Travel to Belgium

If you don't know it already, beer and Belgium go together. Trappist Monastery beers are a unique and terrific little sub-set of Belgian beers, and you could set up a great tour around Belgium to include sampling what the monks so lovingly produce.

For centuries, the Trappist monks have been brewing these beers. Six of Belgium's Trappist monasteries are authorized to use the Authentic Trappist Product label. In order for beers to have this designation, the entire production process must be carried out, or supervised, by Trappist monks inside a Trappist monastery. That doesn't mean that Trappist beers are all alike though. There is lots of variety. There are some twenty different beers brewed by those six monasteries. Some of these monastery breweries are very old... the oldest having brewed beer for about 1,000 years. They use only the best natural ingredients and the beers are made using traditional, non-mechanized processes.

These monasteries are scattered in a ring around the country. Plot them out on a map, rent a car and drive. You should allow about three days at least to see them all. The monasteries themselves are not usually open to the public, but the churches are, and you can sample the beers nearby. We always think it's fun to know where beer and wine are made... see the source even if you can't tour it. There are occasional "open door days" when you can tour some of them. You must have a reservation for those tours. For the rest of the year, you can sample the Trappist Monastery beers in local cafes. Some monasteries have an abbey shop where you can try them. Most are also sold all over Belgium... you'll be supporting the monks if you buy some because all the profits go to monastery maintenance and the charitable work done by those religious communities.

Here are the monasteries: Saint Sixtus of Westvleteren -- near Ypres (leper); Our Lady of Scourmont, Chimay; Our Lady of Saint-Remy, Rochefort; Saint Benedict, Achel; Our Lady of Orval, near the village of Florenville; Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, Westmalle. Sample Westvleteren's rich, malty beer in the welcome center cafe De Vrede across the street from the abbey. Their beer is sold only at the abbey and only with a reservation!

Taste Chimay's classic Blue Beer with a piece of the abbey's beer flavored cheese. There is a museum in the foundations of the 18th century buildings at Our Lady of Orval. Tour Orval's medieval abby ruins, then taste the beer. Orval also makes bread and cheese that go well with their beer. The abbey's beer and cheese can be bought in the abbey shop. Some of Orval's beers are even exported. At the bottom of their webpage, they pray you drink with wisdom... They say, "A beer brewed with knowledge is tasted with wisdom."

Try Rochefort's dark, sweet beers, which are available in different strengths. There are plenty of beers to try in Belgium, and there are plenty of cute little cities to visit, but if you want to take a driving tour with a different twist, hop in your rental car and ramble around the country sampling Trappist Monastery Beers.

It seems a little unfair that Belgium, a small country on the north-west European mainland, has been tagged as 'boring' by her neighbours. Ok - perhaps compared to nations nearby, it doesn't have such geological diversity; you won’t find great swathes of forest like in Germany, the hot sandy beaches of Spain or the towering Alpine mountains of France, but who cares about that? Everybody knows the most important thing in life is beer, and when it comes to brewing, Belgium is anything but boring.

Whilst other European countries continue to churn out bland, generic lagers, Belgium has excelled at producing a massive variety of high quality and interesting beers that have made the country synonymous with the amber nectar.

In terms of global popularity, the fairly ordinary, (thought perfectly drinkable) lager - Stella Artois - has dominated pubs around the world and especially in the UK. When first launched it was backed up by the ad campaign which proclaimed it to be "reassuringly expensive". This lead to it being seen as chic and exotic, but it has since dropped in stature somewhat.

In contrast to Stella Artois, the white beer Hoegaarden, is still held in high regard and is available on tap in many pubs and bars across the UK. It's cloudy nature and spicy taste (created by adding extracts of coriander and orange peel) is usually served in the huge trademark Hoegaardeen glass, and sometimes comes with a slice of lime - though some beer purists prefer it unadulterated. It's complex and fruity taste also appeals to the female market, who tend to be less keen on traditional ales and lager. The only downside of Hoegaarden is the cost; due to Hoegaarden being the first white beer widely available in the UK, it cornered the market early and thus tends to be the most expensive beer in the bar, with landlords enjoying a larger than normal markup, for no other reason than that people are willing to pay a premium for something delicious and different.

One of the most well known styles of Belgian beer are the Trappist Ales. Trappist is an order of monks that were (are) noted for their austerity and vow of silence - instead letting their beer do the talking. There are six Trappist breweries in the world and all are in Belgium. They produce brews that are highly regarded in gourmet beer drinking circles such as Orval, Chimay, Rochefort and Achel, which tend to be strong in flavour and in alcohol content.

If you're thinking about visiting Belgium to taste their beers first hand, the Bruges Beer Festival is a great place to start. There you'll find forty brewers offering over 100 different firms' beers, including 5 Trappist Breweries, and you'll be able to sample the best from Belgium's beer-y landscape. Hotels in Bruges get booked up quickly during the festival, so get in early if you want to sample Belgium's finest produce.

So, next time you hear someone say that Belgium is boring, tell them to put down their pint of Stella, and try an Orval, Hoegaarden or Achel, after all, there's more to Belgium than dull lager.