Belgian Styles Flashcards
Where is Belgium located?
Northern Europe, in a region known as the “beer belt.”
What countries make up the modern day “beer belt?”
Present day Germany, The Netherlands, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Austria, the U.K. & Ireland.
What is significant about the climate in the “beer belt?”
Cooler climate has historically favored the cultivation of grains rather than grapes.
What has remained the national beverage of Belgium throughout history?
Beer
What does Belgian beer culture consist of?
Respect for tradition with an independent artisanal spirit.
Who is accredited with playing an important role in brewing and helped carry beers popularity in the Middle Ages?
The Belgian monasteries in the 8th & 9th centuries.
How many types of beer would Belgian monks often brew?
Several
Why would monks often brew several types of beer?
Both for sustenance and to welcome travelers and noble guests.
What happened to Belgian monasteries (and breweries) during the 1790s (French Revolution)?
They were closed or demolished due to France bordering Belgium.
What year did Belgium gain independence when they seceded from The Netherlands?
1830
What was the reputation of Belgian produced beers at the end of the 19th century?
Half of the beers produced in Belgium fell under 3% ABV and held a reputation for poor quality.
What beers dominated the Belgian beer market at the end of the 19th century?
English ales and variations of pilsners (which were sweeping all of Europe).
What year did a prominent brewing scientist named Henri Van Lear organize a nationwide brewing contest in Belgium?
1902
Why did Henri Van Lear organize a nationwide brewing contest in Belgium in 1902?
He hoped that Belgian brewers would create quality beers that would stand out in the export market while also resonating with the local consumers.
Why didn’t very many breweries enter Henri Van Laers initial brewing contest in 1902?
Because it required that each beer recipe be made public.
What happened in 1904 when Van Laer changed the rules in the nationwide brewing contest to keep the recipes a secret?
Numerous entries poured in and this single event helped steer the direction of the modern formulations of several Belgian beer styles.
What did many of the beers entered in the 1904 Belgian nationwide brew contest share as influences in their submissions?
Many of the beers in the contest incorporated influences from English ales or appealed to drinkers desiring pale lager beers. But Belgian brewers adapted these styles by adding their own twists.
What kind of twists did Belgian brewers typically use on beers influenced by English ales and beers that appealed to drinkers of paler lager beers?
They added their characterful Belgian yeast strains, spices, and/or adjuncts to create something new and distinctly Belgian.
Today, are Belgian brewers likely to discuss ingredients or spices that are used in their beer?
No. Secrecy among Belgian brewers remains today -many are reluctant ant to discuss this info.
Describe the Vandervelde Act
Passed in 1919 - banned the sale of fencer in pubs and public places.
This helped drive development and popularity of high alcohol ales through the 20th century.
Many of the Trappist beer styles we know today were at least partially created to fill the ensuing public demand for stronger alcoholic beverages. (Forerunners of modern Trappist Dubbel and Tripel).
When did the new era of Belgian innovation and the evolution of many contemporary styles happen and what did this lead to?
The 1920s & 1930s. Led to the unique Belgian beer culture identity of its own.
What are some common ingredients we see used throughout the history of Belgian brewing?
Adjunct grains, spices, and fruit
Why is it that many commercial examples of Belgian beer don’t fit neatly into the exact BJCP parameters of any given style and some beers exist entirely outside the paradigm of organized beer styles?
Because Belgian brewers tend to put their own creative twist on each beer, thus the concept of beer styles finds less acceptance among brewers in Belgium.
Regardless of the ingredients used or labels applied, what do Belgian brewers strive for in each beer?
Balance.
As a general rule, they believe all of the ingredients should work together to create a complex and well-integrated whole in which no one component overwhelms the others.
Geographically, modern Belgium is divided into which 3 regions?
Flanders - North (West Flanders = Dutch speaking province)
Wallonia - South
Brussels - Capital Region
What style of beer can you expect to find in West Flanders?
Several classic producers of the sour Flanders Red style.
What can you expect to find in the Wallonian province Hainaut?
An hour and a half south of West Flanders, this region features Saison drinking and French speaking
What style of beer are you likely to encounter in Brussels and Leuven?
1 hour northeast of Wallonia - this is where you will discover the home of Lambic and Witbier, respectively
In Belgium, what variation of beer style is dominating the market?
International Pale Lager
How do bars honor the tradition that Belgian. Tweets typically adopt a unique and distinctive next glass to represent their brand?
By only serving each beer in its proper glass. Many establishments bartenders may opt to suspend service if a particular beer if all of that brewery’s glasses are in use.
In addition to producing beer, what do some Trappist monasteries in Belgium produce ?
Foodstuffs such as cheese. Naturally the cheeses are often served alongside beers from the monastery.
What for most Belgian beers have as a base malt?
Pilsner malt but both grain adjuncts and kettle adjuncts play a role in many beer styles.
What is original gravity?
A measurement of the density of wort prior to fermentation, which gives the brewer an estimate of the sugar content of the wort as well as the potential alcohol content of the finished beer.
What spawned some creative and lengthy brewing processes, including “turbid mashing” in 1822?
A law taxed each batch of beer based on the capacity of the brewers mash tun, resulting in brewers packing their mash tuns as full of grain as physically possible.
This law also allowed brewers to use a second vessel for un-malted grains which was taxed at less than its full capacity. This incentivized brewers to use adjunct grains in their recipes and many modern styles still incorporate these ingredients.
Historically, what did Belgian brewers find to be economical to use to boost the gravity of beer?
Kettle adjuncts such as Candi sugar.
Sugar was cheaper than malt and often taxed lower than malt.
Also kettle adjuncts like Candi sugar can help lighten the beer on the palate and add crisp dryness that often belies a beers strength for great drinkability.
Why is Pilsner Malt kilned very lightly?
To deliver flavors of unsalted saltine crackers, very light matzo, or water crackers.
What does Pilsner malt provide in Belgian-style beers?
Bready, grainy flavors that balance the hops, spices, and fermentation flavors of the beer.
What kind of malt often forms the foundation of Austrian and German amber and dark lagers?
Vienna malt
How does Vienna malt differ from Pilsner malt?
Vienna malt is both kilned at higher temperatures and for a longer period of time than Pilsner malt.
This kilning process develops lightly toasted malt flavors with slightly nutty notes and a subtle, honeyed, cereal sweetness
Beers brewed with a large portion of Vienna malt turn out a rich orange or light amber color.
How does Munich malt differ from Vienna malt?
All Munich malts are kilned at higher temperatures and for a longer period of time than Vienna or Pilsner malts.
Munich malt gives beer an amber to brown color and flavors of toast, biscuits, pretzels, and bread crusts and often forms the base for many German amber and dark lager styles.
Munich malt also comes in a small range of colors with some slight differences in flavor and intensity.
How are Vienna and Munich malts used in most Belgian style beers?
Sparingly.
Small portions of Vienna or Munich malt can add color and subtle malt flavor to styles such as Dubbel.
Belgian brewers typically avoid creating intense malt flavors or full body in their beers as they want these beers to remain drinkable and balanced even when high in ABV.
Which Belgian style beer are likely to have larger additions of Vienna or Munich malt?
Amber and brown bière de garde.
In the Flanders Red style, Vienna or Munich malt often serves as the base malt, contributing much of the reddish-brown color to the beer.
What is unmalted wheat?
A grain adjunct.
What does unmalted wheat add to witbiers?
A creamy and fluffy texture to the mouthfeel of the beer as well as a pale-white gaze characteristic of the style.
Also aids in head retention due to the high protein level.
How does wheat differ from barley?
Wheat had a bready, floury flavor that differs slightly from the cereal-like quality of barley.
In a tradition witbier, un-malted wheat can make up how much of the grist?
Nearly half.
How is unmalted wheat used in Lambic brewing due to the use of turbid mashing?
It’s high amount of carbohydrates in the grain goes largely unconverted which provides food for the many different microbes that are a part of spontaneously fermentation, especially during the later stages.
Adding unmalted wheat ensures an energy source for Brett throughout years of extended maturation.
What percentage of unmalted wheat typically makes up the grist in Lambic and Gueuze
Typically 35-40%
What type of sugar do Belgian brewers prefer for brewing?
Candi sugar
How is adding candi sugar to a beer different from adding malt and other grains?
Candi sugar is fully-fermentable and does not contain any proteins or complex carbohydrates that add body to a beer.
If a Belgian brewer used 10-20% of candies sugar extract in a beer what will it do?
Lighten the body and mouthfeel of the beer.
What does the high fermentability of Candi sugar do to the finished beer?
Reduces the overall sweetness (compared to an all malt formulation) giving a drier finished product.
Why do Belgian brewers like to use Candi sugar when brewing Belgian ales and Trappist/abbey style beers?
Because it lightens the palate and improves the drinkability of these beers.
Candi sugar comes in a wide range of colors based on cooking conditions in the production process. How do the lighter varieties differ from the darker varieties?
Lighter varieties add nothing to the flavor of the beer - only lighten the body and boost the ABV
Darker varieties leave behind a wide range of “cooked” flavors, ranging from burnt sugar, rum, toffee & molasses to notes of dark fruit like raisins, prunes, plums or figs. (Also adds significant color to the beer)
What do Belgian brewers use the term “Candi sugar” to refer to?
The liquid form of cooked sugar syrup made from beets readily available in their country.
What is something American brewers may use to substitute for Candi sugar if they don’t have any?
Dextrose or other simple sugar adjuncts. Which produce the same effect of lightening the body and boosting the ABV to the finished beer.
How do maltsters produce crystal malt?
They “stew” green malt (undried, germinated malt) in a roasting drum using temperatures similar to those used by brewers during mashing.
What happens during the “stewing” process of green malt into crystal malt?
“Stewing” converts starch into sugar so that the malt kernel holds a mass of liquefied sugar.
Then the maltsters rapidly raise the temperature while removing moisture to caramelize and crystallize the sugars.
Belgian brewers employ highly kilned crystal malts to give a deep ruby hue to which style of beer?
Flanders Red Ales.
What is “Special B?”
A highly colored crystal malt produced by maltsters using very high roasting temperatures. (More than 400 degrees) Which delivers intense flavors of burnt sugar, dried fruit, toasted raisin bread and plums.
Which modern versions of store often use “Special B” as a signature ingredient?
Belgian Dubbel, Belgian dark strong ale and other dark Belgian ales.
What kind of malt do Belgian brewers sometimes use less then 1% of in the grist to add some color and faint hints of chocolate or roast?
Chocolate malt or black malt.
How would most observers characterize the use of hops in Belgian beer?
Restrained use of hops.
What are often referred to as “the spice of beer?”
Hops
How do most Belgian brewers use hops?
For subtle flavor additions rather than primary taste attributes.
Favoring German and Czech noble hops: hallertau, tettnang, spalt and saaz
While some modern commercial examples of Belgian beers display pronounced hop bitterness, most styles and examples have just enough to balance the malt and yeast flavors.
What are some hops that are more off shoots of saaz hops and what can they contribute to the finished beer?
English Goldings and Fuggle, and the Slovenian variety Styrian Goldings.
They can contribute floral, perfumy, and herbal character without the citrus, resin, or tropical fruit notes that many American and New World Hope feature.
What Belgian beer styles have some modern commercial examples display pronounced hop bitterness?
Saison, Belgian Tripel, wine Belgian Blond.
What styles of Belgian beers have virtually nonexistent hop bitterness?
Some sour and wild beers such as Flanders Red Ale, Our Bruin and the Lambic family.
What did brewers used to use before the use of hops in beer?
Spices.
What kinds of spices are historically used as ingredients in Belgian beer that have carried over into modern brewing?
Coriander,grains of paradise, chamomile, orange peel, white and black peppercorn, ginger, cinnamon, star anise and many more are used to accent the yeast and hop flavors in a given beer.
How much spice presence do Belgian brewers generally favor in their beer?
A light touch, a common adage being that the spices should change the flavor of the beer but not so much that a drinker can actually identify the individual spice used.
Do Belgian brewers list the spices they include in their beers ?
Brewers usually keep spices they use a secret or don’t acknowledge using spices at all as part of their mystery and romance of their individual beers.
Do all Belgian brewers use spices is in their beers?
No, some brewers use spices in all of their beer and others use none at all.
Although spices can be added to beer in many different ways, when do most brewers add them?
Late in the boil or in the whirlpool to preserve their aromatic qualities. (Which parallels aromatic hop additions.
Why do brewers often crush or grind their spices?
To maximize the flavor impact from a given quantity.
Why do some brewers opt for frozen whole fruit or fruit puree?
It can be kept longer and the skin breaks from freezing which makes the flavors more accessible and easier to transfer to the beer. Purée delivers consistent flavor in concentrated form and come already pasteurized or sanitized.
