In Belgium, craft brewing was probably launched in the 13th century with the emergence of guilds and regulations. Brewers began adding fruits, herbs and spices to the fermenting batch of brew. Beer was aged in barrel and fermented multiple times, much like a sparkling wine.
The connection to wine began when Burgundy’s extensive realm at one time included Belgium. The influence on the beer industry can be seen today in beer bottles with corks and bale, aging in wood and blending aged beer with freshly made batches.
Modern-day France and Belgium are both known for
their food and drink.
In fact, if you are
particularly fond of your food and beer, Belgians may call you
“Burgundian” rather than gourmand.
To ferment a basic beer, all you’ll need water, malt and hops. That’s how it was done in the middle ages when beer was also known as liquid bread. Back then wild fermentation was relegated to the religious orders who also happened to house the hospitals and hotels of the day. Like wine, beer was healthier to drink than water since the nasties were fermented out of the water. This is the reason why saints and abbeys are still seen on many labels.
How did a small country renown for fantastic fries, celebrated chocolate and exquisite lace come to be a world leader in beer? The answer lies in Belgium’s hybrid history and culture.
The country has three distinct regions: Dutch-speaking Flanders in the north, French-speaking Wallonia in the south and a German-speaking community to the east. Beer is produced in just about every city and village across this nation of 11 million plus people.
The beers from each region also have a wide range of flavors, from sour to fresh and fruity to big in flavor and octane. Many Belgian-style beers are bottle-conditioned or re-fermented in the bottle. Herbs such as coriander and licorice, spices such as pepper and ginger and apples, cherries and raspberries are de rigueur in the north and south regions of Belgium.
This wide range of beer styles includes abbey
beers, an array 
of wheat beers and
pilsners, brown ales, red beers, strong golden and brown ales,
saisons and other regional specialties such as Karmeliet and
Cantillon. Most unique are the austere, wild yeast Lambics, a relic
from the time before yeast was cultivated.
Let’s fast forward to craft brews: take two. In the early 1980s, a California microbrewer started adding stuff to the homogenous light yellow lagers, rules changed, more stuff was added and craft brewing was all the rage. Thirty-some years later, there are over 350 craft breweries in Washington alone with over 6,000 jobs producing thousands of brews and raising $1.65 billion in revenue, according to the Washington Beer Commission.
The Washington Beer Commission’s 9th annual
Belgian Fest
had 40 Washington craft
breweries serving over 100 Belgian-styled beers. There were
tripels, dubbels, saisons, blondes, wits, sour and strong ales.
Being wine-biased, I naturally gravitated to brewers that had been aging their beers in wine barrels. Bale Breaker’s Joindre Dubbel spends time in Cabernet Franc barrels. Black Raven poured the Les Oiseaux saison, La Mort Rouge strong ale, and 5×6 sour cherry, all of which showed immense complexity and balance.
Spokane’s Iron Goat Brewing went to a lot of work for their Brett d’Or du Claret. The complexity of this one comes from blending a 2 and 4-year-old golden ale, then fermenting again in Barrister Merlot and Cab Franc barrels with crushed grapes. The beautiful rose-colored beer is layered with fruit, tart and crisp.
Fremont’s Biere de Garde is aged in French oak for seven months, and Mount Vernon’s Farmstrong Brewing’s Wild Farmhouse Ale is aged in a Betz family barrel. Paradise Creek out of Pullman aged its Daily Dubbel in French oak for two years. This single barrel beer had nuances of brett, tartness and balancing sweetness.
Silver City Brewery poured its Giant Made of Shadows, a blend of the 2016 aged in bourbon barrels and the 2017 aged in port barrels. This strong ale is a hefty 10.5 percent alcohol balanced by dark fruit and caramel aromas and flavors. Please pass the Belgian chocolates.
Another style unique to Belgium is the sour beer. The introduction of lactic acid in the brewing process imparts a sharp and acidic tart taste. Sour beer, typically a red beer or oud bruin (old brown), is an acquired taste. But, sour beers are among the most versatile beers to pair with just about any dish because of that tartness.
Silver City poured its Luminous Libation tripel, a Chardonnay barrel aged beer with lots of apple and spice character and refreshing crispness. Also aged for two years in a Chardonnay barrel was the Charming Disarmer peach sour that is subtly tart, crisp with a little vanilla on top of its peachiness.
Matchless Brewing in Tumwater brought a taste of its Blueberry Sour, a 100 percent Munich malt sour ale made with 100 pounds of blueberries. Thick, rich with blueberry sweetness to balance the tartness.
From Seattle, Lantern Brewing had the most beautiful rose-colored sour wheat ale with beets and other fruit flavors. Beautiful!
And lastly, one of my favorite Belgium beer styles – Saison or Farmhouse Ale. Traditionally made with surplus ingredients and poured for laborers, it has evolved to have some of the most interesting flavors in beer. Anacortes Peppercorn Saison is made with four types of peppercorns — savory to say the least.
Diamond Knot’s gin barrel-aged saison was aged in Copperworks Northwest gin barrels. Very botanical. Figurehead Brewing was a not to be missed 1710 Saison with lavender and rosemary that also has that botanical nose, was light bodied and was very refreshing. Another gorgeously colored saison from Matchless Brewing: Pink Moon saison.
You may want to catch the Washington Beer Commission’s eighth annual open house on Saturday, Feb. 24 from noon to 5 p.m. More than 140 Washington breweries will open their doors and offer rare and unique beers, behind-the-scene tours and a chance to talk beer with the brewers.
