Kevin Brauch, host of The Thristy Traveler, outside a monastery in Belgium.

Belgian Beer (104)
Beer, beer and more beer! The Thirsty Traveler journeys to Belgium, beer capital of the world. Everyone is making beer and has been for generations. His zest for the history of the drink leads Kevin Brauch, aka the "Thirsty Traveler," to the Orval Monastery in the Ardennes Mountains of Belgium. And stick around later for advice on the "perfect pour" for a Belgian beer.

• There are six Trappist breweries in the world, all in Belgium.
  
• Trappist beer tends to be very strong — between 7 and 11.5 percent alcohol.
  
• Lambic beers reach their full maturity after three years.
  
• Other unique flavors of Belgian beer include cherry, raspberry and peach.
  
• For home brews, Caracole uses DeWolf-Cosyns malts, a unique caramel-roasted malt also available in the U.S.

Pouring Perfection: Belgian Beer

The perfect pour has a well-developed head, which cannot be achieved by tilting the glass and pouring slowly. When the glass is about two-thirds full, lift the bottle and back off on an angle, so the beer comes out in a thin stream. Fill the glass until the head has pushed passed the crown, reserving the last bit of beer in the bottle. Take a knife with a blade that is longer than the diameter of the glass, and not curved. Slide it along the top of glass to slice off the head.

Pour the last bit of beer into the glass using the same "thin stream" as before. This will once again push up the head, but it will be symmetrical. he shape of the glass can greatly affect the aroma, head formation, and even how well carbonation will be sustained. So in Belgium every one of the 800 beers has its own glass to be served in its own way.

Resources:

Orval Brewery, Brasserie d'Orval S.A.
B-6823 Villers-devant-Orval, Brussells, Belgium
Phone: +32 61 31 12 61
www.orval.be

Get all the Thirsty Traveler recipes and more, plus tips for making marvelous meals with wine, beer and spirits from around the world in the new Road Recipes cookbook. Order Road Recipes today!

Recipes featured in this episode are listed below.