The diversity of the Belgian beer world is a huge attraction for beer fans, but certain origins are still shrouded in mystery. In this article I will give a number of personal insights, based on some important Belgian beer styles.
Pils-Lager
A lot of beer consumers know and appreciate Belgium for its specialty beers. However, approximately 75 % of the beer produced in Belgium is pils and lager, most of which is exported.
Lager was already produced in Belgium in the 19th century. The first Belgian-made pilsner was introduced in May 1928 by “Brouwerij van Alken” with their Cristal, so the story goes. Currently, the biggest brands are AB InBev-owned of course, and those are Jupiler and Stella Artois. Jupiler can be considered the pils for the Benelux-market while Stella Artois is their “universal” global brand Belgian-made pilsener.
Anyone in the world knows Stella, about which there are some nice stories to be told, thanks to Roel Mulder (Lostbeers.com), who was allowed to go through the brewery archives. Brouwerij Artois in Leuven had a beer they sold as "Bock" but was noted as "Pilsen" in their brewing books since 1910. So, when they started making Stella in 1926, the records already had “pils”, but this was a different beer. In fact, for years Stella was not referred to as a “pils”, but as a generic name in itself. Not until the 1970s does Artois seem to have embraced the description "pils" for Stella.
Plenty of people also tell the story that Stella was a Christmas beer which the name seems to suggest, given "Stella" means "star" in Latin. However, the original accounts show otherwise, as Stella was first brewed in June 1926 and hit the market after a few months of lagering in September 1926 (so, earlier than Cristal). A big difference with now, as the beer is currently lagered in a matter of hours instead of weeks, and is produced using corn syrup as a cheap adjunct.
If you really crave a pils from Belgium, go find Cristal on draft in the province of Limburg. But, if you really are a fan of pils-lager, always aim for the originals, e.g. from Germany and the Czech Republic, where you will have much better value and taste for money.
Trappist ales – dubbel and tripel
Trappist ales are world renowned and revered. In the 19th century, the monks were brewing for themselves, but when they saw they could make some money by selling their products to passers-by and pilgrims, they went for it as they could use the money for maintaining the abbey and for doing good deeds. The reputation was such that other breweries wanted to jump on the bandwagon and started producing and commercializing similar beers, using the term “trappist”. This came to an end when the legal court of Ghent (28 February 1962) decided that only trappist monks have the right to the name “Trappist”. The court thus accorded the Trappist monasteries legal protection for their brews, legitimizing what had essentially become a marketing cartel. After long deliberation, in 1997 a dedicated logo “Authentic Trappist Product” was developed, showcasing and emphasizing that the product is coming from a real trappist abbey. This actually does not limit itself to beer and can be used as well for cheese, bread, wine, jam, soap, candles, etc. And it also is not limited to monk’s abbeys but also includes nun’s monasteries.
Back to beer then. Although Trappist breweries can brew whatever they want (e.g. Spencer in the US brews fruit beers, IPA, Imperial Stout, …), two styles are intricately linked to Belgian Trappist, i.e. Dubbel and Tripel. And their beginnings as we know the styles can be traced to Westmalle.
See the articles dedicated to Dubbel and Tripel for more info.
Abbey ales
Given the huge success of Trappist ales, other breweries were keen to jump on the bandwagon, and they so did vividly, mimicking the dubbels and tripels, e.g. Sint-Bernardus (1946, but this is a special case, given their involvement with Westvleteren), Maredsous (1949), Leffe (1952), Saint-Feuillien (1952), etc. But, as mentioned, from 1962 they could not call their beers Trappist any longer. A few started labelling their beer as abbey beer, such that they still could use pictures of abbeys, monks, etc. However, there was an enormous proliferation and some brewers even ridiculed monks or poked fun at religion. Hence, the Union of Belgian Breweries (UBB) together with representatives of the monastery world took an initiative in 1998 and came up with their own “logo”, “Certified Belgian Abbey Beer” in 1999 (two years after the trappists). This is a collective trademark and may only be used by members of the UBB having signed a written agreement with said UBB, and adhering to very specific conditions. If ever you want a certified abbey beer, I recommend to aim for the smaller brewers’ beers, such as Ename (Roman), Saint-Martin (Brunehaut) and Sint-Bernardus.
However, there are also beers that are considered non-certified abbey beers. These brewers can do whatever they want, i.e. use a local saint’s name (De Struise with Sint-Amatus), tell a good sounding but untrue story to link the brewery to a monastery (AB InBev’s Bosteels Tripel Karmeliet) or use a “roman catholic” word that links to clergy (e.g. Kapittel from Leroy) to market and sell their products.
All in all this is not a style proper, as it allows all types of beer to be brewed and sold. And for sure it is not a sign of quality, as quite a few of them (especially the “industrial ones) are in it for the love of money, not for the love of beer. E.g. Leffe, Grimbergen, Tongerlo, etc.
Strong golden ale
The name that comes to everyone’s mind is of course “Duvel”. Thanks to Ariël Meeusen’s research, the beer’s history can be drawn. The precursor to Duvel, Victory Ale, was released in 1922 as a dark ale, and remained dark until 1926, when the color changed to … amber. The beer recipe changed once more in 1970, when Jean De Clerck, world-renowned Belgian beer scientist was hired (once more) by Moortgat and he selected the typical yeast used for brewing Duvel from the mixture of yeasts Albert Moortgat had from Scotland ‘s McEwan's, and changed the recipe to a golden colored beer. It was an instant success, thanks to the fact that Moortgat was allowed to sell that particular beer in the pubs belonging to other breweries, as they did not have such a product. But that gradually changed, when they saw how successful such type of beer was becoming. Breweries launched competitors, some aptly named Satan, Lucifer, etc. and others with “rebellious” names such as Brigand, Piraat, Judas, etc. But none could really compete and most had (limited) local success only. Even AB InBev tried in 2008 with Jupiler Tauro and failed. However, about that same time (12 years ago), Lefebvre launched Hopus, that had some success because of two “gimmicks, i.e. the pop-open bottle and the small glass for the yeast deposit, next to the big glass) and Brouwerij Omer Vander Ghinste (formerly called Bockor) developed and launched “Omer”. “Omer” became really popular and is to be considered the first real challenger to Duvel. That caught the eye again of other breweries who took initiatives in recent times. Vanhonsebrouck, already having Brigand in its portfolio launched “Filou”, especially via TV and sponsoring, and with a label that is quite reminiscent of Duvel, who started a lawsuit about this fact but lost. Meanwhile Alken-Maes (Heineken) revamped Hapkin (originally from Louwaege) and is pushing that beer heavily commercially. And just some months ago, AB InBev launched Victoria (get the pun, if you remember Duvel’s original name).
The term “strong” refers to the alcohol strength of between 7 to 11 % ABV.
Strong dark ale
Strong has the same meaning here. But as you have guessed, the color differs. There have always been (rather) strong dark beers in Belgium, examples Van den Bossche’s Buffalo (1907), Gordon Scotch and X-Mas beers, Het Anker Gouden Carolus, Van Steenberge’s Gulden Draak, etc. But this was either local and/or limited. And the turnover globally was really small in the 1960’s and 1970’s, given the consumers’ penchant towards pale beers, driven by marketing. However, in the wake of Belgium’s “Beer of the Year” in 1986 and due to the success of the strong dark trappist beers, Vanhonsebrouck (now called Kasteel Brouwerij Vanhonsebrouck) developed a strong dark beer in 1989, which was called Kasteelbier. Quite sweet and very strong, the beer received a cult following with consumers, including aging the beer for years, doing vertical tastings and exchanging food pairing recipes. After expanding the range, the beer was renamed “Kasteel Brown”. Meanwhile others have jumped on the bandwagon of dark beer at the high end of the alcohol spectrum, e.g. Dubuisson Bush de Noel (1991), Het Anker Cuvée van de Keizer (since the range expansion now followed by the words “Imperial Dark”, 1999), Straffe Hendrik Quadrupel (2010), etc. In that wake came also a small revival of the other dark beer styles.
Wheat beer – witbier
The story of Hoegaarden and Pierre Celis is well-known. Suffice to say that the style was relaunched by Pierre in 1966. Whether his recipe was true to the original style is still open for debate, as most historical beer books do not mention using spices (e.g. coriander and curacao) in the recipes of Hoegaarden breweries. Anyway Pierre’s Hoegaarden Witbier became very popular in the 1980’s, resulting in a lot of copycats launching their own witbier, such as Dentergems Wit (Riva), Wittekerke (Bavik), Witbier Haacht (now Super 8 Blanche), etc. When the Hoegaarden brewery burned down in 1985, Interbrew (now AB InBev) stepped in and gradually took over. Since then the Hoegaarden beer is a shadow of its former self. And the style in itself is no longer popular in Belgium. However, the world loves this style, and Belgian Witbier (e.g. Vedett Extra White from Duvel) is wildly successful in Japan and China, etc. where it is positioned as a first step on the specialty beer road, away from pilsner.
Pale Ale – Special Belge
The English (and German) imports into Belgium were quite successful at the beginning of the 20th century. When a competition was launched in 1905 for a “Belgian” competitor for these international imports, a bottled beer from Brasserie Binard Frères from Châtelineau was the winner. Their “La Belge du Faleau” was bottled, was not cloudy so that all of the bottle contents could be served, had the looks of an English pale ale with a nice foamy head, and was cheaper than English imports. It was an instant success and attracted quite a few copycats. But, over the years and especially after WW2, the take-over of plenty of remaining small breweries by the big ones and their drive to push pils instead of ales resulted in dwindling choice. The large breweries such as AB InBev kept some beers in their portfolio but did not market them any longer (Ginder Ale, Vieux-Temps, Horse Ale, …), while just a few smaller breweries continued making and promoting this style. The most important ones still in existence are Palm (now part of Swinkels Family Brewers, a Dutch company, owners of Bavaria and La Trappe) and De Koninck (part of Duvel). Meanwhile five breweries have received official Flemish “regional product – streekproduct” status, i.e. the aforementioned Palm and De Koninck, plus Contreras for “Tonneke”, De Ryck for their “Special” and Alken-Maes (part of Heineken) with “Op-Ale”. However, the style has suffered greatly over the years, mainly due to mismanagement of the original flagship products, e.g. through sweetening and marketing for the wrong target audiences (hip youngsters, …). Let this not deter you, however. Just do the same as a good friend-brewer of mine from the US who came all the way from California to Herzele, only to enjoy a few super fresh De Ryck Special. It is well worth the effort.
Saison
There is a lot to be said about « saison ». Quite a few Belgians will tell you this is not a style. And they are right if you look at the beer scene in a large part of the 19th century when all types of beer were brewed in the colder months, or in “season”. However, what most beer nerds now refer to is the saison as we know it from Brasserie Dupont. Historians refer to Saison Dupont as being first brewed in 1844. But this beer has nothing to do with the current “Saison Dupont”, developed after WW2. That is basically a 6.5 % ABV hoppy ale, fermented in square vessels at high temperatures, with the hops playing their usual role as preservative. Other breweries followed the Dupont lead and launched a new saison or revamped old recipes. Examples are Saison Voisin (Légendes), Saison 1900 (Lefebvre), Saison de Silly, etc.
Next to the hoppy version, there is another version with herbs and spices instead of hops for keeping the beer, represented by e.g. Vapeur and Fantôme.
Nowadays, everyone is making saison, as it sounds fun, is easy to pronounce throughout the world, and most consumers have no clue what it means or how it should taste like. So, anything goes and it so happens that one Colorado brewer brews more than 40 different beers a year and calls all of them saison, irrespective of ingredients, alcohol level, color, etc. This means that the “saison’ term is so opaque and so misused that I gladly let saison pass me by and order/drink something else. Even the Saison Dupont can no longer enthuse me (contrary to their Avec Les Bons Voeux which I still like).
Flemish Red-brown ale
The term actually refers to the sour brown ales of West-Flanders, obtained by mixed fermentation, maturation in wooden vats and blending young and old beer. However, there was a time when “sour” was less in fashion, so that Rodenbach started looking for an alternative description and came up with the term “Flemish Red-brown ale” over a decade ago. And this “new” term has created plenty of puzzlement about this style, which is mixed and/or confused with the “old” brown ales from East Flanders.
It is unclear when the style really took off, but some point a finger at English know-how (e.g. Greene King, blending young and old from oak casks), used by Rodenbach back in the second half of the 19th century. Others point at ‘Uitzet or Uytzet’, a typical style that was popular in the 19th century, especially in East-Flanders province and which was blend of young and old beer. More about this in an article on Rodenbach later. But Rodenbach has to be credited for making the style popular, especially in the 1960’s and ‘70’s, given the beer was considered for some time to be the perfect drinking beer for those that wanted something more tasteful than pilsner, at a similar alcohol strength, and with a red but still pale color. And for those that wanted beer with their sea food, such as (cooked grey) shrimps, cod, sole, etc.
Given the success of Rodenbach, others followed suit and made their own version and/or revamped one of their old recipes. Typical examples include Vander Ghinste Roodbruin, De Brabandere’s (formerly called Bavik) Petrus Roodbruin and Verhaeghe’s Duchesse De Bourgogne.
Those four breweries plus others (e.g. Vanhonsebrouck with Bacchus) were interested in jointly promoting the style and looked at what the lambic-brewers had done. However, their attempt to copy HORAL (Hoge Raad voor Ambachtelijke Lambiekbieren = High Council for Artisanal Lambic Beers) and start HORARB (High Council for Artisanal Red-Brown Beers) did not succeed (yet ?). But they launched “Rondje Roodbruin”, a biannual event, similar to Tour de Gueuze whereby you can visit a few breweries.
Meanwhile four breweries have received official Flemish “regional product – streekproduct” status, i.e. Rodenbach, Strubbe, Omer Vander Ghinste and Verhaeghe.
Lambic-gueuze
This style alone would need its own multiple page article. But one aspect of the style has not been well described in my opinion and warrants a mention here. It is often said that spontaneous fermentation beers are a unique product of the area around Brussels, the valley of the Senne. Of course, this is not true, as has been proven in recent years by numerous brewers around the world. For Belgium one other area has proven it over decades, and that is South-West-Flanders. Indeed, the area and some of the brewers there who brew Flemish Red-brown also brew(ed) lambic and gueuze.
One of the most interesting and intellectually rewarding experiences you can have in Belgium is to learn and understand how they succeeded in using the same equipment for both styles, albeit with partially different ingredients and just a few different production steps.
Rodenbach’s gueuze was called “Gueuze Saint-Georges” (launched in the 1950’s and discontinued in 1978). Verhaeghe had a beer, simply called “gueuze”. Van Honsebrouck (launched in 1958) has Saint-Louis Gueuze, Kriek and Framboise (also sold internationally under the Vieux-Bruges label) as well as “Gueuze Fond Tradition”. Omer Vander Ghinste (former Bockor) had Jacobins Gueuze Lambic, Kriek Lambic and Framboise Lambic, all discontinued, but now has “Cuvée des Jacobins” which they call “lambic” on their website, even though most people consider this a Flemish Red-brown ale. All in all, the “West-Flanders” lambic style now has a slumbering existence. However, there is now a newcomer with De Ranke, producing “Mirakel”, which they call Spierelambic. Keep your eyes open for more.
Cheers. Enjoy great beer.
