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Belgium for Beer Lovers
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"Beauty lies in the hands of the beer holder." - Anonymous
Nowhere is this more true than in Belgium with over 400 different varieties of beer, many with personalized beer glasses in which that beer, and only that beer, may be served. The shape of each glass is made to enhance the flavor of the beer it is designed for. This strict beer seperatism may seem like behavior usually reserved for wine snobbery, but Belgians do take their beer seriously - and with good reason. Belgium has enjoyed an unparalleled reputation for its specialty beers since the Middle Ages. Connoisseurs favor Belgian beers for their variety, real flavor and character.
The choices are endless when you consider raspberry beer, white beer, chocolate beer, geuze beer, cherry beer, brown beer Trappist beer and of course the beer that Belgium is most famous for - the lambic beer. Lambic beer is made with an ancient style of brewing, depending on spontaneous fermentation to produce a bone-dry, profoundly tart, and naturally effervescent drink that improves with years in the bottle - much like wine. By European Union regulation, it can be produced only in a small area in Belgium.
| Legendary Monastic and Abbey Beers |
Trappist Beers Among the surviving abbey breweries in Europe, six are located in Belgium, all established in their present form by Trappists who left France after the turbulence of the Napoleonic period. Rich dark ales produced solely by monks according to centuries-old method at the following six monasteries: Westmalle, Westvleteren, Achel (In Flanders) and Chimay, Orval, Rochefort (In Wallonia). To learn more about Trappist beers, read: Style of Trappist beers. |
Abbey Beers Strong ales in a similar vein to some of the famous Trappist brews, but not made in monasteries. Some have names indicating a business relationship between an abbey and a commercial brewery. Several of these monasteries did brew in the past. There are several other religious institutions that license breweries, and other beers that are simply named after an abbey ruin or local saint. Some names to remember when sampling abbey beers are: Grimbergen, Affligem, Karmeliet, and Corsendonk. |
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| Trappists | Trappistines | Cistercians |
| Chimay, Scourmont (1) | Clairefontaine, Bouillon (6) | Aubel, Val-Dieu (12) |
| Orval, Villers-devant-Orval (2) | De La Paix, Chimay (7) | Sint Benediktus, Bornem (13) |
| Rochefort, St. Remy (3) | Soleilmont, Fleurus (8) | Cisterciennes (Nuns) |
| Westvleteren Sint-Sixtus, (4) | Nazareth, Brecht (9) | Marienhof, Kerniel-Borgloon (14) |
| Westmalle, Malle (5) | Klaarland, Bocholt (10) | |
| Achel, Hamont-Achel | Brialmont, Tilff (11) |
| Brussels Breweries & Beer Museums | |
Headquarters of the Belgian Brewers Association located in a magnificent baroque building. |
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Brussels Gueuze Museum and Cantillon Brewery Witness the traditional style and taste a traditional Gueuze-Lambic at Cantillon museum & brewery. | |
This brewery is family owned since 1791 and brewers of the beers: Kwak, Tripel Karmeliet and Deus, Brut des Flandres. Visits by appointment only. (20 miles northwest of Brussels, in Buggenhout) | |
| Antwerp Breweries | |
Established in 1833 it is the only brewery in the city of Antwerp. Today, five generations later, the Van den Bogaert family maintains the noble brewing tradition and the unique glass is known as a bolleke. The original beer De Koninck (5% alcohol) and its two younger, stronger brothers Triple De Koninck (8% alcohol) and De Koninck blond (6% alcohol) are all brewed and bottled on the banks of the River Schelde. Open for groups by appointment only. |  |
This authentic House Brewery and restaurant in southern Antwerp brews 3 kinds of beer which cannot be bought elsewhere: Antwerps Blond 5.1%, Antwerps Bruin 5.5%, and Bangelijke which is extremely strong at 9.5%. Guided tours with beer tastings by appointment. Receptions, private parties, and seminars for groups up to 300 people.
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Moortgat (Breendonk) This brewery produces Duvel, one of Belgium's best known beers. Duvel's distinctively large head is created through a magical process of bottle fermentation. The circle inside the bottom of the Duvel glass also causes the beer to sparkle subtly upwards to its luxurious head. The letter D engraving releases carbon dioxide, creating bubbles in the shape of D at the top of the beer head. Visits by appointment only. |  |
| Bruges Breweries & Beer Museums | |
Beer has been brewed in this very location as early as 1455. Gouden Boom now brews Brugge Tripel, Brugge Blond and 2 abbey beers: Steenbrugge Dubbel and Steenbrugge Tripel. |  |
Founded in 1856, this brewery is the only still active brewery in the center of Bruges. Recently renovated, it is open for lunch, dinner & guided visits. Beer: ‘Brugse Zot’ (Bruges Lunatic). | |
National Hops Museum (Poperinge) This newly renovated museum is located at the Stadsschaal premises where hops were once weighed, inspected and stored. Hop tools, text panels, photos and film illustrate the story of hop and man. Open for groups & individuals. | |
| Ghent & Vicinity Breweries |
Van Steenberge (Ertvelde ) The Brewery Bios - Van Steenberge, which is located on the beautiful Lindenlaan in the center of Ertvelde, has been brewing Belgian beer since the 1900's.The beers brewed there including several abbey beers are: Augustijn, Augustijn Grand Cru, Bornem, Bruegel, Brussels, Pale Bock, Gentse Tripel, Gulden Draak, Keizersberg, Leute Bokbier, Piraat. Visits by appointment only. |
Liefmans Brewery (Oudenaarde) The Liefmans brewery is a treasure of industrial archeology and one of the rare breweries which still produce entirely natural beer where fermentation is done in open tanks. The beers brewed are: Liefmans Oud Bruin, Jan van Gent, Liefmans Goudenband, Liefmans Kriek (cherry), Fruitesse Kriek and Abdis, an abbey beer. Leifman’s Brewery won the World Beer Cup GOLD Award in 2006 for Straffe Hendrik Blond. Open to the public. |
| Leuven Breweries & Beer Museums | |
They are the brewer of the world famous Belgian beer, Stella Artois whose history is closely connected with the history of Leuven. Since 1717 the famous brewers secrets have been handed down from master-brewer Sebastien Artois through father and son for more than a century. !nbev also brew the Hoegaarden White beer which is liked by so many and served with a slice of lemon on the bottom. Visits by appointment only. |  |
| Mechelen Breweries |
Although the oldest documents which are currently in the archivery of Mechelen date from 1369, the brewery was in operation before that time, which proves that it is probably the oldest brewery still working in Belgium. Gouden Carolus is brewed there in the following versions: Classic, Triple, Ambrio, Keizer, Christmas, Easter, Ankerbok, Ankerblond and Blusser. Both the brewery and the on site restaurant are open to the public. |
| Beer Tours |
| Beer Tours (US Based Tour Operators) |
| Ale Street News: Belgian Brewery Tour 2010 |
| Beer Trips: Tours and Trips for 2010 |
| Ciao Travel: 2010 Great Belgian Beer Tour and Pub Crawl |
| BelgianBeerMe! Tours of Belgium 2010 |
| Global Beer: 2010 Fun & Beer Tour in Belgium |
| Podge on Beer: Beer and Battlefield Tour 2010 Beer & Heritage: Brussels and Hasselt 2010 Special Christmas Bruges Tour 2010 |
| Beer Tours (Belgian Tour Operators) |
Brussels International Travel Service (BITS) Organized beer and gourmet tours for individuals or groups. |
Offering beer and sports tours for individuals or groups. |
Organized tours to cover any special interest such as art, beer and many more. |
Bier-Mania! (Based in Germany) Besides visiting every Belgian Province, the tour also takes people to every Belgian Trappist monastery and sample every style of Belgian beer. Tours can be 7 or 10 days. Tours can also be combined with France & Germany. Check out these great tours. (All tours are Friday to Sunday with pick-up/drop-off Düsseldorf, Bruxelles or even Frankfurt):
Email: andy@bier-mania.com
Podge Beer Tours (Based in the U.K.)
Podge’s Belgian Beer Tours offers a varied program of Tours in Belgium and further afield for everyone from novice to expert. Next tour offered: Thursday 4 March to Monday 8 March 2010.We will be staying the first night of this five day tour at Hotel Marion in Ostend, famous for its Botteltje bar which stocks over 300 beers, followed by a three night stay at the fabulous four star luxury Hotel Keizershof in Aalst. This tour takes advantage of three of Belgium’s greatest beer festivals. The first is the ever-experimental Pre-ZBF festival organized by excellent Alvinne brewery, which now takes place at the atmospheric Kasteel der Lakebosschen, south of Bruges. This year it features some of Europe's most creative and innovative brewers, including BrewDog, Thornbridge, Struise Brewers, De Molen and Urthel. The second festival is the biennial Night of the Great Thirst, a lambic-feast in the wilds of Eizeringen. Lastly we will visit the magnificent national Zythos Beer Festival which takes place in the centre of St Niklaas. We will also attend the Public Brewing Day at Cantillon and pay a visit to the Impremerie Brewery in Uccle, Brussels, plus a sneal preview of the brand new De La Senne brewery also in Brussels. There are also a couple of special surprises which we should be able to announce in the first couple of weeks of 2010.
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| Beer Links |
| Belgian Beer Retailers |
Have authentic Belgian beer shipped to your doorstep from Beer Mania. Located in Brussels and you must be 21 years or older to purchase. |
Receive fast, and at low costs all the Belgian authentic beer treasures. For every purchase of 10 pieces , you get a free bottle of Belgian beer! |
Original Belgian beer products which are produced, packaged, and promoted to reflect the high quality of the product. |
Hundreds of varieties of Belgian beer shipped to the US as well as beer paraphernalia such as coasters, glasses, t-shirts, hats and more. |
| Belgian Beer in the US |
Located in Cooperstown, NY, this Belgian brewery is open year round for daily tours and tastings. They also list on their website Belgian beer festivals and events in the US. Belgium comes to Cooperstown! Belgian Beer Festival Saturday July 15, 2006. |
Located in Colorado, they brew Belgian style ales and also offer information on beer festivals and events on their website. |
Website focused on buying, making and tasting great beer. |
| Belgian Beer Information Links |
Your bridge to beer and life's related pleasures! Beer tours, beer articles, online purchases and much more. |
The latest and greatest news of all things Belgian Beer including articles, links and a chat forum. |
Belgian Brewers / Beer Paradise This is the website of The Union of Belgian Brewers. It is one of the oldest |
Also known as the Beer Hunter, Michael Jackson wrote several books on the subject. |
Belgian Beer and Travel |
All about Belgian beers, where to find them in Belgium and in the US. |
Useful information on Belgian beers in Belgium and in the US |
Written by Peter Crombecq, it has tons of information on beer in Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxemburg |
Tim Webb's Books on Belgian Beers Lambicland and Good Beer Guide to Belgium |
Find locations of breweries and their exports, statistical info and more. |
A service provided to the seekers of fine brews who wish to locate information on the net regarding their favorite beverage |
All things beer from 8000 BC until today! |
Description of the different Trappist beers, beer glasses and a beer travel guide. |
All About Beer Magazine |
Celebrator |
Great articles on Belgian beer written by by Stephen Beaumont. |
For Beer Information, Beer Travel, Classic City Brew Fest. |
The Burgundian Babble Belt |
Tastings.Com |
To find a pub you are interested in visiting in Belgium just enter the name and the city for maps, directions and contact information. |
Educate yourself on the world of beer in this comprehensive website with information on all beers, events, festivals and more. |
