Utopia;
Belgian Beer & Bistro

It is claimed that Belgian beer comprises the most diverse national collection of quality beer in the world, and varies from the popular pale lager to lambic beer and Flemish red. Belgian beer-brewing's origins go back to the Middle Ages.

Beer production in Belgium is now dominated by AB InBev and Alken Maes, but there are approximately 125 other breweries in the country.  Belgian breweries produce about 500 standard beers. When special one-off beers are included, the total number of Belgian beers is several thousand. Belgians drink 93 litres of beer a year on average.

At least that’s what is done in Belgian schools. Here are two recent examples, we found in the magazine of the Belgian “Objectieve Bier Proevers”. Thirteen year old kids on a week long class excursion in the Ardennes were forbidden to drink sodas during all meals by their teachers, concerned as they were with the children’s health. The children had to chose between water and “table beer”, which is a 2 % Alc. by vol. simple beer. The table beer came in two versions: the hoppier blond, and the sweeter brown.
Here are some ‘tasting notes’ of the kids:

* “The blond was more washy than the brown. It’s like willing and not being able to. As with real beer, I prefer the brown beers.” (anonymous)

* “I prefer the brown, because it is sweeter. I drink also Kriek Lambic, and I like that too.” (anonymous)

* “The blond tastes more like a ‘real beer’ (Pilsner), but there is less alcohol. We drink that at home too, or panache’ (beer + lemonade).” (Kjeld)

* “The brown is delicious, and I know that, since, at home, I can drink the rest of the bottle, when my mother cooks stew with beer.” (Conan)

* “You can drink as much as you like without getting drunk. I drink it at home too. I believe that almost everybody drinking beer for the first time, doesn’t like it. It’s like with wine, you need to learn to drink it.” (Jelle)

In the Freinet School in Aalst, the eight and nine year old children had a project about beer. The teacher had invited a home brewer to show them how beer is made. At the end of the presentation, the children went for a bottle of beer at the school bar, and they all tasted a little bit.