Joseph Fiedler - Beer & Pencils 4

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Beer & Pencils 4

posted:April 16, 2007

Abbey Orval

This is the fourth installment in the Beer & Pencils series. Beer & Pencils is a post designed for curious, imbibing illustrators with discerning palettes. This installment features some favorite Belgian brews. First of all, you might wonder, what is a picture of a church doing in a post about beer? Answer, EVERYTHING!

Belgian beer comprises the most varied and numerous collection of beers in the world. Belgian beer-brewing's origins go back to the Middle Ages, when monasteries began producing beers. The high esteem accorded to Belgian beer is supported by such beer experts as Michael Jackson [not THAT Michael Jackson!]. Today there remain 125 breweries in the country, producing about 500 standard beers. When special one-off beer styles are included, the total number of types of Belgian beer exceeds 1000. FYI Belgium has a population of over ten million people, in an area of around 11,700 square miles, just a bit larger than the area of the state of Vermont.

Belgian Beers might not be the first choice for casual drinkers looking to “pound a few” after they cut the grass. They can be challenging and an acquired taste. The complexity of flavors can lead the tippling novice to decry “ Fuck! This ain’t beer!” but to those who persevere, a whole new world of drinking pleasure awaits! 500 years is a lot of R&D man! To fully appreciate the wide variety of tastes in Belgian beers, any given beer should be served at its "ideal" temperature (which is usually in the range of cellar temperature: 8–15°C or 46–59°F) and in the appropriate glass. This allows one to “nose” the brew much as in wine tasting. Without the nose, you miss quite a bit of flavor. No bottle drinking here, mind you! Oddly enough, the vast majority of Belgian beers are sold ONLY in bottles [presumably due to “in the bottle” fermentation or conditioning]; tap beers tend mostly to be pilsners. Although Belgium is best known internationally for its unique ales, it is the common bottom-fermented pilsner lager, which heads the lists of both domestic consumption and exports. These beers are often called “table beers”. The best-known brand internationally is Stella Artois [never a bad selection!]. Stella has been brewed in Belgium since 1366. Correct me if I’m wrong but, doesn’t that make it older than Columbus?

The Styles

White beer [Wit] I’ve mentioned this in my first post but to re-cap, White is particular kind of wheat [rather than the typical barley] beer, commonly called witbier in Dutch, or Weizen in German, which often contains spices, such as coriander and orange peel. A 400-year-old style that died out in the 1950's, Pierre Celis at the Hoegaarden brewery revived it. Hoegaarden is my fave so far. Not quite a pilsner and not quite a wit is Duvel. Firstly, its extreme, pilsner-pale color is amazing considering it's ABV approaches 9%. Duvel is generally considered Strong Golden Ale. It is “clean” tasting - that is the favors that are most apparent are Scottish yeast, French barley malt and Czech hops. Its clean taste totally fails to reveal it's intense strength. Duvel is Duvel, imported by VanBerg & DeWulf.

Trappist These are top-fermented ales brewed in a Trappist monastery. For a beer to qualify for this category, the entire production process must be carried out by, or supervised by, Trappist monks on the site of the monastery. Dude, that’s sanctified drinking if ever it was! This fact alone raises the drinking ante to celestial levels. Monks know how to party big time [hint: they invented Champagne – also fermented in the bottle!]. Only seven monasteries currently meet this qualification, six of which are in Belgium and one in the Netherlands. No other breweries are entitled by law to apply that name to their product [imagine getting busted on that charge!]. Between the six abbeys about 20 beers are brewed. All are top fermenting, relatively to very strong, bottle conditioned ales. Here’s a quick overview:

ORVAL Orval is the oldest of the brewing monasteries, founded in the 11th century by Benedictine monks [remember B&B?]. The single beer they produce is probably the driest of the Trappist ales. They began brewing prior to the French Revolution. If I had to pick just one bottle to take with me to eternity, it would most certainly be an Orval! I swear to god! You just have to try it to see what I mean.

CHIMAY The most “commercial” of the Trappist brewing entities, this monastery has a history of taking beer production very seriously. The term "trappist" was popularized by Chimay (1850). It was there that Father Theodore and the famed “brewing scientist” Jean De Clerck developed much of the brewing theory that makes Trappist beers what they are. Their 3 beers are available in a variety of sizes, including magnum bottles of Grand Reserve. If you don’t care for the sour, dry taste of typical Belgians, try the Blue Label [9% ABV] on for size! Chimay on tap signifies a designated drinking spot.

The other monasteries are WESTMALLE. WESTVLETEREN, ROCHEFORT and ACHEL. I’m not personally acquainted with all of them at this time, although I just tried a Rochefort [9% ABV!]. Quite good, like Chimay and I had an Achel that I found at Wild Oats in Santa Fe, New Mexico. It was super good, like a jacked Orval with unusual flecks of particulate matter in the head [looked like oatmeal]. Baby; I’m working on it! Two more to go and I’ll cop the Trappist medal! I know that I can do this!

Lambic (including Gueuze and Fruit Lambics) Unique to Belgium in its origin of creation and distinguished by their tart taste, Lambics are neither top-fermented nor bottom-fermented, being prepared through spontaneous fermentation by wild yeasts said to be endemic to the vicinity of Brussels. Lambic can be broken into three subclasses: Gueuze, Kriek [cherry] and Framboise [raspberry - they also do peach], and Faro. Not a Pink Squirrel or for the faint of heart! I don’t care what anybody says, Framboise is an awful good drink!

Other types of Belgians include: Flemish, Red and Saison [seasonal, bottle-conditioned farmhouse pale ales]. I’ve sampled Saison Dupont [the most well known] and Moinette. Both are excellent, orange/amber in color and a bit “wild” which enhances their appeal. Actually, this is what bikers SHOULD be drinking instead of that Bud Light and Silver Bullet stuff! I say; match the beer to the man [or whatever]!

Rule of thumb: It doesn’t matter if you like it, just drink it, OK!

SIDE BAR
NOTE FOR NEW YORKERS Café´de Bruxelles

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