Belgian beer
The great thing about Belgian beer is that although some breweries have been bought up by the big and anonymous international breweries, there are still many smaller beer makers about, ranging from some well- known names to a couple of monks in a shed sticking doggedly to traditional brewing methods. There are officially 11 types of beer in Belgium, with more than 500 brand names. Here are five examples of Belgium’s greatest liquid export.

PILS comes in bottles or on tap and is widely available. It is light and refreshing, not too high in alcohol and ideal for race watching or during a touring ride.
You can’t go wrong with a cold glass of Jupiler – the famous pils with a prancing bull on the glass. If the head does not start just above the balls of the bull ask the
barman to top it up.
Stella Artois comes into the pils category, but why drink ‘wife beater’ on a visit to Belgium (or any other place for that matter)?

WITBIER is an acquired taste. Some like its distinctive, tart, spicy taste while others reckon it is like drinking perfume. Witbier has a cloudy look because it is
made from unmalted wheat and the beer isn’t filtered during the brewing process.
Hoegaarden is a good example of Witbier.

TRAPPIST BEERS are some of the oldest and refer to the Trappist monks who have brewed them for centuries.
Good examples are Westmalle and Chimay, the latter abbey producing a wide range.
Warning: some of Trappist beers have a nine per cent alcohol content.

LAMBIC BEERS are said to be named after the Flanders Brabant town of Lembeek and are brewed using a recipe that came from the Middle East 5,000 years ago.
Lambic beers are essentially flavoured beers, originally with spices, but today with fruit. Kriek, for example, is flavoured with cherries, and Framboise with raspberries.

GOLDEN BEERS are Belgium’s best beers. They are rich coloured, clear, clean-tasting, strong beers.
Good examples are Duvel, Hoegaarden Grand Cru and Brigand. Warning: they
are strong.

STRONG BEER AND CYCLING
Some of these beers are 12 per cent alcohol, the same as wine, and some of
them have just as startling an effect on your digestive system as they have
on your mind.

WEST FLANDERS
Rodenbach in Roeselare. Also the home of the Flanders cycling museum, where Freddy Maertens works as a guide.

HAINAUT
Bières de Chimay in Baileux. Close to the French border and the French town of
Fourmies, base for the late season semi-Classic GP de Fourmies. Also handy for
watching Flèche Wallonne.

FLEMISH BRABANT
Drie Fonteinen in Beersel. This town is about 25 kilometres south-east of Merebeke, the finish of the Tour of Flanders.

NAMUR
Abbé Notre Dame Saint Remy in Rochefort. In the foothills of the Ardennes, Rochefort is another good base for watching Liège-Bastogne-Liège.
Eddy Planckaert, whose reality TV show and family rock group have made him the Ozzy Osbourne of Belgium, lives nearby.

EAST FLANDERS
Van Steenberge in Ertvelde. This town is 20 kilometres north of Ghent, so is ideal for a visit during a trip to the Flemish Classics, or during the Gent Six-Day.

ANTWERPEN
Brouwerij Moortgat in Breendonkdorp. Cyclo-cross is very popular in this area, so a visit to the brewery could be combined with a trip to sample the unique atmosphere of Belgian cross.
If you are of a certain age and a competitive bent, the World Masters Cyclo-Cross is held
in nearby Mol.

LIMBURG
Sint Benedictus in Achel. This town isn’t far from the Dutch border and the roads on which their only Classic, the Amstel Gold Race, is run.

LUXEMBOUG
Brasserie de Bouillon in Bouillon. Set in beautiful, hilly country, Bouillon is a good base for catching the southern end of the world’s oldest Classic, Liège-Bastogne-Liège.