Beer, a Delightful Taste

Le Roi d'Espagne, Grand Place of Brussels
© Willy Coppens - Le Roi d'Espagne

Could you imagine a better ambassador for our country than beer? A source of curiosity for some and definitely adored by others, it leaves nobody unaffected.

We come into contact with it every day and it draws our attention, under any circumstance. Drinking it makes us happy. It can be easily tamed but it won’t reveal its secrets that easily.

Sometimes seemingly insignificant flavours hide a real delightful range of tastes. Blonde, amber or dark, bitter, soft or acid, it also reflects a part of its region. Some beers are intimately linked to their region, other to local legends. Its name itself is often synonymous for a part of local history. 2005 wasn’t coincidentally declared Year of the Beer in Brussels and Wallonia. It’s actually a nice recognition of the credibility of a drink which has already brought so many happiness to the lives of an entire population. A well-known Belgian political speaker, and a great connoisseur of the hop flower beautifully summarized the social role beer can fulfil: “The wine lover talks to his glass while the beer drinker talks with his neighbour!” Fruit of the passion and ingenuity of the brewers, beer answers to all tastes and continues its delightful progression. There were times when Belgium had more breweries than churches and practically each house had its own little tavern! From regions to hamlets, from cities to villages, tastes always differed, but no region was ever forgotten.

Falstaff
© OPT-Kouprianoff

Brussels was somewhat different with its acid beers born from the lambic and spontaneous fermentation without yeast. Wallonia who was privileged with exceptionally pure water sources had an impressive number of character beers. In the past you could find plenty little hop crops along the banks of the Sambre and some parts of the Gaume near Virton. In some parts you can still see hop growing in the wild.

The result of these marvellous brewings has only caused the interest of beer lovers to grow and new people have had the calling to brew. They preach the form of micro breweries. This phenomenon in constant evolution makes us believe that soon every town will have its own local beer again. This new trend attracts tourism and is an open invitation to (re)discover our beautiful regions. A beer reveals its region, but the opposite is true as well: at the end of a trip, people almost automatically ask for a ‘local’.

Better still, more and more tourist offices in Brussels and Wallonia propose routes which combine local history, traditions, regional gastronomy and beers. The regional brewers encourage this type of suggestions. They allow each and everyone to get to know all about a region in an original but always delightful way. This results in a surprising alchemy which allows people to imprint a geographical reference in their memories for every beer they have savoured. Because you never forget its taste and the place where you have tasted it for the first time. That is why the Year of the Beer isn’t an end. Brewers still have a lot of beautiful years ahead of them and they will continue not only to amaze Belgium, its King and his children - who don’t mind being seen with a beer - but also beer lovers from all over the world.
Long live our regional beers and cheers to you all!

Christian DEGLAS President of the Association of Belgian Brewing Journalists (AJBB).

Beer 2005, A Festival of Flavours in Wallonia and Brussels: http://www.biere2005.be

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