While at the Duvel Brewery a few weeks’ ago, I was fortunate enough to sample a few of the other Belgian beers that are available, apart from Duvel. The brewery has invested in a number of alternative breweries and has ended up with quite a portfolio of drinks to suit any palate.

I wrote about the tour of the Duvel brewery which I highly recommend.

De Koninck was the first one I tasted. This is brewed in Antwerp, and has been around since 1833 in various forms. As a beer, it is meant to be light – 5.2% alcohol – which made it a good start to my Belgian beer tasting session.

First off, pouring instructions. You start off by filling half of the glass with beer and then give it a few seconds to settle. This builds a good amount of froth. The second half then lets you pour enough beer to fill the glass but still maintain the right amount of head.

The first sip was a soft and creamy immersion into the off-white foam. There is a tangy taste of bubbles around my mouth and I can feel them pop on my tongue as the fluid swirls around my mouth. The after-taste is almost sour but is meant to be rinsed off with the beer. The amber-coloured beer is light and has a watery feel to it. It is not sweet – this is not a fruit beer, after all – but it contrasts well with the initial creamy taste.

I give it 4 out of 5 stars – light, pleasant and entertaining. To be imbibed on a sunny day, if you ask me.

Next up –  Liefmans from Oudenaarde, Flanders. They specialise in fruit beers and have an excellent range of various items that are all brewed in Belgium. (Incidentally, if you’re in Belgium this summer, check out their Facebook page for offers of free beer!) The one I tasted is called Liefmans Oud Bruin (Old Brown) which is made by mixing old and new beers during their mysterious fermentation process that lasts several months. This leads to a richer aroma that you notice the instance a bottle is opened.

This beer is thicker than De Koninck, darker too but only hits 5% alcohol. The initial taste reminded me of those boiled sweets that my grand-mother used to give us kids when we were younger. Maybe my memory played tricks me at this point, but I had a sense of being carefree, happy and with the sun shining outside I was transported back to my childhood before you could say, “Cheers”

I rate this as 3.5 out of 5, and I’ve rated it lower than De Koninck only because the taste of sweets was a little odd for me.

Liefmans Goudenband (“Gold Band’) is an 8% proof heavy weight that is renowned for being one of the most distinctive ales in the world. I had never heard of beers that improve with time but this is one of them and I was reassured that the taste will change as time goes by. It has a rich ruby-red colour that catches the light and the foam is almost yellowy. The first sniff gives you hints of fruit – I caught apples and possibly rhubarb – the taste is refreshing and leaves a slight tingle on the tip of your tongue. It’s the sort of beer that you drink, not to quench your thirst or to just accompany a meal, but to be able to celebrate good company.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

I then moved on to Houblon Chouffe, much to my spellchecker’s disappointment. This is an Indian Pale Ale (9% alcohol) that was first brewed in 2006 and so was the youngest of the lot and comes from the Ardennes, in the south of Belgium. As an ale, it is bitter but there is a fruitiness to it that helps to balance the bitterness out and which reminded me of Dr Pepper which was an odd thought to have. It also had one of the more interesting aromas – imagine walking into a forest. The light changes because now the sunlight is shielded from the ground and as your eyes adjust, you feel the softness underfoot from a recent rainfall. You suddenly sense a velvety smell of undergrowth, wood, trees, leaves and soil. That is the smell of this beer.

On balance, I would rate this as a 4 out of 5 as well.

After this, I had a Maredsous Bruin. It is poured quickly and settles in the glass without any fuss. It is light-brown, copper-like, and reminded me of the colour of the inside of a dark and musty church that is rarely open to the elements. It tastes dark too; the beer has a velvety feel to it and it rolled off my tongue in exactly the same way as the Mediterranean sea rolls of your feet when you sit at the edge of a beach at sunset in the middle of summer.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Click on any of the images below to view photos about my tour of the Duvel brewery:

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I attended the tour as a guest of beertourism.com, the premier web site that celebrates beer, food and Belgium – Thanks Guys!

(Note: Any suggestions that I got too drunk to review any more Belgian beers after the ones listed here are false. I may not have been able to write about them, but I would have certainly been able to review them.)