In praise of Belgium

By Andrew Sangster

Have you ever played the game, Name 10 Famous Belgians? Thought not. It's easy to scoff at one of Europe's smallest countries, but for lovers of food and drink, Belgium has huge appeal.

Belgian cuisine may not be bursting into London restaurants or the cookery sections of bookshops, but it has some of the most exceptional food of any country.

I love the way ordinary Belgians take part in the gastronomic delights of the country. Appreciation of good food is not reserved for expensive restaurants. If you want to see this for yourself, I recommend visiting Flanders, less than 170 miles from London.

I zipped across at Easter aboard Le Shuttle and stayed at De Stamper (00 32 50 500197), an 18th-century farmhouse near Damme, just outside Bruges. Proprietor Marc Nyssen serves rural dishes with fresh produce. He breeds cattle and sheep and farms poultry and he is passionate about preserving this way of life.

Belgium's small brewers share Nyssen's philosophy: their passion is about preserving their own artisanal skills. Like the UK, the country has a strong tradition of ale brewing. But the ales that are brewed here bear little resemblance to British beers.

Belgian beers are usually much stronger, typically ranging from 5% abv up to as much as 12%. It is not just the alcohol that gives the beers a punch; all sorts of flavourings, such as herbs, spices and fruits, are used.

I decided to reacquaint myself with some of the harder-to-acquire beers. With about 120 breweries, there are plenty of beers to choose from. And this is in a beer market dominated by one giant.

Interbrew, which owns the Stella Artois brand, is the biggest brewer with more than 70% of the home market. Although Stella is probably the best known Belgian beer in the UK, it is Jupiler that is the number-one brand in Belgium.

Both beers are fairly bland pilsners, although Jupiler has slightly more distinction. Ironically, many Belgian beer lovers reckon the Whitbread-brewed version of Stella sold in the UK tastes better than the one produced in Belgium.

Despite the domination of Interbrew, small brewers continue to thrive and turn out exceptional beers. A classic is Rodenbach which, although available bottled in the UK, is even more exhilarating on draught in its native country. It is produced in giant oak vats where it ferments for up to two years and has a distinctive acidic taste.

The standard Rodenbach is blended with younger beer, that is beer which has not spent a full two-year stretch in the tuns. This rounds the sharp edges a little and makes it more drinkable.

There is only one other brewery I know of that produces beer in a similar way and it is in Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk. Greene King's Strong Suffolk spends two years in 100-barrel capacity unlined oak vats in a corner of the brewery. The beer sold is again a blend of young beer and the matured "difficult" brew.

Last month Strong Suffolk received some just praise when it was awarded a gold medal at the Brewing Industry International Awards. Head brewer Alistair Heeley describes it as "fruity, oaky and very, very special". You would find it hard to disagree.

• Beer of the month: Strong Suffolk, 6% abv. Costs £15.50 per case of12 x 500ml bottles (non-returnable). Tel: 01284 763222.