A Brilliant Idea from Belgium

Thanks to Paul Verbruggen of the Belgian brewery Het Anker, brewers of the recently and attractively relabeled Gouden Carolus line of ales, I just learned of a wonderful new association in that country called “Belgian Family Brewers.” For beer drinkers, beverage managers and bar and restaurant owners seeking to sort out the miasma of Belgian beers, Belgian-esque beers and Belgian-style beers, this is a definite step in the right direction.

Thus far numbering only 12, or a scant percentage of all the breweries operating in Belgium, the Belgian Family
Brewers between them represent over 1,500 years of brewing experience, according to information on the website. When a beer’s label is adorned with the association’s logo, you can be assured of three things:

• is a genuine Belgian beer brewed in Belgium
• comes from an independent family brewery that has been making beer for at least 50 years, and is thus a traditional brewery
• is an original beer, no copies of which are sold under any other name or label.

Given the number of multinational brands on the market today which seek to evoke the Belgian ethos, and the penchant some Belgian brewers have for releasing beers under two or three different labels, the BFB is definitely a step in the right direction. While it won’t guarantee that you’ll like a specific brand, or even that said brand is a stellar example of the Belgian brewing arts, it at least will guarantee authenticity.