Old tradition of Belgian beer

Since 1100s

Old tradition of Belgian beer means there is a lot to talk about and of course it’s famous.
Opinions differ on how many beers and how many breweries we really have in Belgium. See here some of the estimates.

Duvel (Devil) and Mort Subite (Sudden Death), two famous beers

The country has been in the brewing tradition since the 1100s, before it even was a country.
The region’s interest in beer began when the Catholic Church sanctioned the use of abbeys to brew and distribute beer to raise money for upkeep near the end of the 10th century. Another reason was that most drinking water was polluted and the beer offered a safe alternative.
Over the years, the nuns in the abbeys began pioneering new ways to brew, strengthening the diversity that was available to the locals in brewing villages. At the turn of the 20th century, there were over 3,000 breweries in Belgium, but the two World Wars had a devastating effect on the Belgian economy that reached deep into the brewing industry.

Over centuries of experimentation, Belgian beers have become world-famous for their unique qualities, such as their strength, sourness, or their uniqueness in that many have been brewed in churches by monks! Also, with over 3,000 types of beer, there is a beer for any preference.

Belgium has more individual styles of beer per capita than any other country in the world. With a population barely scraping past 11 million, they produced a whopping 1,132 distinct types of beer in 2011. Fast-forward to 2013 and that number is a mind-blowing 3,043 beers that were brewed among all 10 provinces of Belgium.

Big industry

The Netherlands was the largest EU exporter of beer and second worldwide after Mexico in 2020 according to a Dutch source.
According to a Belgian source, Belgium was the biggest exporter in Europe. It has created a big gap over its direct competitor, Germany, followed by the Netherlands, the Czech Republic and the United Kingdom.

More about Belgian beer:

Belgian Beer–A Centuries-old Tradition” by BelgiuminChina, dated 1 November 2021. More about that in a next post, looking at some of the more famous styles.

and

10 Ways Belgium Will Change The Way You Drink Beer” by Andrew Handley, October 27, 2014.

In this site, many sections:

  • Spontaneous Fermentation (Lambic)
  • Beer Cocktails
  • The Longest Bar In The World
  • The Bruges Beer Pipeline
  • The Farm Brewery
  • Trappist Beer
  • World’s Largest Beer Menu
  • Unholy Consumption

The secret of classic Belgian beers?

Medieval super yeasts! According to VIB (the Flanders Institute for Biotechnology), in a 21 October 2019 article.
An international team of scientists, led by Prof. Kevin Verstrepen (VIB-KU-Leuven) and Prof. Steven Maere (VIB-UGent), has discovered that some of the most renowned classic Belgian beers, including Gueuze and Trappist ales, are fermented with a rare and unusual form of hybrid yeasts. These yeasts combine DNA of the traditional ale yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, with that of more stress-resistant feral yeasts such as Saccharomyces kudriavzevii.
Mixed origins
“These yeasts are hybrids between two completely different species” says Dr. Jan Steensels (VIB — KU Leuven Center for Microbiology), who coordinated the lab work of this study. “Think of lions and tigers making a super-baby.”

Belgium beer is famous

Beer!

Belgium beer is famous, so are chocolates and diamonds, among other.
I have been posting about our national treasure including some stories.
Our Page of Belgian Beer is now updated with the new list of the beers!

Yes I drink other beers!

 

While we may make jokes about other countries, we do appreciate other beers, such as from Holland and Germany. I am also a regular at some of the locally micro-breweries, often for American style IPA and other.

Where to find Belgian beer

Amazingly one can find a vast choice in bars and even more online. Even Westvleteren, not for sale in retail in Belgium, can be found here. It is actually considered one the the very top beers in the world. Yes, the price is not cheap…

Some of the obvious locations: Morel’s Restaurant, Heaven Supermarket, and many other restaurants and bars. Some shops that sell wine, whisky and other alcohol often have a wide range of imported beers, including supermarkets such as April Gourmet and Jenny Lou.Some of the outlets go bust, new ones appear so one needs to look around.

Online, so much!
As always Taobao sells about anything you want, including a wide range of Belgian beers. But you really need to use the Chinese language platform…
See here some screen shots of what you can order.

Another platform is “Beer Hub”, located in Wenzhou, Zhejiang
See some screenshots.

Beer Hub started like many other businesses: 2 guys drinking Belgian beer in Europe and wondering why this isn’t available in China. Now 5 years later they boast a great variety of over 200 beers from the United States and Belgium.
The company extended warehouse locations to 3 main cities in China, they serve 15 major cities.

Focus on Belgian beers

More to come

I have been writing about it but I am starting a new focus on Belgian beers. More articles are in the pipeline with also an updated list of beers I discovered in Beijing.

Be patient, I am working on a revision of beer-related articles.

Previous posts

See here a look back at previous beer-related posts.

The Federation of Belgian Brewers (104 members) has published the results for 2018: The world biggest beer exporter is Belgium.

Belgian beer in Beijing updated: about import problems (the acesulfame story), Gentse Strop, Stroppendragers, and more!

In Beijing there is plenty of Trappist beer but finding Westvleteren in Beijing was a surprise. Westvleteren is one of the recognized Trappist beers. More about Trappist beers, Chimay and Westvleteren.

More about two beers with Waterloo history, “Cuvée Napoleon” and “Waterloo Beer”. About a small farm called Le Caillou at Ligny, near Waterloo, La Bataille de Hougoumont, La ferme de Mont-Saint-Jean and other stories of Napoleon and Waterloo.

If Belgium is the land of beer, I have been surprised to find so many of them in Beijing. So I started a Page of Belgian beer! Discover in Brussels Delirium Café and A La Mort Subite. How it started near the end of the 10th century to create so much history around Belgian beer.

I should not forget Ghent, my hometown in Belgium, where I was born, grew up, went to school and university. About the history of the Belfort, Gulden Draak, Strop beers, how the people of Ghent came to be known as ‘Noose Wearers’ (“stroppendragers”), and the famous “Gentse Feesten”.

Discovered Chez Soi

Belgian National Day

Because of Belgian National Day in Beijing I discovered Chez Soi. My first impression for some reason was not good so I did not attend the “event”. I wonder if anybody turned up actually.
I know the location, formerly it was a coffee shop where I went once. That time I was disappointed they did not have a decaf.

By the way, Belgian National Day is normally not celebrated in Beijing, the embassy seems to ignore it completely. as they are not very social anyway (to put it midly). We usually celebrate “National Day” on 15 November, King’s Day, when people are around, unlike in July.
The King’s Feast (Dutch: Koningsfeest, French: Fête du Roi, German: Festtag des Königs) has been celebrated in Belgium on November 15 since 1866. Since 2001, the Belgian Federal Parliament has held a ceremony in honor of the King, in the presence of members of the Belgian Royal Family and other dignitaries. So Says Wikipedia.

 

Another try

On 8 August I wanted to be alone, quietly, to read a bit. So I thought I try Chez Soi, will be quiet.

That was a “miscalculation”. As it happens, some ladies recognized me and we had a lively conversation in French. I also met a lady from the Walloon section in our embassy, she is the one who put up the nice poster. And of course Stéphanie, co-founder. (Need to make a better pic next time of us two…)
The place is actually pretty OK, food reasonable, service very friendly, so my first impression was wrong.
Their address is misleading – blame Beijing administration – as it is officially on Gongti Dong Lu but the location is actually in Dongdaqiao Lu. You need to really look for it. See the pics, easy to find because of the book shop… Once you know.

World’s biggest beer exporter

Belgium number one

The Federation of Belgian Brewers (104 members) has published the results for 2018: The world biggest beer exporter is Belgium.
Exports went up into the European Union. Exports declined a little outside of the EU (USA, Chine et Canada). The source is in French.

World’s biggest beer exporter

One of the famous beer shops in Brussels near Grand Place

It also mentions:

  • Exports went up into the European Union. Exports declined a little outside of the EU (USA, China and Canada).
  • Overall Belgium beats Germany in terms of exports. Top importers are France, followed by the USA, The Netherlands, Germany, Italy and China.
  • Consumption of beer in Belgium declined a little.
  • There is a notable increase in low-alcohol beer and no-alcohol beer.
  • In Belgium we have about 300 beer production centers; there were 40 new breweries in Belgium in 2018.

The joy of trying out Belgian beers in Beijing

The updated list of beers is here.
See some pictures of my investigation!

Yeah hard work!