Each bottle used to be wrapped in plastic netting, the boxes were BOXES! Sturdy plastic. Now, the ‘white popcorn’ seems to be thrown into the brown paperbag-type box as an afterthought, and wrapped with what appears to be flimsy scotch tape. I really have been delighted with every order of the past. My unhappiness and low rating is directed at the way the beer is packaged for transit, and my first inquiry being ignored.
BelgianShop Blog
17
MAY
2019
Good Malt - Good Beer? How does malt influence the storage properties of beer? Malt is the soul...
Haze stability
Beer has a tendency to develop chill hazes and permanent hazes during storage. Although malt quality plays an important role in this process, brewing technology has evolved to...
13
MAY
2019
Good Malt - Good Beer? How does malt influence beer appearance? Malt is the soul of beer!
Colour
Malt contributes two classes of compounds to beer that impart colour: these are polyphenols and melanoidins. In addition, malt contributes an enzyme called polyphenol oxidase which...
06
MAY
2019
Do You Know... 13
Orval is one of those unusual beers, both in terms of its packaging and its taste. It is a very rich, complex, tasty beer and well worth a try.
This is a Trappist beer, brewed by the fathers...
03
MAY
2019
Delicate Pairings of Beer and Cheese
Trappist monasteries and abbeys in Belgium have long understood the relationship between beer and cheese, often adding the factor of bread into the equation. Beer and cheese are the end products...
02
MAY
2019
Good Malt - Good Beer? How does malt influence beer flavour? Malt is the soul of beer!
Taste
Malt has a direct influence on two tastes; sweet and sour. Sweet tastes derive from sugars, which mostly have their origin in malt starch. Sour tastes derive from organic acids...
29
APR
2019
The Tasting: Pauwel KWAK
The beer that is known simply as Kwak is famous for being served in one of the most unusual glasses in the world.
More than two hundred years ago there was a small coachman’s inn in Belgium...
25
APR
2019
How should chocolate be tasted and savoured ?
Solid chocolate and filled chocolate should not be savoured in the same way. Solid chocolate should be taken in small pieces, put on the tongue and left to melt. This allows, on the one hand, for...
23
APR
2019
Good Malt - Good Beer? What does malt contain? Malt is the soul of beer!
Like most commodities, malt is taken for granted. However, the myriad of components it provides us with is remarkable. Were we to obtain them from separate sources we would find ourselves faced...
19
APR
2019
Good Malt - Good Beer? Why malt?
Barley is difficult to process into wort. It does not mill easily, it lacks appropriate levels of enzymes for starch and protein conversion, and the starch is not easily accessible. And it lacks...
16
APR
2019
The Tasting: ABBAYE DES ROCS
Abbaye des Rocs (9% alcohol vol.) is a pure malt beer, with no added sugar. The entire range of tastes is directly linked to the double fermentation, the precise quantities of malts (7 types) as...
11
APR
2019
Good Malt - Good Beer? What is malt?
Good beer is characterized by a few quality traits, which are easy to agree upon. They are:
(i) flavour (combination of taste, aroma and mouthfeel);
(ii) appearance (colour, clarity,...
08
APR
2019
Côte d'Or chocolate from Belgium
Originating from Belgium in 1883, this chocolate is made from cocoa beans from the Gold Coast of Africa. Elephants were used in the old days to haul the cocoa beans.
Translated from French,...
08
APR
2019
The Tasting: GULDEN DRAAK
Gulden Draak is a dark heavy beer with 10.5% alcohol by volume. Gulden Draak, just like Augustijn, is a beer that undergoes secondary fermentation in the bottle or in the keg.
Gulden Draak is...
04
APR
2019
The chemistry of brewing
The chemical reactions in the different phases of the brewing process are very complex, with interactions between very many and various components, which also differ according to the style of beer...
03
APR
2019
Belgian Beer Corner Kriek 100% Lambic
Some pubs nowadays offer 200 or even 300 beers to their customers. It hasn't always been like this. Many years ago, only the local products were sold. In order to make the list a little bit...
28
MAR
2019
THE BREWING PROCESS
1. Milling and brewing
Malt is carefully stored in big silos. From there it is milled and mixed with water in the mash tun. The heating process is realised very carefully in order to get as...
26
MAR
2019
Do YOu Know... 012
For a long time, man has brewed beer without the aid of the most basic equipment. Thus we had to wait until 1760 before our breweries were equipped with the first thermometer. The densimeter made...
20
MAR
2019
Chocolate can be fatal for dogs
We love chocolate so much that the phrase "dog death by chocolate" might look humorous. But the sweet stuff can literally mean curtains for your dog.
If your sweet-toothed canine has helped...
20
MAR
2019
Drink beer with care
Benjamin Franklin said: “Beer is leaving proof that God loves us and wants to see us happy.” He added later: "All things in moderation." That is worth remembering wherever you drink.
Alcohol...
18
MAR
2019
Do You Know... 011
In Babylon and Egypt, long considered as the birthplace of beer, the drink was offered to the gods and was mainly used by kings and at important festivals. The Egyptians also attributed a...