FW: more on "dumbing-down" of Belgian beer
by SPARROW, JEFFREY C. [IT/1825]
Some additional articles narrated by the head of Camra-Brussels primarily
due to the Camra-UK backlash against Tim Webb's recent article on the same
topic. Some interesting thoughts and facts on some famous beers. Enjoy.
~jcs
*********************
A propos of the recent debate on Chimay, it's interesting to read some more
opinions by respected beer writers on the current state of Belgian beers.
Edward Behr, author and publisher of the excellent "Art of Eating" quarterly
magazine (details: http://www.ArtofEating.com) writing in the Spring 2001
edition following his visit to Belgium when we met and spoke extensively,
found that De Koninck is now all sterile-filtered, whereas ten years ago the
bottles were pasteurized but the beer in the kegs was not, so a cafe was the
place to drink it. In a blind tasting he found a sterile-filtered bottled
version and a fresh keg to be identical, with no "middle palate" and little
after-taste.
Behr writes: "No doubt mainstream Belgian brewers fear competition within
the country and in a more global economy. Compared with the past, they have
made their beers simpler, sweeter, fruitier and less bitter. The more
insipid ones have just a shadow of the aromatic Belgian taste, but in a
caricature of old flavors, certain other beers are pumped up with
obliterative coriander. As a symbol of these changes, Belgian beer-lovers
sometimes invoke the name of Interbrew. The conglomerate owns 58 brands
(......) including the biggest Belgian seller
Jupiler (light lager), Stella Artois (bland ale), Leffe (bland like Stella
Artois), Hoegaarden (once a highly-regarded wheat beer), Belle Vue (the
largest lambic brewer)...."
In his research for the article, Behr asked Michael Jackson for his views on
whether there had been a "dumbing down" of Belgian beers, citing as examples
De Koninck and the "all but fabled Trappist ale" from Orval.
Jackson replied: "I don't think you can necessarily generalise. There's a
slight dumbing down in the instance of the beers you mentioned." Behr says
Jackson spoke of "minor adjustments much as I regret them. Orval is still
one of the world's greatest beers" and went on to compare it with Chartres
Cathedral, and "knocking a chapel two off the corner of it. It's still a
great cathedral".
Jackson conceded that Chimay "has lost some of its character" but pointed
out that many Belgian
breweries are subject to the same pressures as other businesses.
The article is (c) Edward Behr 2001.
(I find that such brewers as Cantillon, Fantôme, Abbaye des Rocs and Chouffe
- all of which have to
export the bulk of their beers to survive - have managed somehow to avoid
these "pressures" and still
seem to brew the same quality beers I first encountered when I moved to
Belgium in 1990.)
*****************
During his visit Edward Behr met Yvan De Baets, a Belgian home-brewer and
beer writer. Yvan has 1500 bottles at home, including some rare specimens
from the 1950s and 1960s, including Orval. He becomes almost apoplectic with
rage (for such a nice man) when talking about Orval, "just another beer and
a shadow of its old self". He was recently interviewed by Maria Tarantino,
of "The Bulletin", the Brussels expats' weekly magazine; she writes:-
"For De Baets, a good beer has to measure up to demanding criteria. It must
be made without preservatives or artificial flavourings: his six personal
favourites** are all special beers that ferment naturally a second time in
the bottle. 'A second fermentation makes the beer taste more interesting,
and these beers improve over time', he explains.
"He writes off other brewing methods as being too industrial. 'These beers
are dead because pasteurisation
has impoverished their taste and filtering has eliminated the healthy dregs.
Beers that used to take several months for the different yeasts to bring out
the right flavour can now be produced in a week'."
** The six beers (and the Brussels bars where they were consumed):-
* Cantillon gueuze, Le Zageman
* Westvleteren 6°, Bier Circus
* Cantillon kriek, Makin' Whoopee, Schaerbeek
* Moinette Blonde, Au Stoemelings
* Quintine Blonde, Brasserie Verschueren
* Darbyste, Moeder Lambic
Parts of the above in quotations (c) The Bulletin/Ackroyd Publications 2002
