with travellers. The beer is a light Euro lager in style. It poured a clear golden colour with a thin white head, which did not stick around. The nose was very light and contained mostly grains. The taste is light with grassy, grainy notes along with some caramel and a bitter hop finish. The body is light and thin and the carbonation was average. There are so many better brews to drink than this in Belgium, though in a pinch it is way better than a Bud light.

GENTSE STROP ~ BROUWERIJ ROMAN

6.9% from Ghent, Belgium

Gentse Strop was named an event in Ghent in 1540. At that time the people of Ghent refused to pay extra war tax so Keizer Karel V (Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor) rounded up notable citizens of Ghent and marched them around the city with a noose around their necks. The noose became a symbol of resistance against tyranny and the nickname of the citizen of Ghent (Gentenaars) are ‘stroppendragers’ (noose bearers). The beer is a Belgian Strong Blond ale that has been top fermented and then had a secondary fermentation in the bottle. Sampled in Ghent from a bottle, the beer poured a slightly cloudy coppery gold with a generous white head that lingered before racing and leaving good amount of lacing. The nose had notes of fruit - banana and some citrus, spice, malts, yeast phenols and esters, and a hint of hops. The palette has sweet malts, spices, yeast, citrus with a little hop bitterness at the end. The beer is medium bodied with average carbonation. A pleasant quaff.

GENSTE GRUUT BLONDE ~ GENTSE GRUUT STADSBROUWERIJ

This gruut (gruit) was sampled in Ghent where the beer is brewed in a microbrewery.It is advertised as a gently barleyed beer with a neutral, light and sweet flavour arrived at by using a special selection of herbs. Sampled from a bottle the beer poured a hazy golden hue with a moderate white head which left lots of lacing. The nose contained notes of fruit, yeast, a sweetness, florals, herbs, spice with gentle malts. The taste was both sweet and bitter. Sweet fruit and yeast phenols with cereal malts and spice and with a bitter and finish The body is medium, the mouthfeel is slightly creamy and the carbonation is on the soft side. Nicely balanced mild blonde ale. Very drinkable.

5.5% from Ghent, Belgium

STELLA ARTOIS ~ N.V. INTERBREW BELGIUM

A good friend has this theory about imported beers, the ones that are really popular in North America are the ones that the Europeans refuse to drink, so marketers tart up the image and try selling it In Canada and the U.S….he may be onto something. Stella Artois is marketed as a premium beer with lots of history, but the quality that may have contributed to its making is now gone. Stella is one of Anheuser-Busch InBev’s (the largest brewing multi-national) largest sellers. Stella Artois was originally launched at Christmas in 1926. By 1960 one hundred million litres was being produced and after the takeover in a new fully automated plant, in 2006 production was over a billion litres. (According to wiki). The beer poured a translucent yellow with a thin white head. The aroma was light grains, light hops and light malt. Taste is a little sweet with light hop bitterness and a slightly metallic taste. The beer was highly carbonated and had a light body. It is inoffensive and still better than many macro brew lagers. In the land of so many great beers, I don’t understand why anyone would choose this first.

5.0% Leuven, Belgium

ST. BERNARDUS ABT 12 ~ BROUWERJI 

ST. BERNARDUS

St. Bernardus (a quadrupel) is another one of those rich special occasion Abbey Ales. The brewery maintains that it is brewed using the original recipe from the early days of the Trappist Monks of Westleteren licensing their beers to a made by a local brewery. Sampled from a corked bottle, the ale poured a translucent dark brown with a dense ivory coloured head. The head left impressive lacing and eventually settled into a cap. The sweet and complex aroma contained lots of dark fruit, rich malts, peppery yeast, alcohol, and hints of bubble gum and spice. The taste too contains lots of sweet ripe dark fruit along with sugary caramel. There is also a little tartness in the flavour along with beautiful malts, and a touch of spice, but no real hop presence. The flavour is full, robust and warming with a slightly syrupy mouthfeel and moderate carbonation.

10% Watou, Belgium 22 IBU

DE KONINCK PALE ALE ~ BROUWERJI DE KONINCK NV

MACRO BELGIAN ~ Sampled on draught in a De Koninck tulip glass. This beer poured a very clear golden orange colour – much closer to amber in colour. It has a small fizzy cream head, with moderate retention, that left spotty lacing. The aroma was very mild and contained bready grains, mild yeast and berries. A hint of caramel and other fruits and floral hops were subtle but present. Like the nose, I found the taste to be very mild too. It had notes of cracker malts and bread with light caramel and citrus before giving way light floral hops and a dry finish. I found the mouthfeel to be thin and the beer lacked body. The carbonation was moderate and the aftertaste has a faint metallic taste. A simple Belgian brew, not bad, but nothing outstanding either.

5.2% from Antwerp, Belgium

HOEGAARDEN ~ BROUWERIJ VAN HOEGAARDEN

MACRO BELGIAN ~ I remember a number of years ago when I had my first Hoegaarden; it was poured in a heavy glass that looked at large as a fish bowl.  The glass was rinsed with its very own beer bidet before pouring.  It was my introduction to wit beer. 

Sampled from a bottle the beer poured a cloudy light yellow (fermented twice but not filtered).  Aroma has lots of sweetness and wheat, with a smidgen of citrus..  Taste has tons of wheat, with a trace of citrus and spice.   It is an easy drinking summer beer, not bad, but not stupendous either.  I’ve heard this called a lawnmower beer, something to quench your thirst on a hot day.

Hoegaarden (the location near Flanders) had been the site of a brewery from the mid 1400’s.  The tradition had died out in the 1950’s with most of the breweries shuttering their windows.  In the late 1950’s Pierre Celis (who had been a milkman) decided to purchase the brewery and make ago of it.  His new brewery was called Celis; they used the traditional ingredients of wheat, hops, yeast, coriander and dried orange peel in their brew.  By the 1980’s he could not keep up with demand and expanded.  After a fire in 1985, several brewers offered their help, Interbrew (now InBev) the largest brewer lent him the money to purchase other buildings to keep up with production.  He felt that they corporate brewery pressured him to adjust the recipe in order to ‘mass market’ the beer.  Celis then sold InBev the brewery and moved to Texas, US, where he set up Celis Brewery, and continued to make the original wit beer.  Miller, who later sold the equipment and name to Michigan Brewing Co, which went bankrupt and also sold the name, later acquired that brewery.  Since the InBev takeover, the original brewery in Hoegaarden was threatened with closure, sparking many protests among the locals.  InBev has kept the brewery in Hoegaarden and invested to upgrade facilities.  Multinational Anhauser Busch now owns the beer company.

4.9% from Hoegaarden, Belgium

LEFFE BLONDE ~ INBEV BELGIUM

MACRO BELGIAN ~ Leffe Blonde, a Belgian Pale Ale, is probably the second most mass-produced and exported beer from Belgian, though far less advertised. Although it is advertised as an Abbey beer, multinational Anheuser Busch brews it in massive qualities. Sampled from a bottle this beer poured a filtered golden yellow with a thick white head. The head was lasting and left a ring of suds and lacing as it disappeared. Streaming carbonation animated the glass. The aroma had notes of Belgian yeasts, fruit (orchard fruit), spice (clove and coriander) and malts. The flavour had notes of lemon citrus, lots of yeast, spice, toasted malts and a hint of banana. The beer had a medium body and a slightly creamy texture. For a mass produced beer this is not bad at all, in fact much nicer than North American mass-produced brews.
6.6% from Dinant, Belgium or Leuven, Belgium

Caveat Emptor: Abbey beers aren’t always what the name would suggest. Though Leffe did have an Abbey (established in the 12th Century) and the priests did brew beer their, the monastery and Abbey had long disappeared. Priests returned to Leffe at the turn of the twentieth century and made a deal with a commercial brewery, where they would be paid royalties. That brewery was than bought out by larger companies. Leffe is brewed now in the massive Stella Artois brewery. There are several “Abbey beers” that have you believe that they have closer ties to God, than they actually do.

CHIMAY ROUGE ~ BIÈRES DE CHIMAY (ABBAUE NOTRE DAME DE SCOURMONT)

Chimay Red (aka Rouge, Première) is an unpasteurized Belgian dubbel that had been fermented and then refermented in the bottle. Sampled from a bottle the beer poured a cloudy red-brown with a large pillowy ivory head. Once it had died down it left some spidery lacing along the glass. The nose is comprised of malts, caramel, hints of chocolate, fruitcake, and spicy Belgian Yeast. Taste has the same flavour profile with dark fruit, caramel, molasses, a nuttiness and hints of chocolate at the end. The sweetness gives way to light hop bitterness at the finish. The beer is medium bodied with a pleasant creamy and smooth feel. The carbonation is refreshing but not aggressive. A delicious treat, thanks to the Monks.
7% from Chimay, Belgium

CHIMAY WHITE ~ BIÈRES DE CHIMAY (ABBAUE NOTRE DAME DE SCOURMONT)

I think of these small Belgian bottles as ‘treats’ not something I would want to drink every day, as they are very rich, and better in small doses. Chimay White (aka White cap, Blanche, Cinq Cents, etc.) is an unpasteurized Belgian tripel that has been fermented and then refermented in the bottle. Sampled from a bottle the beer poured, an opaque coppery orange. The beer had a thick frothy head which, when settled down left a white cap and good lacing. Some sediment was left in the bottle, as this beer is unfiltered. The beer is aromatic and much of what would be expected from a Belgian tripel: fruitiness (tree fruit like apples and apricots and grapes), yeast and bread, spice and alcohol. The flavour follows the profile of the nose: light fruits, sweet malts, citrus notes, Belgian yeasts and with a hint of hoppy bitterness at the end. Complex and masterfully balanced. The beer was fully bodied and crisp, with an almost soda like carbonation. This doesn’t feel like it is 8%, the ABV is well hidden. A once in a while treat!

8% from Chimay Belgium.

CHIMAY BLUE (aka GRANDE RESERVE) ~ CHIMAY

This dark Belgian treat was sampled from a small 330 mL bottle. Once brewed as Christmas Ale, this is the strongest beer that Chimay makes. At 9% this beer is easily cellared. The beer poured an opaque tawny brown colour, with a finger of cream coloured foam. The head lingered for a while before leaving a decent film and some specks of lacing. The aromas were a melange of chocolate, caramel, sweet malts, spice (clove and nutmeg), Belgian Yeast, dark fruits (plum, raisin, and sweet bread. There is tons of taste in this brew: dark fruit, yeasty and bready notes, caramel, big malts, Christmas spices, chocolate, subtle floral hops, and an earthiness. The booziness leaves a pleasant sense of warmth. The rich beer has a lovely complexity to its well-balanced flavours. The body was medium and the carbonation was soft and fine. This one was quite a little treat!
9% from Chimay, Belgium

FRAMBOISE LAMBIC ~ LINDMANS'

I remember the first time I had this, the bottle came wrapped in paper with cherubs on it. This is a Belgian Framboise Lambic. The bottle was capped and corked. Upon opening it poured an opaque deep garnet red colour with a large intense pink head. The head lasted and left foam cap. The bottled opened with a satisfying pop and filled the room with the smell or tart natural raspberries. The smell was both sweet and tart, with a faint note of yeast. The beer is ALL raspberry (it is made with 30% raspberry juice). It begins quite sweet but finishes with a sour tartness. It does not taste like beer, but rather an intense raspberry soda. Little evidence of alcohol was present. The finish is quick and clean and does not linger on the palette. There was ample carbonation and a medium mouth feel and fuller body than one would expect at 2.5% ABV. Lindemans' has a reputation of being an introduction to more complex Belgian lambics and geuze . This Lambic is not complex with farmhouse funkiness, but is simple and very pleasant. I have to admit this has its charms. I hope to find a few Belgian beauties over the next year.

2.5% Vlezenbeek, Belgium

FRÜLI ~ BROUWERIJ HUYGHE

Früli is a Belgian Wheat beer (70%) with strawberries (30%). It is brewed in a 300-year-old brewery that has been in the De Laet family for 100 years. Barley malt and wheat are first heated in water using the ‘infusion mash method.’ The mixture is then boiled with coriander, hops and dried orange peels. Yeast is then added for a top fermentation. Strawberry juice is added for the second fermentation of ten days. The beer is then matured for another ten days before bottling.
The beer pours a slightly hazy pinkish-red, with a white head. It smells of fresh strawberries and not much else. The strawberry smell is not artificial or chemically, just fresh strawberries. The taste is much the same. Loads of fresh strawberry jam at the front with a little tartness at the end. This really doesn’t taste like beer at all. I’d have this as a dessert beer, but couldn’t commit to pints of it as it is very sweet.
4.1% from Melle (near Ghent), Belgium
-beer 89-