despite all the "tastings," we didn't go to Belgium just to drink beer. we learned about it too! In our pre-trip beer tasting classes, we learned about the four main ingredients - cereals (barley must be malted and is rich in enzymes needed to ferment starch to sugars and is good for fullness and a sweet taste; wheat is rich and steady and creates a thick foam; rice causes a drier taste; maize is cheaper; or oat which is a softer and rounder texture), hops (fresh hop flowers, pellets, dried plugs or dried flakes - see pics below), yeast (either top or bottom fermentation), and water (quality and chemical composition is functional to type of beer).
in each of the different breweries we visited, we were toured around the production facilities to get a better understanding of the basic process of beer brewing. even though the process may be pretty standard, it is the brewmaster who has the choice to determine the recipe and techniques which makes each beer unique.
natural air fermentation at Catillion
De Konininck Brewery "the Taste of Antwerp"
in class, we saw and smelt the different versions of the hops and in Belgium, we visited Poperinge where Eric Lagache, a hop grower, had 20 hectares of hopfield with hop vines climbing and spiraling up intricate wires 6-7 meters high. he wasn't an organic farmer - ! - because he said that the amount of hops in beer is so small that why should he bother but is more concerned with detrimental fungus on the crops than chemicals. hops act as an antiseptic and are used as a preservative. They are the spice of the beer that has an aromatic function to balance the bitterness in beer.
after a quick, almost neuroticly time-crunched tour around the hops museum, we learned that hops are not only used in beer but are also good for calming menopausal hot flashes, curing sleeplessness, improving skin, and promoting hair growth for baldies.
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