Introducing: Belgian Beers

• BLONDE OR GOLDEN ALES are a variation of pale ales and often use pilsner malt in the fermentation process which contributes a grainy, honey flavor. This crisp-tasting, bright yellow to golden-colored beer is fruity, spicy, light to medium bodied, with moderate bitterness.

• STRONG OR DARK ALES often use roasted malt for a color ranging from deep amber to dark brown, with toasty flavor. These strong ales are moderately sweet and malty with a low to moderate amount of bitterness.

• KRIEK (CHERRY) LAMBIC is a great beer to use in fondue as it’s a nod to the kirsch (cherry liqueur) that’s traditional in fondue.

Sour might describe Belgium’s lambic [lahm-BEEK] wheat beers, but that’s really too limiting. This style of beer is unique in that it’s spontaneously fermented in barrels from wild yeast, as opposed to yeast being added by the brewer.

Historically there are, or have been, many types of lambics — straight, mars, faro, geuze, kriek, and fruit. Straight is unblended, as its name implies, noncarbonated, quite tart, and ranges in age from young (6–9 months or less) to old (6 months–3 years). Mars is no longer commercially available. Faro is a blended beer with added sugar, making it lighter and sweeter than straight or unsweetened lambics.

Geuze (known as the champagne of lambics) is a mixture of younger (1 year) and older (2–3 year) lambics. No fruit or sugar is added, so it’s dry and tart. Kriek is made by steeping whole cherries in aged lambic during the second fermentation. It’s not sweetened, but dry and sour. And fruit lambics are sweetened with fruit or fruit juice, lightly carbonated, and are sweet and sour.