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Ben immediately debunks this idea. ‘Women have more taste buds than men and therefore have a significantly better sense of taste. Every year you see more women turning up at our festival, so we do everything we can to make things as pleasant as possible for them.’ Sure enough, even the glasses look suspiciously like wine glasses. What strikes me immediately is the diversity of the crowd. ‘The public is getting younger,’ Ben tells me. ‘Speciality beers are getting more attention through social media.’ That beer is hip is also proved by the numerous beer pictures that take up my Instagram feed. ‘As demand increases, more and more small brewers are developing new speciality beers. Big breweries are even appointing brand ambassadors to get suitable beers on the menu at starred restaurants. It’s a fantastic turn of events. And at least you no longer get laughed at when you order a beer in a restaurant.’
This year there are an impressive 34 new beers on the Beer Passion Weekend tasting list. This constant injection of new beers also attracts many foreigners to the festival. Kristof and Radoslaw from Poland have made the trip specially from Amsterdam. No Heineken for them: they prefer ‘craft brewers’. Ben explains: ‘This is a term adopted from the States. Craft brewers are small, independent brewers who create beers using traditional methods. The Americans use the term to distinguish between these and tasteless industrial beers. In the US, the oldest brewery is barely 30 years old, whereas over here it’s 300. Craft and industrial brewers have become more fused together over time in Belgium.’ So should we be afraid of the States? ‘Not at all,’ says Ben. ‘Hops are back in. This hype is called IPA in America, but we’ve known it for years as saison . The US is rediscovering the beer styles that we have maintained all these years, but that have declined in popularity somewhat.’ So we can leave the Americans to do the marketing, while the craft belongs to us.
I’m keen to try out some beer styles. I’m already familiar with brown and blond. Dark red too, but green – that’s a bit unusual – I think I’ll give the cactus beer a miss. A Château D’Ychouffe, on the other hand, tastes delicious. Its fresh acidity is like a breath of fresh air on this hot day. The beer is based on grape must from the Sauterne region. Along similar lines there is also Monks, a dark beer, but the nicest of all is from Dubuisson, a brewery from Mons. I go along to try a Surfine, but am won over by the Bush Ambrée and the Pêche Melbush. Flavours of caramel, nuts and dried fruit. A really substantial beer. The peach variant is based on the same amber beer with the addition of peach flavour. The aroma leaps out of the glass at you, but fortunately doesn’t stick in the mouth. The man behind the wooden bar is very persuasive. ‘That’s the whole idea,’ Ben tells me. ‘The breweries send their best people here to offer expert and passionate explanations to these beer lovers. That’s not something you find everywhere. This is quite simply the Rolls-Royce of beer festivals,’ he laughs. Another notable stall is that of SB Schock O Late, which serves chocolates based on beer. ‘This is completely different from liqueur chocolates,’ chocolatier Sean Bael from Ghent tells me. ‘The beer is completely boiled away, otherwise the chocolate cracks due to fermentation. It started out as a graduation project. Today I make chocolates to order for De Heeren van Liedekercke, the world’s best beer restaurant. ‘I try one which is based on Chouffe Houblon. I have no idea how the beer in question tastes, but the chocolate leaves me craving a second one. Would you like to be there next year? Then circle the last weekend of June in your diary for the 17 th . June 2015
On the occasion of Smaakmeesters (Masters of Taste), dozens of restaurants are roaring to go, waiting to share their know-how.