I've been wondering if any of you who post in the homebrewing section are from Belgium? If so, what do you usually brew? 95 % of the beers I brew are in that style. With such a rich history of brewing, I imagine there must be a few of you out there. Would any of you like to step up and share some recipies, tips etc?
I'm not from Belgium, but I have brewed a couple of belgians. They didn't come out as well as I would have liked. They fermented too cool and iinstead of throwing nice belgian esters they threw off metallic flavors. Too bad really, belgians tend to be my favorite brews. So untill I get better temperature control for my fermentations I will not be disgracing the style again any time soon.
I don't think there are very many homebrewers in Belgium, as they have always had a rich history of tons of small, local brewers in a small area. Homebrewing was never necessary to drink interesting beer, as it was up until pretty recently in the US.
Very good question that makes me wonder if I would homebrew if I was in Belgium. Hmmm. Yes, I guess I would still be poor and thirsty so yes I would homebrew.
If you do a search there are several homebrew supply shops and groups. Doesnt answer the OP's question as to what they brew most though.
I'm a homebrewer from Switzerland and I used to live in Belgian before settle down in here, do I fit to your request? However, I'm Italian, born in Brazil, long story... My first brew was a Lager Kit, after that, I'm 100% dedicated to American IPAs! My last one, I've made this weekend with Chinook hops. Since I can find almost all my favorite Belgian beers around and, the Americans arrive here overpriced, that's what I'm doing for the moment... extremely hopped IPAs...
I was suprised to see homebrew supplies being sold at the zythos festival in Belgium in 09. I believe one of my favorite Belgian beers, Guldenberg, started off as a homebrew. There must be more hidden treasures over there waiting to be brought to market.
We have access to the same yeast strains, grains, and hops, anyone can construct whatever water profiles they like. And now they sell candi sugar syrup on both sides of the Atlantic. I suppose there might be local microflora differences that influence wild beers, or possibly some sort of terroir-like issue with Belgian grown ingredients that are unavailable here. However, I would guess that most of the hidden homebrewed treasures are likely to be in cellars in the US, because that's where most of the homebrewers are.
