Belgium is the mothership of craft brewing. Its historic brewing habits have exerted more influence over the development of modern brewing than anywhere else in Europe. The extent of this is so great that on order to read about the best-known of Belgian styles, you will need to wade through: Blond, Dubbel, Flemish red (Oud Bruin), Grisette, the lambics, Belgian saison, Saison légère, Spéciale, Strong dark, Strong golden, Tripel, and Witbier / Bière Blanche, plus others, no doubt.
It is said that the reason Belgium has so many different brewing traditions is that its lands have been ruled by occupiers from so many different cultures in the last thousand years. As a result many different ways of brewing were learned, without the development of any collective sense of a ‘right way’. Only its lagers are generally disappointing,
Many other types of beer are unique to Belgium but in effect exist only in their own right, rather than constituting any sort of category. It does not fit the Belgian brewing mindset to be restricted to having to brew a beer in the same as other brewers. Thank God.
