Belgian beer

Belgium beer is famous

Posted on by Gilbert Van Kerckhove

Beer!

Belgium beer is famous, so are chocolates and diamonds, among other.
I have been posting about our national treasure including some stories.
Our Page of Belgian Beer is now updated with the new list of the beers!

Yes I drink other beers!

 

While we may make jokes about other countries, we do appreciate other beers, such as from Holland and Germany. I am also a regular at some of the locally micro-breweries, often for American style IPA and other.

Where to find Belgian beer

Amazingly one can find a vast choice in bars and even more online. Even Westvleteren, not for sale in retail in Belgium, can be found here. It is actually considered one the the very top beers in the world. Yes, the price is not cheap…

Some of the obvious locations: Morel’s Restaurant, Heaven Supermarket, and many other restaurants and bars. Some shops that sell wine, whisky and other alcohol often have a wide range of imported beers, including supermarkets such as April Gourmet and Jenny Lou.Some of the outlets go bust, new ones appear so one needs to look around.

Online, so much!
As always Taobao sells about anything you want, including a wide range of Belgian beers. But you really need to use the Chinese language platform…
See here some screen shots of what you can order.

Another platform is “Beer Hub”, located in Wenzhou, Zhejiang
See some screenshots.

Beer Hub started like many other businesses: 2 guys drinking Belgian beer in Europe and wondering why this isn’t available in China. Now 5 years later they boast a great variety of over 200 beers from the United States and Belgium.
The company extended warehouse locations to 3 main cities in China, they serve 15 major cities.

Focus on Belgian beers

Posted on by Gilbert Van Kerckhove

More to come

I have been writing about it but I am starting a new focus on Belgian beers. More articles are in the pipeline with also an updated list of beers I discovered in Beijing.

Be patient, I am working on a revision of beer-related articles.

Previous posts

See here a look back at previous beer-related posts.

The Federation of Belgian Brewers (104 members) has published the results for 2018: The world biggest beer exporter is Belgium.

Belgian beer in Beijing updated: about import problems (the acesulfame story), Gentse Strop, Stroppendragers, and more!

In Beijing there is plenty of Trappist beer but finding Westvleteren in Beijing was a surprise. Westvleteren is one of the recognized Trappist beers. More about Trappist beers, Chimay and Westvleteren.

More about two beers with Waterloo history, “Cuvée Napoleon” and “Waterloo Beer”. About a small farm called Le Caillou at Ligny, near Waterloo, La Bataille de Hougoumont, La ferme de Mont-Saint-Jean and other stories of Napoleon and Waterloo.

If Belgium is the land of beer, I have been surprised to find so many of them in Beijing. So I started a Page of Belgian beer! Discover in Brussels Delirium Café and A La Mort Subite. How it started near the end of the 10th century to create so much history around Belgian beer.

I should not forget Ghent, my hometown in Belgium, where I was born, grew up, went to school and university. About the history of the Belfort, Gulden Draak, Strop beers, how the people of Ghent came to be known as ‘Noose Wearers’ (“stroppendragers”), and the famous “Gentse Feesten”.

Discovered Chez Soi

Posted on by Gilbert Van Kerckhove

Belgian National Day

Because of Belgian National Day in Beijing I discovered Chez Soi. My first impression for some reason was not good so I did not attend the “event”. I wonder if anybody turned up actually.
I know the location, formerly it was a coffee shop where I went once. That time I was disappointed they did not have a decaf.

By the way, Belgian National Day is normally not celebrated in Beijing, the embassy seems to ignore it completely. as they are not very social anyway (to put it midly). We usually celebrate “National Day” on 15 November, King’s Day, when people are around, unlike in July.
The King’s Feast (Dutch: Koningsfeest, French: Fête du Roi, German: Festtag des Königs) has been celebrated in Belgium on November 15 since 1866. Since 2001, the Belgian Federal Parliament has held a ceremony in honor of the King, in the presence of members of the Belgian Royal Family and other dignitaries. So Says Wikipedia.

 

Another try

On 8 August I wanted to be alone, quietly, to read a bit. So I thought I try Chez Soi, will be quiet.

That was a “miscalculation”. As it happens, some ladies recognized me and we had a lively conversation in French. I also met a lady from the Walloon section in our embassy, she is the one who put up the nice poster. And of course Stéphanie, co-founder. (Need to make a better pic next time of us two…)
The place is actually pretty OK, food reasonable, service very friendly, so my first impression was wrong.
Their address is misleading – blame Beijing administration – as it is officially on Gongti Dong Lu but the location is actually in Dongdaqiao Lu. You need to really look for it. See the pics, easy to find because of the book shop… Once you know.

World’s biggest beer exporter

Posted on by Gilbert Van Kerckhove

Belgium number one

The Federation of Belgian Brewers (104 members) has published the results for 2018: The world biggest beer exporter is Belgium.
Exports went up into the European Union. Exports declined a little outside of the EU (USA, Chine et Canada). The source is in French.

World’s biggest beer exporter

One of the famous beer shops in Brussels near Grand Place

It also mentions:

  • Exports went up into the European Union. Exports declined a little outside of the EU (USA, China and Canada).
  • Overall Belgium beats Germany in terms of exports. Top importers are France, followed by the USA, The Netherlands, Germany, Italy and China.
  • Consumption of beer in Belgium declined a little.
  • There is a notable increase in low-alcohol beer and no-alcohol beer.
  • In Belgium we have about 300 beer production centers; there were 40 new breweries in Belgium in 2018.

The joy of trying out Belgian beers in Beijing

The updated list of beers is here.
See some pictures of my investigation!

Yeah hard work!

Belgian beer in Beijing updated

Posted on by Gilbert Van Kerckhove

Problems with import

Another Belgian beer in Beijing updated.
Recently the market for Belgian beer in Beijing has been through turbulent times. Sometimes the Belgian exporters are stubborn, don’t follow advice, cut their former channels. Or the Chinese block and destroy containers of beer because of “prohibited content”: that is the little-know acesulfame story. The chambers never look into this. Delirium is suffering and will get worse. Duvel still in some bars and shops but some of my sources are worried about next months import. All very unclear.

Updated list

See https://www.beijing1980.com/belgian-beer/
Bottles added! I will post more updates on Beer in Beijing and beer stories.

Gentse Strop

Ghent, my hometown in Belgium: see the earlier post.
I mentioned the story of Stroppendragers. And the beer Gentse Strop that you can find in Morel’s Restaurant.

See here more details on that story: stroppendragers