The best of Belgian beer
We Brits are renowned for our fondness for a good pint and where better to experience said pint than in Southern Belgium, a region famous for its exquisite array of beers. Rosie Khdir explores one of the most popular Walloon beers.
Drinking beer in the Walloon region isn’t just about relaxing after a hard day or getting sloshed with your mates, its brewing customs are steeped in history and are still greatly valued today.
In the southern Walloon region of Belgian where you can still see the hop crop growing wild, is where you find some of the finest beers in the country. There are many breweries scattered around the region but perhaps one of the most famous, internationally, is the Abbey of Leffe near the town of Dinant.
The Notre-Dame Abbey as it was known when it was founded back in 1152, like many in the region, has brewed its own ale; later in 1200 it was renamed Leffe Abbey. Back then, brewing beer wasn’t a matter of plying the masses with a boozy delight it was actually brewed by monasteries for sanitary reasons.
Deadly diseases like Typhoid were spread through contaminated water, and as people didn’t have the tools to test the water, the sterilisation process used in brewing beers was the best way to prevent contamination.
This Abbey has experienced a fair few knocks in its time including a bout of the plague, which killed the Abbot and seven monks back in 1460 and a flood which virtually destroyed the building.
In 1466 Charles the Bold took hold of the city of Dinant after a rumour was spread there about his mother. His forces ransacked the Leffe Abbey and burnt it to the ground. It has been ravaged by Hungarians and in 1796 was ordered to become state property during the French revolution.
After many years of troubles, the Leffe Abbey still stands in Dinant. In 1937 it became a listed historical building. To this day it still makes those famous and delicious Blonde, Brown and Triple beers.
Visitors can take guided tours of the Abbey and uncover more about its past, discover the tradition of brewing and the pouring ritual of Leffe. For more details visit Abbaye-de-leffe.be.
If you want to experience the taste of a finely brewed Leffe in its home environment, you can get there easily with P&O Ferries using the Hull – Zeebrugge route, or alternatively via Dover to Calais from where it is just a short drive along the E40 to the Belgian border. Prices start at just £30 for a car and up to nine people.
Image credit: [puamelia]
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