History of Belgium Beer

There are over 450 different varieties of Belgium beer, and the numbers keep rising.
Today Belgium beer is considered the most flavorable and diverse. Belgium people take
their beer so seriously that they have even designed glasses that can only be used when
drinking a specific brand of beer.

In order to discuss the history of Belgium beer, I am also going to provide
you with some insight on the history of beer. Beer is considered the oldest alcoholic beverage
dating back to the 6th millineum B.C. Chemical tests reveal that beer was produced 7,000
years ago in what is today Iran. In Mesopotamia the oldest evidence of beer is believed to be
a 4,000 year old Sumerian tablet depicting people drinking a beverage through reed straws
from a communal bowl. However, later on beer was considered to be a holy beverage for monks
living in the monostaries to consume. In fact Belgiums beer history dates back to the Middle Ages when monostaries began producing beer-and they still do to this very day. These types of beer are known as Trappist beers, and must be carried out by a monk. The "holy beers" are (enkel, dubbel and tripel). Here is a list of the different Belgium Beer Styles.

Amber
Amber, beer is also known as Belgian-Pale ale. Amber beer almost dissapeared from the Belgium beer list, until the last 20 years when it regained its popularity.

Blonde or Golden Ale.
Duvel is the most popular beer in the country. The name means devil, and some other blonde beer follow the same theme. Satan, Lucifer, Brigans etc.

Enkel
Enkel is the name of a beer that has the highest alcohol content in a Belgium Beer.

Flemish Red
This beautifully colored beer, is fermented by a mixture of fermenting yeasts and and maturation in oak. The result is a semi strong beer with a deep reddish color, sour and
somewhat fruity.

Lambic
Lambic is a wheat beer brewed in the Pajottenland od Belgium. Lambic beer is fermented by exosure to the wild yeasts that are native to the Brussels region. The beer then undergoes an
aging process much like wine. The aging process can range from six months to three years.
The result gives the beer a dry, cidery aftertaste.Some major Lambic brands include Geuze,
Kriek and Framboise.

Stout
Belgium stouts divide between sweet and dry versions. Examples include Callewaerts and Ellezelloise and Hercules.

Table beer.
Table beer has a low alcohol content, and is sold in large bottles to be drunk with meals. Table beers used to be sold in schools during the 1970s. However, it has lost popularity due to the popularity of soft drinks and bottled water.

White

This beer is made with a mixture of wheat and barley blended with an herb called gruit. Before hops became popular in Europe beers were flavored with gruit herbs in the middle ages. The mixture today comes in Belgian/Dutch wit beers