aaa yaa Flemish Brabant lies at the aarti) i er a province par excellence. The number of local beers is large and surprising: Ue ee eee Pence ear a Cee ee ee Te a Ceo ku) ‘establishments. The artisan breweries of Neen ee nee than 30 small brewers produce close to 250 Ce eee eens Pn Tasted tae Pee eal ene te ers Se eee Td household names in the world of beer. Sena en) region, the tradition and the people. A local beer tastes best after a brewery visit. Or go ee re ees See ea aes Se See ed ee eee best restaurants and brasseries offer a Cee ea ae are foaming events throughout the prov- eee ae dd Sa eu ied Set ponent feteCte) a Bes Bes 0018 een anes mes ECC aCe ait atonal Pe ze ee) 2 Smeets eee as) Cea a eR aL Pace uals Retin tegayg ars) PUR ela s2) Prete ese ‘24 THE NEVER-ENDING BAR pra aa Relea PEM a2 82 RCCL CMC eas CYR aa Mog ees 34 BEERS SEXY EL ca 2e me) EAL ae Eyes Sel caer eae ag EC cma alka: ace ae ens as Bees e re ec tity CassBEER CHART. AN OVERVIEW OF IW FLEMISH BRABANT Groene Gordel Srey HagelandF The beer region of Flemish Brabant is the absolute heart of the beer country of Belgium. The brewing tradtion is alive here lke nowhere ‘ise, so you never have to go very far to find a brewery or taste a delicious local beer. The details of al the breweries on this map can be found at the back of the brochure (p. 44-46) This way you can s9e straightaway which brew- cries will weloome you with open arms for a peek between the wort boilers. Great for tour- ists, but there is a whole lot more to discover inthe province. BEEROHART nL Femi Brabant is situated inthe cate ‘ot Belg. ‘The captal atts prownoe is Leuven.Lambic is an ancient beer which according to some sources has been brewed since the 14th century. PY iL i H3 5 This takes place using a method of pat spontaneous fermentation: brewers do not add any yeast but let the wort, the mixture of water, malt and hops coo in the ambient air. This “imoreg- rates” the brew with the wild yeasts Brettanomyces Bruxellonsis and Bret tanomyces Lambicus. These unique yeasts can only be found in the Zenne valley. Hence this beeris unique to this /DEEAMBIER region. AMter this process, Lambic is, GEUZE stored in oak casks, PYOYO) ME towns ceuze ‘Actual Lambic is hardly ever sold any ‘more. itis acidic and has few bubbles and lite head. In the 19th century, several brewers began experiment ing. They mixed old and young Lambic and allowed secondary fermentation to take place in a bottle. Thus Geuze was born. The sugars and live yeasts, inthe young Lambic ensured that sec- ondary fermentation occurs, while the ld Lambic gives depth and structure Tris process of mixing and second- ary fermentation is known in Dutch as “geuzesteken” - Geuze making,16 gy ES The use of herbs is typical of Belgian white beers. Herbs are not permitted in the brewing of the German Weiss- bier. Genuine white beer is fermented twice. The cloudy appearance gives away the fact that itis not tered. The proteins in the wheat malt also add to the cloudiness, HOEGAARDEN The best-known white beer is undoubtedly Hoegaarden, named after the vilage where it is brewed. In 1758, this vilage had no fewer than 38 brew- ries, This was down to a Frankish ‘noblewoman who gave her county to the prince-bishop of Liege. Because Of this, up until the French Revolution Hoegaarden remained an enclave of LLiége in the Duchy of Brabant, and its farmers did not have to pay any high taxes, Farming flourished and the wheat grain disappeared into the white beer. And yet the beer was almost lost to time. In 1957 the last white beer brewery closed, but Hoagaarden native Pierre Celis breathed new ife into the tradition in 1968. Today his former brewory is part of AB InBev. men, Fuavouns & TYPES Brewers make white beer with wheat and malted barley, and a mixture of coriander, orange peel and hops. a aa eCoCnte Ur) Tele Para ocr ere SeerFlavounsa rres* 4 A “pintje” or a Pils beer is a light, golden beer, brewed from malt, water, hops and yeast. Itcontains around 5% aleohol. By cry- paar ing the mait under controlled con Bars tions, the beer's golden-yellow colour “ is retained. Sometimes brewers also ‘add maize and rice. This makes the beer even lighter in colour and easier to digest. After maturing, Pilsis fitered. 3 IN LEUVEN This produces a very clear beer and also takes the sharpness out of the JSUNEUN A iSSTAUa Tg taste. Fermentation takes place at a see temperature of 6 to 8°C, known as Meerprleticptaah taba “iow fermentation’ In contrast thigh alae mee eee fermentation - a process between 15 [Ae adia tise aeeiianed and 25°C--thslow ermontation takes Eee ees auite along time, but the process is Ea Sok less sonstve to bacteria, pai ec oscar tei Pus The name Pils comes from the Czech, ber: city of Pisen. its inhabitants opened Rea their own brewery in 1842 out of [Ahnmanmame dissatisfaction because the beer in Fisen was of very poor qualty at the beginning of the 19th century. German brewer Josef Grollwas broughtinand > ‘together they brewed the fst Pils. Pls beer and the new brewing techniques 7 ‘gradually conquered the word.uavouns 99s P “DUBBEL” of eer This high fermenta- tion beer contains more raw materials “TRIPEL” BEER AMBER BEER than “normal” Beer very high fermen: The alcohol percent- Atte beginning ofthe Tee een Becen, tation blonde beorisa 20th century, Brabant 2 between 6 tripe. “Tiel i Becmnojeatess FRUITBEER Stcs-ouimss Yost! eat ‘utbeeris created by isgeneralydarkbroun ‘omutich mearsthat BI ONDE BEER typical brews as a reaction against the 2d¢ing fruit during the incolou; but that does faction 2 he ee moray hme ove reo of Me Tho new Pe Contant one, Coa re ype of esr was Ros evo tnd of mete bate wale fruit can be used: from at a high temperature pautiolaena fom. ghar te bose dark ee er canon Te Larbaceaei cavarus etwta Gonybustetimas, ale aed Used than in a“normal’ In contrast to Pils beer, and a “double” beer. when making blonde The colour varies from beer, the brewer uses blonde to amber and high fermentation, The re-fermentation takes alcohol percentage placein the bottle. The generally varies be- alcohol percentage is tween 6 and 7%. generally between 7 and 11%. The use of colour or caramel malts gave it its amber colour Itis a lightly hopped beer with high fermentation. Kriek Grimbergen . Keizer Karel Palm Lindemans Dubbet Affligem tripel Goud Blond ‘The best-known amber This fruity slightly sour ALbitersweet abbey beer This abbey beer has a This beer from Haacht beerofFiemshxabart's beer Is a top thist- with a ful favour and huge head, an orignal Brewery has a herby Pai, brewedt the Palm quencher and perfect hintsof caramel, the mix- nose, a deep-golden hoppy aroma and a sof Brewery inSteenhufl. tin many dshes, such as_ing of diferent varieties and complex taste. One fut taste. In the aftr isatrue specel beer with rabbit with cherses. tis of malt gives the baor its to realy savour iaste you get bitemess, analooholpercentage of produced by mixing pure characteristic deep-red Dut softness also pre 54% Gerry juice wih Lambie | Burgundy color. cominates. atleast gt months oda 3 Fa LL ete err) ea® eYCLNG NETWORKRy nteR ceycuna. ‘tyot the Geuze, the ‘world-famous and unique beer of the Pajottenland and the Zenne valley. The route leads you through a green, hily region, scattered with breweries where tra- Brussdsis within easy each ofmaorctessuch ‘as Amsterdam 224 km, Pars (26k) London (G97 knandBern (7454 iakes 45 mutes foreach any comer of Reich Brabare om the Cente of russ via the Brussdls Fig and the E40 and E314 motorways. Brussels to Leuven takes 20 mnutes. m@ OOS De Lin buses will take you to any corner of the province. é Move info at WWW.DELUN.BE NL DE Lu FR : — : e — “= —ing on a sunny Leuven ith a vst to Flemish Brabant f is so much to do in th heart of Belgium, ju vow from the capital, ay