Smaak (Belgiansmaak.com) is een blog over Belgisch bier. Zo gaan ze in op Belgisch bier (37 amazing Belgian beers you should try), Belgische bierfestivals in 2016: (we’ve listed what we consider to be 30 of the best Belgian beer festivals) en de Belgische bierculuur (met de Belgian Family Brewers).
Belgium has the greatest diversity of original beer styles on the planet. Few would disagree that the country has an unrivaled brewing heritage which is deeply embedded across its towns and villages. And Belgium’s newer brewers are exploding onto the scene and showing off their talent by marrying innovation and respect for tradition. There’s certainly an argument to be made for it being the best country in the world for beer (www.belgiansmaak.com/belgian-beers/).
One of the beers being poured is the Gouden Carolus Hopsinjoor. “What type of hops do you use in this beer?” one of the beer geeks asks Charles Leclef who is the fifth generation of his family to own Het Anker brewery in Mechelen.
“Who cares?” Charles responds. “We prefer to talk about what it’s like to drink.”
It would be hard to come up with a more Belgian response. Part of the uniqueness of the brewing culture in Belgium has been the flippant disregard for style nomenclatures; the holistic approach to beer and its balance; the nobility of continuing the legacy of your father or mother, perhaps even with a little twist of your own. (www.belgiansmaak.com/belgian-family-brewers/)
Is ‘craft beer’ or the ‘craft beer revolution’ – labels used in pretty much every other country except Belgium – seen as a threat by the Belgian Family Brewers? “There is not one answer to that question,” says Xavier Vanneste, President of the association. “Ask the different brewers and you will get different answers.”
Even if they wanted to brand themselves as ‘craft’ (as convoluted and increasingly worthless as that term has become), it’s unlikely that other parts of the world would include them in that definition. Palm have even gone the full hog to try to make sure that they are. They rebranded themselves last year as Palm Belgian Craft Breweries.
If you asked beer lovers to name you a Belgian craft brewery, the names of Struise, Dochter Van de Korenaar and De Ranke are – rightly or wrongly – likely to surface long before those of the individual breweries of the Belgian Family Brewers (www.belgiansmaak.com/belgian-family-brewers/).