Belgian Beer Book

Erik Verdonck is a partner of The Belgian Beer Company and author of www.beertourism.com, an online platform about Belgium, gastronomy and tourism. He wrote several articles and books on beer and gastronomy. Luc De Raedemaeker is a teacher in the art of beer. He writes for magazines such as Hopper, Zytholoog, Vino Magazine, Chinese Hop magazine and American All About Beer. He is acclaimed internationally for his knowledge of beer and his critical mind.

• 1. BELGIAN IS BEER 11Welcome from Erik Verdonck 12Welcome from Luc De Raedemaeker 16What is beer? 20Belgians about their beer 21Belgian beer in the world 302. BEER HISTORY 43A healthy popular drink 44(300 up to 1500 AC)Gruit or hops? 46A pure beer made with water, malt 48and hopsCity beers under pressure 52(17th-18th century)Industry and science take over 59(19th century)Pils revolution (1842) 62War and crisis in beer land 66(1914–1945)Economies of scale down to regional beers 71(1945–2000)Microbreweries in the new millennium 74(2000–)3. BELGIAN BEER CULTURE 89Popping into your ‘local’ 90Beer seeks café 94Enamel signs 96Beer labels 100Exchange fairs 100The Belgian and his beer glass 105Beer is fun 106Specialty beer cafés in Belgium 110Specialty beer cafés abroad 1654. BREWING PROCESS AND 174INGREDIENTSBrewing method 174Water 198Hop 200Yeast 210Grains and malt 217The malting process 218Sugars and fruits 223Herbs and spices 223Wooden barrels: barrel or ingredient? 2265. BELGIAN BEER STYLES AND 233BEER TYPESAbbey beer 236Trappist beer 246Spéciale Belge 254Amber beer 258Brut beer 262Light blonde beer 266Strong blonde beer 274Triple 290Strong dark beer, double and quadruple 298Lambic and Faro 306Gueuze and Oude Geuze 310Kriek and fruit beers 318Pils 328Saison 334Flemish red-brown 342White beer 356Scotch 362Stout 366Barrel aged 372Wood-matured beer 378India Pale Ale (IPA) 382Beers with added wild yeast 390Mix of beer styles 394Extreme beers 4006. TAPPING, POURING, TASTING AND 409STORINGLearn how to serve a beer from the tap 412Learn how to pour 414Learn how to taste 416Storing beer 4327. BEER KITCHEN AND FOOD PAIRING 439Alcohol habituation 440Hop shoots from the Westhoek 442Beer with your meal 444Brewing is cooking 450Beer tastings 451Beer with fish, crustaceans and seafood 458Beer and burgers 461Beer and game 462Beer and chocolate 466Beer and cheese 470Beer and pasta 476Beer and bread 476Beer and pizza 476Beer and the Eastern cuisine 480Beer restaurants 4828. BEER TOURISM 505Brewery visits 506Beer festivals in Belgium 678Beer events 684ADDITIONSBeer dictionary 688Beer index 692Brewery index 694Beer and brewery musea 697Beer festivals 697Events 697Cafés 697Beer restaurant 698Useful links and bibliography 698Magazines 698Television 698Books 699Thanks 702