We are not talking lager here; we are talking ale. Ales pre-date “lager” and are top fermented, which means the yeast that turns sugars to alcohol sits on top of the fermenting beer, as opposed to lager or pilsner where it sits on the bottom. And ales are often brewed in simple open fermenters rather than closed conical vessels. These ales come in strengths from 3% to 12%, with colours from nearly white to nearly black. The 3% beers are “table beers” traditionally drunk at family meals. The strongest are wine strength and many even come in 75cl wine style bottles. Belgian restaurants will normally include a beer list alongside the wine list, and many diners choose ale not wine to accompany their meal. Garrett Oliver, the Brewmaster of The Brooklyn Brewery and the foremost authority in the United States on the subject of traditional beer, says that good real beer offers aspects that most wine does not, like carbonation, and caramelised and roasted flavours — so sometimes making beer the preferable choice to drink with a meal.

There are a huge array of tastes - hoppy beers, sweet beers, bitter beers, and even sour beers. Then there are cloudy beers made with wheat rather than barley. And there are beers that are brewed with (rather than flavoured with) fruit, particularly cherries and raspberries. This is a long-standing Belgian tradition, not a modern fad. In more recent times, some breweries have started to use spices like coriander to enhance flavour.

Another Belgian tradition is for Abbeys to produce their own beers for sale to earn monies for the abbey. There are 6 Abbeys still brewing today and these 6 only can call their beers "Trappist". These abbeys effectively created specific Belgian beer styles that commercial brewers copied, giving them monastic names. Other abbeys who had never brewed or who have closed their breweries have entered into licensing deals with commercial breweries to brew beers named after their abbey.

Many Belgian beers are naturally conditioned in the bottle – they are not pasteurised and are living beers. The bottle contains a small amount of yeast and the taste continues to develop in the bottle. The beers improve with age and can be kept for several years before serving. Don’t worry about needing to drink these beers soon after buying in case they go off – the “drink by dates” will normally be a good time away (some keep for very many years).

After buying, the bottles should be stored upright for at least 24 hours before opening as during transportation the yeast may have been disturbed and will need to settle back to the bottom of the bottle. And when you open a bottle, remember it has sediment so the beer should be poured carefully , preferably into its own special glass, and it must not be drunk straight from the bottle. In good Belgian bars you will be served the beer in the appropriate branded glass. The waiter will pour the beer for you, and leave the empty bottle and filled glass in front of you with the brand logos pointing away from you – so other drinkers can see what good taste you have! There are many shapes of glass and many will swear the right glass improves the taste of the beer – it may be all in the mind but…

You can now find a range of these beers and their special glasses, available for home/business delivery in Malta, online at www.thebelgianbeershop.com.mt

So what beers does the website have for sale?

The website owners have been visiting Belgium at least annually since 1981, the sampling of the different beers being a key activity. They have chosen 2 initial suppliers whose products, they believe, will give a wide representation of Belgian brewing styles. They have visited and were hugely impressed by both breweries.

Van Steenberge brews in the village of Ertvelde, 15 km north of the city of Gent (Ghent). The brewery started out back in the 1700s as a farm that brewed beer only for home consumption. Today it is a medium sized family run company committed to brewing world-class beer and to remain independent. It produces a wide range of beer styles that it sells throughout Belgium and also exports them all over the world. Brewery President, Paul Van Steenberge said “We are proud to bring our brewing traditions and heritage to Malta and add it to our export markets – we already have had considerable success in Italy. 8 of our beers are now available in Malta so whatever you want in a beer there will be one you will like – light thirst quenching pils or white for a summers day, a strong amber ale for the evening, a warming strong barley wine after dinner or a even a very Belgian brown or cherry beer. Enjoy”

Their most widely available beer in Belgium is called “Augustijn” - a strong 8% amber ale. Augustijn is a 'living' abbey beer that had been brewed by the Augustinian fathers of Gent since 1295. In 1982, the brewing, marketing and distribution for the beer was taken over by Van Steenberge, who also improved the recipe. They pay a royalty to the Abbey. Augustijn has a hoppy flavour with a malty background. You may also detect a light fruity vanilla flavour.

“Celis White” is a 5% very pale, top fermented beer, brewed using wheat rather than barley and with a touch of fruit and herbs. It is a cloudy white colour with a refreshing light taste. Peter Celis reintroduced White Beer to Belgium in the late 1960s, brewing in the town of Hoegaarden. His brewery flourished but sadly a major fire in the 1980s meant he needed considerable finance to continue. This was provided by Interbrew (Stella Artois) , who bought Hoegaarden from Peter. He then moved to Austin, Texas where in 1992 he built a new brewery. He repeated his success and ever since Americans have been enjoying Belgian style white beer - Celis White. Peter Celis has since sold that brewery too and is back in Belgium in semi retirement but Van Steenberge has won the contract from him to brew Celis White in Belgium.

Bruegel is a 5% thirst quenching fruity amber ale.

Vlaamse de Borgogne is a sweet and sour brown ale - an ancient style of beer now unique to Flemish Belgium.

Bios Kriekenbier is based on Vlaamse de Borgogne with cherry juice – another Belgian tradition.

Piraat is a very strong (10.5%) golden "barley wine”.

Gulden Draak is a rich and glowing 10.5% ale, full of flavours – some say with a hint of chocolate or coffee.

Sparta Pils is a nicely balanced and moderately bitter pilsner.

Duvel Moortgat brews at Puurs Breendonk in Antwerpen province. They are one of Belgium's biggest independent breweries. They prove you can be big and produce excellent beer. “Divine Importers & Distributors”, introduced Duvel to Malta last summer and immediately it met a very good response. It is already available in a number of exclusive hotels, bars, and restaurants. Divine’s Edward Grech says “We are very pleased not only to add the www.thebelgiabbeershop.com.mt as a customer but also to work with Ted Whitfield, towards the common goal of promoting and making available quality beers in Malta.” Recently Divine has also started to offer Duvel’s Maredsous Abbey beer range, and the website will of course be selling these too. Edward Grech enthused “You must try these beers to understand the superiority when compared to other beers, it is a totally new experience.”

The strong pale ale, Duvel, is justly world famous. Duvel has a fruity dry aroma, resulting from the use of the finest hops. It is dry but still has an alcohol-sweet flavour. Thanks to the balance between a fine aroma and subtle bitterness, the beer is an excellent thirst-quencher, with a pronounced hop aroma.

The 3 Maredsous beers are brewed under licence from the Maredsous abbey at Dinant, near Namur in the Ardennes. There are a 6% blond, 8% dark “dubbel” and a 10% “tripel”.

There is also a tradition in Belgian cafes for ordering a large 75cl wine bottle to share, and in restaurants to drink strong beer in place of wine, and Augustijn and Duvel are offered in 75cl bottles too. As each beer has its own special glass, these special glasses are on sale too.

Thomas Baekeland, the Belgian Ambassador to Malta, is very pleased to “see that the opportunity has arrived for Malta to discover some fine traditional Belgian beers” He says “that by tasting these excellent beers, you will discover a few traits of the Belgians: dedication to excellent workmanship, refined taste, and great optimism for the good things in life. The Belgians are proud of this and are happy to share it with you. I hope first beer will entice to want to discover Belgium and its many facets. Gezondheid-Santé”.

If all this is totally new to you, but you are intrigued and would like to try a selection, they have 3 mixed cases each containing 6 bottles of 4 different beers, and with each case you can pick 2 or 3 free bottles of beer not in the case.

For more details please check out their website www.thebelgianbeershop.com.mt

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