Stephen B's response to Tim W.

A while back I posted a link to an article by Tim Webb titled The End of Excellence. The article was a rather gloomy prediction for the future of brewing in Belgium. The following article from Malt Advocate is Stephen Beaumont's response. The Duvel You Say! by Stephen Beaumont [The following text copyright 2002, Malt Advocate, Inc.] The spring of this year saw Belgian beer in the news. Ordinarily, this would be a good thing, since the breweries of this tiny northern European country are generally credited with the production of some of the world's most interesting beers. But what has propelled Belgium's eclectic assortment of brews to center stage this time was not their excellence, but a combination of reduced consumption at home and criticism from abroad. Item: On March 27, Reuters news service reported that beer consumption in Belgium had dropped by approximately a quarter in the past two decades. The average amount of beer drank per capita in 2000, the report said, was about 98 liters, down from 131.3 liters in 1980. Item: Tim Webb, the noted British beer writer and author of three editions of The Good Beer Guide to Belgium, Holland & Luxembourg, has gone on record as stating that he now finds Belgian beer in general to be "increasingly dumbed down" and the country's brewers set on a path of "producing easily made, tolerable, mediocre beers in place of the great classics." Taken together, these items might seem to spell tragedy for the Belgian brewing industry. But with a little dissection, it becomes readily apparent that all is not as bad as it seems. Let's begin with the per capita situation. Beer consumption has dropped in Belgium. Significantly. But so what? Beer drinking has dropped in almost every country in the western world for the period noted in the Reuters story. In my home nation of Canada, for example, where we like to think of ourselves as serious beer drinkers, the number of liters of beer consumed per capita in 1980 was 86.1. By the year 2000, that had dropped to about 63 liters, a decline of-surprise!-a little over 25%, the same as in Belgium. In the United States, the drop was less dramatic but still significant, from 91.98 liters per capita in 1980 to 85.52 in 2000. New Zealand, Germany, Switzerland, the U.K.-the results are the same, only the percentages differ. Simply, we westerners are drinking less beer. Period. Mr. Webb's comments are more problematic, and have sparked some serious and occasionally vitriolic debate in certain quarters. But just as the per capita numbers hide a greater story beneath their surface gravity, I believe that there is more to Tim Webb's criticisms than meet the eye. While I have not had opportunity to speak with Tim Webb since the publication of his controversial opinion piece, "On the Ending of Excellence," which may be found at http://belgianstyle.com/mmguide/press/timweb .html, I have read a significant amount of the man's work and have digested his comments within the context of those writings. I should note, however, that I am offering only my opinions here and have no intention of impugning the character or integrity of Mr. Webb, who has done much in the past to celebrate the beers of Belgium. It's a big beer world and there is room for many views. At the outset, Webb makes some valid and excellent points. I, too, have been disappointed by Interbrew brands tasted over the past several years. While I still regard the famous Hoegaarden White with respect, even as I acknowledge that it is not the flavorful blanche I recall, I now view several other Interbrew beers I once enjoyed with, at best, resignation and ambivalence. What happened to Leffe Radieuse? Hoegaarden Grand Cru? Julius? One Toronto beer destination recently received a very limited quantity of Verboden Vrucht, which once upon a time would have had me bolting to the bar for a bottle within a week. Now I find that months have passed and I still haven't bothered. Others of Webb's criticisms are equally valid, I believe. My tastes find that neither Liefmans Goudenband nor Rodenbach Grand Cru are the ales they once were, although the latter to a lesser degree than the former. And his point that Belgian brewers may be missing out on a developing market for 'elite' beers by such dumbing down of their classics is well made and taken. But is the situation really as dire as all that? In the midst of Webb's parade of complaints and warnings, he takes specialn aim at the Trappist breweries, at one point calling to task the "new simplicity" of the Dubbel and Tripel of Westmalle. Westmalle Tripel? Simple? The same golden ale I but two nights ago presented to a table of expert sommeliers, and thus rendered them almost speechless with its complexity? Surely not!And yes, I know that Westmalle and Chimay and perhaps even some of the other Trappist breweries use hop extract in place of whole or pelletized hops in their beers. But rather than disgust, this practice evokes in me amazement that they can coax such extraordinary flavors out of the syrupy slop. A couple of years back I visited several of the Trappist monasteries in a single trip, and the one which impressed me the least with its beers was the same one that touted its use of real hops, no extract allowed-Achel. Webb also bemoans the lack of new beers to take the place of those he feels have been lost. Well, perhaps it is my lack of experience relative to his-Webb was discovering Belgian beer back when I was still naively sipping from the domestic mainstream trough-but I find at least a few great new brews every time I visit. Several years ago it was Ellezelloise, born in 1993, with their excellent La Quintine Ambr�e and almost-as-impressive Hercule. Last 24 Hours of Beer Festival in Antwerp, it was Duysters, a six-year-old brewery, and their Loterbol, which I thought a superbly balanced 'Belgian India pale ale,' but which Webb discounts in his Guide as "unmemorable" on draft though "lightly spiced (and) wheaty" in the bottle. Agree to disagree, I suppose. Further, there is good news even among the veteran breweries. To my palate, the beers of Cantillon have not tasted this good for years, perhaps ever. Martin Wetten, the U.S. importer of Gouden Carolus, tells me that the Anker brewery that makes the brand has lately been sold back to the original family ownership. Christian Bauweraerts of Brasserie d'Achouffe reports that he is cutting back production of his often so-so seasonals to concentrate on expanding the market for the eminently laudable La Chouffe and McChouffe, and also adding a tasty eau de vie de bi�re to his stable of brands. And Armand Debelder of Drie Fonteinen has separated his family's restaurant from the brewery so that he can bring more of his wonderful and unapologetically traditional lambics to aficionados around the world. So yes, beer in Belgium is changing, as it is all around the world. (Webb also reserves some harsh words for his home beer market in Britain, but I was pleased with roughly 80% of what I tasted during a recent two-week visit.) Some of those changes are bad and others are good, and the bad deserve criticism as much as the good merit celebration. My complaint with Webb's column is that there is simply too much of the former without any balance by the latter. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Health - Feel better, live better http://health.yahoo.com