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	A World of Beer

• Belgium: "Het Bierland"
• A Tale of the Train
• The French Brew Beer, Too!

• Taste of the Month
• Coming Next Month
• World of Beer Update
• Selected Events
• Feedback

• Previous Issues

Fast-forward some dozen years. The setting this time is a Toronto bar where I laboured as a waiter and which was managed by a husband and wife team from Belgium. That couple, Phil and Gerda were their names, recognized in me a fledgling beer aficionado and took it upon themselves to educate me in the ways of Belgian beer. To this end, they introduced me to the first beer that absolutely knocked my socks off, and I do remember the name of this one: Hoegaarden White, as then brewed by the inimitable Pierre Celis.

A lot of years and a lot of beers have passed since that day, years in which I have been able to sip and savour some of the best beers the world has to offer, including many more from Belgium. But for one reason or another, I had never been able to make it across the Atlantic to visit what has become to be recognized as the world's "Beercountry." This summer, I rectified that omission.

Those of you who love beer and have been to Belgium will understand what a special feeling it is to visit a nation where beer is not only brewed in a myriad of different fashions, but is also widely respected as both an art form and a part of daily life. For those of you who have not yet made it, I will try to explain how it is that one country can be so important to even a massive, world-wide industry like brewing.

Simply put, Belgium is where beer innovation meets respect for beer traditions. This results in the opportunity to taste a legitimate piece of ancient brewing history in a Cantillon Gueuze, follow it up with a monastery-produced ale such as Orval and finish with a modern spiced beer like McChouffe. And along the way, if you desire, you can sample refreshing white beers, crisp pilsners, formidable strong ales, sweet or sour fruit beers, perilously drinkable tripels and other brews of all sorts. Nowhere else in the world is such variety accompanied by such noble brewing lineage and history.

The reason for this, I'm convinced, is at least in part because the Belgian people have such a remarkable understanding and appreciation of food and drink. Almost anywhere you go in Brussels, for example, you can bet that you will find fine cuisine awaiting your arrival, be you headed for a three-star restaurant or corner cafe. Quality is not only appreciated, it is also expected.

The Belgians don't seem to think this at all special; to them, it's just a way of life. And we who feed from the Belgian table can thank our lucky stars for it!

To link to more articles from this month's World of Beer go back to the top of the page.

Coming in October

The second "B" in SBWoB will take on a different meaning as we travel south for the 1997 Kentucky Bourbon Festival

We'll take a look back on this summer's trip and some of the high points that we missed mentioning along the way

Plus Feedback, the Taste of the Month and the return of Kitchen Table Tastings!

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