Brouette de Bières
Trappist Westvleteren Extra 8 - St Sixtus Extra
Belgium
Often known as the country of beer, Belgium offers to beer lovers an impressive variety of products. At least 700 beers can be found.
In spite of the variety of local beers, belgian people are quite sober. Indeed they drink "only" 93l per inhabitant and per year (that is 5 to 6 33cl bottles per week).
Belgium is famous because of its top fermented beers and also its spontaneous fermented beers brewed only in the area around Brussels.
- Trademark:
- Westvleteren
- Kind:
- Brown
- Alcohol content:
- 8%
Friends
Brown beer
Prepared with strongly roasted malt, they are recognizable thanks to their dark color.
Usually, these are the strongest beers. Some of them, because of the roasted malt, have a slightly acidulous taste.
Top fermentation
Fermented at a temperature between 59°F and 79°F, top fermented beers are famous because of their more complex flavours. Moreover, they often have a higher alcohol content (depending on the malt quantity) than bottom fermented ones.
This fermentation type was originally the most spread one, but since this time bottom fermented beers have flooded the market. Mainly brewed by artisanal breweries, top fermented beers are the ones prefered by beer lovers.
Refermented in the bottle
Refermentation in the bottle is due to the addition of yeasts, and sometimes sugar, in the beer while bottling. Then beer is stored in a hot (68°F to 77°F) fermentation room for a few weeks before being sold.
Once begun, refermentation goes on during the conservation of the beer. Consequently taste and alcohol content evolve all along its ageing.
Because of the presence of yeast, you're likely to see a little sediment at the bottom of the bottle and beer can be a bit cloudy.
Trappist beer
Very restricted label, only 7 breweries can put it on their bottles.
To be recognized as trappist, the beer must be brewed within a trappist abbey under supervision and responsibility of monks. Moreover, this label means that most of the benefits are devoted to charities.
Double malting
Beer brewed with a malt quantity double as usual. As malt provides sugar for the fermentation, double malted beers contain a little more alcohol and have a sweeter flavor that the ones with a single quantity of malt. Even if there is no obligation, double malted beers are used to be brown.
As there is no official definition for a "double" beer, the preceding explanation is mostly used in Belgium but is not approved unanimously.
Ingredients
- Water
- Malt
- Hop
- Sugar
- Yeast
Unpasteurized
Pasteurization consists in destroying micro-organisms and yeasts in the beer in order to ensure its stability and conservation.
Beers aren't always pasteurized. For instance, this is the case for beers refermented in the bottle. In this case, addition of yeasts when bottling doesn't allow such a process.
"Abundant" foam
Beer with an abundant foam. These beers will be served in a balloon glass slightly flared for a good proportion between foam and beer, and not too large with high borders in order to contain all the foam.
Tip: serve a first part of the beer, slowly with the glass slightly bended, keep a part of the beer in the bottle. Begin to enjoy it, then serve the rest of the beer to obtain again a beautiful foam collar.
This abundant foam doesn't allow thirsty people to drink from the bottle :-)
Strong Ale
Top fermented beers (fermented at a temperature between 59°F and 79°F) which alcohol content is from medium to high.
Glossary of avalaible pictograms
Characteristics
We won't sell it...
Why won't we? That's forbidden!
Quotation: "Westvleteren Trappist is only sold to individual customers. Every customer promises not to sell the beer to others." It seems more complicated...
Moreover, selling it means that we should manage to buy some. Here is the process...
Store and opening
To buy some, you'll have to go on the spot... during opening times. Simple? Not so. Store is closed on september, closed on february, closed on friday, closed on belgian public holiday.
Ok! Let's go during opening times and monks will agree to sell us some!
You seems naive :)
Booking
In order to buy some, you must phone to book the quantity. During the call (avoid phoning them during their services), in french or dutch, you'll have to give them your car registration. In return, they'll tell you which day and time you'll be able to go there and get your beers.
On the spot
Once arrived (plan to have a GPS, the abbey is somewhere in the middle of nowhere with very few road signs to guide you), you won't be able to make your shopping for the following year. For each car, you'll be allowed to buy a 24-pack of one of their beers. You'll have to make a choice: blue? yellow? green? :)
Always motivated? We aren't anymore :(
Beer on sale: click on bottles to add them into your wheelbarrow
Brouette de Bières®, BP 95, 59163 Condé sur l'Escaut (France) - SARL company with a 9000 ¤ capital - RNCS Valenciennes 493 819 684
CNIL registration number 1194297 - Selling beer to minors is forbidden
Drink alcohol sensibly and in moderation