Burp of a nation: On Belgian beer
"May I see the beer list, please?"
At Kendall College of Chicago this weekend (March 15-16), that will be more a glory than a gag. Connoisseurs of fashion have been rolling the names of clever Belgian designers off the tongue for more than a decade—Dries van Noten, Ann Demeulemeester—but the reputation, and snob appeal, of Belgian beer and cuisine remains more exotic. From a kingdom half the size of Lake Michigan, more than 350 different concerns produce 800 types of beer, over 100 of which will be represented this weekend at Chicago's first Belgian Beer Celebration. The plain yet peppy "daily" Pils of Stella Artois is stocked across the city, and the label of the little bottles of creamy, apricot-y Red Chimay is familiar at bars around Chicago, including Andersonville's Hopleaf. But this weekend's range of beer and food will surprise many, demonstrating why aficionados of Belgium's many varieties of beer, from Trappist ales to fruity lambics, appreciate them with a discernment usually reserved for wine.
The taste sensations are intertwined back on home turf. Bernard Geenen, Trade Commissioner of the Wallonia Trade Office of the Consulate General of Belgium, one of the event's sponsors, notes that "beer appears in all kinds of dishes: appetizers, main course, salty dishes, desserts. My mother even put some in a waffle batter."
Craig Hartinger, from Seattle's Merchants du Vin distributors, U.S. importers for several major brewers, believes the savor travels. For him, "the beers taste the same here and there. Belgian ales tend to be big and bottle-conditioned. A big factor in the perceived difference is the non-beer factors of drinking in Belgium: being at or near the brewery; being in an Art Nouveau beer bar that hasn't really changed since when it opened in 1908; noticing that even the dumpy convenience store next door carries five Trappist beers and five gueuzes; and just being in a part of the world where folks who `get' good beer are not a minority."
Geenen agrees about his culture. "Just like wine, nothing beats drinking the product in the region it was produced. It is a more wholesome experience than the taste itself. Thankfully, unlike some wine, beer travels well." His own travels with beer began at age 12, during secondary education at a Catholic boarding school. "We had one one-liter beer bottle on each table of eight students at lunch. Each of us had one glass of very-low-alcohol-content beer. The priests were convinced—and they were right!—that beer was much healthier than soft drinks, less sugar, natural ingredients, great for digestion." And of digestion, "We Belgians have a saying that one beer has the nutritional value of a sandwich. And Lord knows we like to eat lots of sandwiches!"
But there are more than sandwiches to sample this weekend. "Beer at the Dinner Table" is the title of a book by Herwig van Hove, the event's key guest. As Belgium's Iron Chef, with a long-running TV show, "1000 Seconden," where he prepares a full three-course meal in 1000 seconds, Hove is a proponent of beer with food. Rick Cooper, the project manager for the event, has gone "beer hunting" in Belgium more than a dozen times in the past two decades. "For Belgian beer, where brewing is an art and probably a religion, it's essential to research; taste, visit, meet with people and absorb information." While he doesn't discount other brewing countries, Cooper believes that "no other nation brews the variety of beer styles of Belgium. Maybe there is something in the air, certainly around Brussels, where Lambic beers are produced with 'wild' yeasts."
Hartinger thinks Belgian beer hits notes both high and low. "Belgian ales can bring the conversation-stopping and food-pairing delight of wines, while maintaining the relaxed, unsnobby appeal of good beer." He points out that European beer tours today almost inevitably include Belgium, with many now even skipping Germany, England and the Czech Republic. "We're seeing a solid, exciting trend in fine beer. It's becoming less common to see a restaurant with 200 wines, thirty single-malt Scotches, and the same four beers. Imagine if fifteen years ago you walked into a fine restaurant in New York or Chicago and asked for a beer list. They would have laughed. Now they pull out a selection of beers that covers the styles and can pair with any item on the menu."
Merch will be laid on heavy, too, organized by beer mecca John's Grocery of Iowa City, Iowa, family-owned since 1948, with sixty-six authentic tulip, flute, chalice, pilsner, tumbler, stein and mug styles available, along with a raft of T-shirts, bottle openers and bar trays. Doug Alberhasky of John's Grocery says that seven years ago, he could only get four Belgian beers from his regular beer distributor. The problem was made worse by Iowa law, where any beer over 6.25 percent alcohol is considered liquor. But, "after a lot of hard work on the part of our importers and myself, we are able to bring in pallet quantities through the state as special orders. Now, after a couple years, we're up to 136 different beers from Belgium [out of 1,900 they stock], and by working very closely with our importers, we are able to offer rare beers that are hard to find even in Belgium."
Roger Giraud, Trade Commissioner for Flanders/Belgium in Chicago and one of the event's organizers, notes that Belgium's reputation for beer has lasted since the Middle Ages. "Beer is entwined with our culture. Some small village may not have shops, but you will always find a cafe [that serves beer]. Belgian beer can be very strong, therefore we say: Beer, brewed with love, to be drunk with care."
[Published in a slightly different form in Newcity, 12 April 2005]
At Kendall College of Chicago this weekend (March 15-16), that will be more a glory than a gag. Connoisseurs of fashion have been rolling the names of clever Belgian designers off the tongue for more than a decade—Dries van Noten, Ann Demeulemeester—but the reputation, and snob appeal, of Belgian beer and cuisine remains more exotic. From a kingdom half the size of Lake Michigan, more than 350 different concerns produce 800 types of beer, over 100 of which will be represented this weekend at Chicago's first Belgian Beer Celebration. The plain yet peppy "daily" Pils of Stella Artois is stocked across the city, and the label of the little bottles of creamy, apricot-y Red Chimay is familiar at bars around Chicago, including Andersonville's Hopleaf. But this weekend's range of beer and food will surprise many, demonstrating why aficionados of Belgium's many varieties of beer, from Trappist ales to fruity lambics, appreciate them with a discernment usually reserved for wine.
The taste sensations are intertwined back on home turf. Bernard Geenen, Trade Commissioner of the Wallonia Trade Office of the Consulate General of Belgium, one of the event's sponsors, notes that "beer appears in all kinds of dishes: appetizers, main course, salty dishes, desserts. My mother even put some in a waffle batter."
Craig Hartinger, from Seattle's Merchants du Vin distributors, U.S. importers for several major brewers, believes the savor travels. For him, "the beers taste the same here and there. Belgian ales tend to be big and bottle-conditioned. A big factor in the perceived difference is the non-beer factors of drinking in Belgium: being at or near the brewery; being in an Art Nouveau beer bar that hasn't really changed since when it opened in 1908; noticing that even the dumpy convenience store next door carries five Trappist beers and five gueuzes; and just being in a part of the world where folks who `get' good beer are not a minority."
Geenen agrees about his culture. "Just like wine, nothing beats drinking the product in the region it was produced. It is a more wholesome experience than the taste itself. Thankfully, unlike some wine, beer travels well." His own travels with beer began at age 12, during secondary education at a Catholic boarding school. "We had one one-liter beer bottle on each table of eight students at lunch. Each of us had one glass of very-low-alcohol-content beer. The priests were convinced—and they were right!—that beer was much healthier than soft drinks, less sugar, natural ingredients, great for digestion." And of digestion, "We Belgians have a saying that one beer has the nutritional value of a sandwich. And Lord knows we like to eat lots of sandwiches!"
But there are more than sandwiches to sample this weekend. "Beer at the Dinner Table" is the title of a book by Herwig van Hove, the event's key guest. As Belgium's Iron Chef, with a long-running TV show, "1000 Seconden," where he prepares a full three-course meal in 1000 seconds, Hove is a proponent of beer with food. Rick Cooper, the project manager for the event, has gone "beer hunting" in Belgium more than a dozen times in the past two decades. "For Belgian beer, where brewing is an art and probably a religion, it's essential to research; taste, visit, meet with people and absorb information." While he doesn't discount other brewing countries, Cooper believes that "no other nation brews the variety of beer styles of Belgium. Maybe there is something in the air, certainly around Brussels, where Lambic beers are produced with 'wild' yeasts."
Hartinger thinks Belgian beer hits notes both high and low. "Belgian ales can bring the conversation-stopping and food-pairing delight of wines, while maintaining the relaxed, unsnobby appeal of good beer." He points out that European beer tours today almost inevitably include Belgium, with many now even skipping Germany, England and the Czech Republic. "We're seeing a solid, exciting trend in fine beer. It's becoming less common to see a restaurant with 200 wines, thirty single-malt Scotches, and the same four beers. Imagine if fifteen years ago you walked into a fine restaurant in New York or Chicago and asked for a beer list. They would have laughed. Now they pull out a selection of beers that covers the styles and can pair with any item on the menu."
Merch will be laid on heavy, too, organized by beer mecca John's Grocery of Iowa City, Iowa, family-owned since 1948, with sixty-six authentic tulip, flute, chalice, pilsner, tumbler, stein and mug styles available, along with a raft of T-shirts, bottle openers and bar trays. Doug Alberhasky of John's Grocery says that seven years ago, he could only get four Belgian beers from his regular beer distributor. The problem was made worse by Iowa law, where any beer over 6.25 percent alcohol is considered liquor. But, "after a lot of hard work on the part of our importers and myself, we are able to bring in pallet quantities through the state as special orders. Now, after a couple years, we're up to 136 different beers from Belgium [out of 1,900 they stock], and by working very closely with our importers, we are able to offer rare beers that are hard to find even in Belgium."
Roger Giraud, Trade Commissioner for Flanders/Belgium in Chicago and one of the event's organizers, notes that Belgium's reputation for beer has lasted since the Middle Ages. "Beer is entwined with our culture. Some small village may not have shops, but you will always find a cafe [that serves beer]. Belgian beer can be very strong, therefore we say: Beer, brewed with love, to be drunk with care."
[Published in a slightly different form in Newcity, 12 April 2005]
