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In addition to some wonderful history, the country of Belgium is
"The Beer country". Bordering France, Luxembourg, Germany and
The Netherlands, Belgium is in the heart of Europe. This
technologically advanced member of NATO and the EU is truly a
beer-lovers haven.
So much so, in fact, that the Belgian Brewer's Guild boasts that
a beer lover could easily enjoy a different beer every day and
not have to duplicate his selection for over a year. How's that
for choices, beer lovers?
In a practice that dates back a long time, some of Belgium's
more famous breweries are actually brewed in monasteries. These
are called trappiste breweries and are brewed by members of the
monastic order. There are five well known trappiste breweries:
Chimay, Orval, Rochefort, Westmalle, and Westveltren.
They all produce multiple types of beers with the exception of
Orval. They believe that producing a single beer allows them to
concentrate on one product and not lose focus by concentrating
on multiple beers.
Most breweries produce a "dubble" or "tripple" variety,
referring to the strength of the beer which is the result of the
fermentation activity. The trappiste beers are bottle
conditioned and are often stored in cellars where they can
evolve into some wonderful beers with age.
More widely available are the "biere d'abbaye" or "abby beers"
that are no longer brewed at the abbeys but have been contracted
out to local brewers. The original formula is used by the
brewer, but the beers are more plentiful to more modern brewing
capabilities.
Recently, Belgian beers and ales have greatly influenced the
brewing in America. A few examples of this are typified by Celis
Brewery in Austin, Tx., New Belgium of Ft. Collins, Co., North
Coast Brewing in Ft. Bragg, Ca., and Unibroue in Quebec.
If you haven't already tried beers from Belgium, you're in for a
rare treat. After all, it's not "The Beer Country" for nothing.
About the author:
Eileen Church is the webmaster of http://www.funbeers.com which
is a great beer resource site. Be sure to visit
http://www,funbeers.com soon.
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