Flanders is History

We're going strong in Belgium. Yesterday (Monday) we went on two brewery tours. On the drive to the first brewery our enthusiastic tour guide Christa talked about the history of the Flanders (Flemish speaking) region of Belgium. Flanders has a long, eventful and slightly depressing history. It is depressing in the sense that the region has constantly been invaded and attacked throughout its history. Along with the constant invasions has come multiple leaders from multiple countries. It is an understatement to say that Flanders struggles with its identity as a region. However, it seems to me that people from Flanders see themselves as a different breed of Belgians. In other words, they are united in their separation from (geographically and culturally) the rest of Belgium. Based on what Christa told us yesterday and from what I have observed, Flanders seems to have something in common with Bavaria. That is, Flanders, like Bavaria, is a region defined by its differences from the rest of the country. One particular characteristic of people from Flanders is their individuality, at least in terms of the architecture of their homes. As we were driving to our first brewery, Christa pointed out how different every house looked. Throughout Germany, houses in a certain area tend to look similar, if not exactly alike. In Flanders, though, houses are in all shapes, sizes, colors, and designs. Christa told us these drastic differences come from people in Flanders choosing their own plot of land and then hiring an architect to design their house to their own personal taste. While driving past the rows of these individually designed houses I could not help but think of how similar it was to many suburban neighborhoods in the United States. The individualism of people in Flanders seems to be at least somewhat similar to the individualism of Americans, however the source of the individualism is different in each country. In Flanders, it seems that the search for an individual identity after centuries of invasion has led to these eccentric houses.

After about an hour of driving through the Flanders countryside we arrived at Bosteels brewery. Bosteels is a family run brewery in Flanders. When we showed up we were surprised to see that the brewery had an American flag hanging from the roof of one of the brewery buildings. To our further excitement we found out that the brewery had put the flag up in anticipation of our visit. It was great to experience firsthand what Christa called "the Flanders hospitality." We were then led through the brewery, which was relatively small and had beautiful copper kettles. The most striking part of the tour was seeing how Bosteels clearly puts importance in preserving the history of the brewery. There was a display of old beer transport vehicles, which was something I had never seen before. Also, the brewery building itself retains its classic architectural style. After the tour we tasted all three of the Bosteels beers. Each beer was outstanding, however one beer stood out from the rest. This beer is called Deus and is a strong golden belgian ale. What makes this beer special, though, is that after it is brewed it is sent to France where it receives the same treatment that Champagne receives. This treatment gives the beer amazing effervescence and impeccable clarity. The aroma of the beer was special. A mix of malt sweetness with a slight note of spiciness. The flavor was also a combination of sweet and savory. Overall it was an smooth, interesting and unforgettable beer. During our tasting we got the opportunity to meet the former owner of the Brewery. He was a passionate and knowledgeable man who obviously brought a tremendous amount of joy to the brewery. He also seemed to take a liking to our group so he brought us to the house where former owners used to live. He showed us paintings of former owners as well as the founder of the brewery. He also described to us his philosophy of owning a brewery. He made it clear that money cannot be the main objective and that quality must be the number one goal. He said that his job has always been like a vacation every day and that a person does not need much money in life to live comfortably. I left Bosteels brewery with an optimistic outlook. This was an inspirational man we had just met and I doubt I will ever forget the morning I spent at Bosteels brewery.

After Bosteels we went to Ghent which is a college town in Flanders. Ghent is full of beautiful historical architecture and even has a medieval castle in the middle of town (pictured above). Apart from being a deeply historical city, Ghent is also very much alive because of the constant flow of students through the streets of the city. Ghent seems like an ideal student city. It is not too big or too small and has enough history to keep any history buff busy for a few years. The city also seems to have a good mix of old and new architecture, and does not seem to be stuck in past, so to say. After Ghent we went to Liefmanns brewery, which is mostly a display of old brewing technology. It was fascinating to see how breweries were run before automation. The cleaning of brewing equipment clearly must have been extremely difficult work, requiring exponentially more manpower than breweries employ today. While most of the brewery was industrial archaeology, one section is still in use today. The open air fermentation tanks are used to ferment all four of the beers at Liefmanns. These tanks are used because the location of Liefmanns in that section of Flanders has a particular strain of wild yeast in the air. So the beer that is made at Liefmanns has a distinct sourness, which comes from lactic acid bacteria, which are a result of the open air fermentation. This form of fermentation is much like the fermentation at Cantillon brewery, and is a method historically used by many breweries in the Flanders region. However, only a select few breweries use the open fermentation method today. So breweries such as Liefmanns are keeping the traditional beers of Flanders alive. Overall, the day gave me a glimpse of the history of Flanders and how that history has influenced the region today.

Gesundheid!