T he rich flatlands of Flanders were once an idyllic setting for the small, independent farms that dotted the
the landscape. Naturally,
beer was brewed on these farms as it was an important part of Flemish culture and a necessary food product. The brewing sea-
son at farmhouse breweries was short due to the demands of sowing and harvesting crops. For farmhouse brewers, the cold winter
months were spent building a stock of “provision beer” to drink during the rest of the year. Since the brewing season was shorter than
usual these ales needed to remain relatively stable in flavor during long-term storage.
Observant brewers had learned that there were two primary ways to formulate a brew to help keep it stable over months of storage—
increase the hopping rate or elevate the alcohol content. Increasing the hopping rate resulted in a more refreshing brew, while a beer
with higher residual malt sugar provided greater sustenance. The two different methods resulted in distinct beer styles: one hoppy and
refreshing, the other a full-bodied source of energy. In Flanders, these ales would be the forebears of French bière de garde and Belgian
saison. Each approach appears to have played a part in distinctly differentiating (at least in modern times) the brewing styles of north-
ern France and southwestern Belgium.
Historic Farmhouse Brewing
Few documents exist that describe the types of ale made on the farm breweries of Flanders. Their rural origin and peasant nature
apparently precluded them from serious scholarly interest. A few intrepid brewing scientists, notably Englishman George Maw
Johnson, sought to define the methods of the farmhouse breweries of Belgium and France versus the British (and German) brewing
methods of that time. In an 1895 article entitled “Brewing in Belgium and Belgian Beers,” Johnson reported on a number of ales of
varying strength, most commonly in the range of 6 to 10 ºPlato (1.024 to 1.040 SG). At that time, Belgian brewers favored ales of low
attenuation, in the range of 60 to 70%, in order to enhance flavor and drinkability; a thin-tasting beer was undesirable. These low-
alcohol brews sometimes exhibited local peculiarities such as the use of various cereal grains, including both malted and unmalted
barley (varying amounts of raw wheat, oats, or corn were sometimes added); period of storage; and blending of old and new beers.
Johnson noted that Belgian brewers used a composite of yeasts that “act perfectly” together and in terms of fermenting lower-gravity
worts, outperformed the pure cultures used by British brewers. It is curious to note that these higher fermentation temperatures, multi-
strain yeast cultures, and occasional use of non-traditional cereal grains are attributes that distinguish modern Belgian farmhouse ales
(saisons) from more conventional Belgian ales.
In 1905, English brewer R.E. Evans published “The Beers
and Brewing Systems of Northern France,” reporting that of
the 2,300 breweries in France, approximately 1,800 were
located in the departments of Nord and Pas-de-Calais, for-
merly a large section of what was Flanders. The majority of
these breweries were small, producing no more than 3,000
U.S. barrels per year.
Production in these small French breweries was centered on simple pale brews in the range of 9 to 13.5 °P (1.036 to 1.054 SG),
known as bière du pays (country beers) or, in more urban areas, as public house or cabaret beers. These were ordinary ales brewed
largely from local Champagne barley malts but often blended with barley grown in the African colonies. Small proportions of adjunct,
generally less than 10 to 15% of the total extract, were often used, with cane sugar or glucose syrup most common. In some brew-
eries, corn or rice flour was added to the mash tun. As noted by Johnson, Evans reported that extraordinarily long wort boils were
commonplace—as long as nine to twelve hours. Evans remarked that the color of these brews was not nearly as dark as he would
have expected and that the brewers sought “the maximum palate fullness and sweetness” to compensate for the low original gravi-
ties. Hops from the north of France and from Poperinge in Belgium were commonly used for bitterness while the finer varieties from
Alsace, if used at all, were reserved for the last half-hour of the boil. Fermentation was carried out at a range of 64 to 72º F (18 to
22º C) using top fermenting yeasts. Typically, fermentation was completed forty-eight to seventy-two hours after pitching, then fined
(generally with isinglass) and ready for serving five to six days after brewing. Some of the techniques mentioned define the modern
French approach to specialty brewing, notably an emphasis on palate fullness and sweetness, use of a small portion of adjunct (often
sugar), and a conventional ale fermentation (when ale yeast is used) in the range of 64 to 72º F (18 to 22º C).
Romantics may like to imagine the glory days of farmhouse brewing as a time when independent brewer-farmers produced wonderful, rus-
tic ales for their own consumption. In reality, these homemade ales were extremely varied in taste and quality. As the name suggests, “farm-
house ales” were literally that, limited to the farms where they were brewed and not sold to a local market. Ironically, it was only when indus-
trialization brought about larger breweries (with mechanized bottling lines) that transportation and distribution networks emerged and
regional brands were established. As a result, some farmhouse styles eventually gained a larger audience, helping to insure their survival.
Modern Farmhouse Brewing improved, larger breweries made the
Today a national border separates the small local brewery practically unneces-
region of Wallonia in Belgium and the sary. As consumer tastes changed and
French departments of Nord and Pas-de- old-fashioned ale styles fell out of favor at
Calais, the area once collectively known as the expense of high-tech lagers (known at
Flanders. Flanders was an agricultural the time as bière de luxe in France), many
region with a strong beer culture and a small breweries fell by the wayside,
rich tradition of brewing. Over the past unable to compete in either price or qual-
centuries Flanders has been subjected to ity with the larger operations. A few small
foreign invasion and domination, shifting breweries hung in there, producing low-
linguistic borders, industrialization, and alcohol “table beers” and lagers for local
two World Wars. While some farming tra- distribution. Others stubbornly contin-
dition lives on today, the region has been ued to market the old-time specialty
It is reasonable to speculate that the glory days of farmhouse ales may be now or in the
near future. Today there are more versions of both bière de garde and saison than ten or
twenty years ago, not only in their native regions but also in the “new world” of the
United States and beyond.
largely transformed into a modern indus- area. This development led to population brews to a dwindling audience. Many of
trial complex typical of western Europe. growth and an increased demand for beer the farmhouse breweries that survived
On a cultural level, generations of separa- and breweries, particularly on the French probably were able to do so as a result of
tion have created two distinct national side. Wallonia had a mining industry but low operating costs (their equipment was
identities with a common history of brew- remained primarily agricultural. There, the paid for long ago), farmhouse ingenuity,
ing beer. The modern regions of Wallonia, small farm brewery is a visible part of the and resourcefulness that kept old equip-
Nord, and Pas-de-Calais may share a love landscape; today, only a handful remains in ment running. A small brewery with debt
of beer and brewing, but their approaches what was once Flanders. Fewer still have was unable to compete with large, effi-
to their craft have seen the effects of the tried to adhere to the traditional methods cient industrial brewers. Then, in the late
border that has officially divided them and styles produced in a bygone era, pro- 1970s, the unlikely occurred—old style
since 1831. viding a window into the past. specialty beers came back into fashion.
More astute small brewers shifted gears
The two most identifiable styles that Ironically, the largest number of surviving and a market for esoteric specialty brews
emerged (and survived) from small inde- farmhouse breweries are not located in began to grow, not only in Europe but in
pendent farm breweries are saison and France or Belgium but in Franconia, in North America as well.
bière de garde. Both were formulated to northern Bavaria. Today, scores of small
be stored over a period of several months farm breweries are alive in Franconia as While it is less romantic that some of
as provisions during the time of year compared to a dozen or so between these farmhouse ales actually come from
when brewing was not possible due to France and Belgium. The original ale large industrial breweries, it is this reali-
warm weather and other demands. It is styles produced by Franconian breweries ty that has made the styles better known
possible that at some point a uniform style have long been lost to more modern and popular. Acceptance and widespread
of ale was brewed throughout the tastes. These German farmhouse brew- distribution of farmhouse-style ales
Flanders region; there is no evidence to eries now produce the standard lager paved the way for smaller brewers to
support or dispute this claim. After the beers popular in Bavaria as a result of make their own interpretations. There
region became divided it is evident that changing consumer preferences. While are still a few who make beer in original
the French side evolved to favor the malt- this same phenomenon applies to farm- farm breweries; fewer still actually brew
accented, higher alcohol bière de garde house breweries in Belgium and France, a beer on working farms. Brasserie Dupont
Office and © 2005 Getty Images, Inc.
Artwork courtesy of Belgian Tourist
style and that the Belgian side tended few stuck to the traditional ales. and Brasserie La Choulette are examples
toward the drier, hoppy, lower alcohol Fortunately, they were preserved and of this dying breed. Modern farmhouse
brews categorized as saison. would later enjoy a renaissance of sorts as ales have a strong link to their past but
a younger generation rediscovered these have rolled with the changing times to
In the late 1800s and early 1900s the region obscure, old-fashioned ales. stave off extinction.
became increasingly industrialized and
emphasis shifted from agriculture to mining As the Flanders region became more It is reasonable to speculate that the glory
the vast coal, stone, and ore deposits in the industrialized and transportation days of farmhouse ales may be now or in
34 ZYMURGY January/February 2005 www.beertown.org
the near future. Today there are more ver- Sources
sions of both bière de garde and saison Evans, R.E. “The Beers and Brewing Systems
than ten or twenty years ago, not only in of Northern France.” Birmingham,
their native regions but also in the “new England: Institute of Technical Brewing,
world” of the United States and beyond. Midland Counties Section, 1905
They will continue to evolve, expanding (223–238).
the style definitions to accommodate an Jackson, Michael. New World Guide to Beer.
increasing range of possibilities. As evi- Philadelphia: Running Press, 1988.
dence of this, in 2003 the Great American Johnson, George M. “Belgian Mashing
Beer Festival added a separate category for Systems Suitable for Light Beers.”
saison due to increasing production of Journal of the Federated Institutes of
this style in the United States. The num- Brewing, London, 1895 (451–469).
ber of commercial brands of bière de Johnson, George M. “Brewing in Belgium
garde produced in France has never been and Belgian Beers.” Journal of the
greater than it is today. The name recogni- Federated Institutes of Brewing, London,
tion of bière de garde has prompted many 1916 (237–247).
brewers to throw their hat into the ring Webber, Andrew. “Beer or Bread: Was Beer
and market a version of the style, some- the First Great Cereal Food?” online at
times with little regard to stylistic accura- w w w. o w l n e t . r i c e . e d u / ~ r e l i 2 0 5 / -
cy (as Americans see it). With this grow- andrew_beer/beer.html
ing popularity and number of interpreta- Woods, John and Keith Rigley. The Beers of
tions, these two major styles are alive and France. Wiscombe, England: The
well, and we should relish the variations Artisan Press, 1998 (1–18).
as they make the ales all the more intrigu- Woods, John and Keith Rigley. The Beers of
ing. As the French are fond of saying, Wallonia. Wiscombe, England: The Artisan
“Vive la différence!” Press, 1996 (1–9).
Belgian-Style Brews (continued from 31) it warm. The Wyeast Abbey II strain and, to like the warm conditioning. You can
particularly, the saison yeasts (both from always try it with a few bottles from a
Techniques and Procedures Wyeast or White Labs) seem to need tem- batch to see how they react. After the two-
A single infusion mash is generally fine for peratures in the low- to mid-70s in order to or three-week warm conditioning, store
Belgian styles. I normally keep the temper- give the desired character to the beer. them as you would any other beer.
ature around 150 to 152° F in order to
produce a highly fermentable wort, but As with any high gravity beer, oxygenate Recipe Formulation
you can experiment with different batches the wort thoroughly. To make a dry high There’s no shortage of recipes available in
to bring out different characteristics. With gravity beer, you need healthy yeast. To get books or on the Internet for Belgian ales
some beers that contain a high proportion healthy yeast you need oxygen. Too much (particularly for popular styles like abbey
of wheat, you can do a protein rest in oxygen will kill yeast, but it’s virtually and wit beers), but there seems to be very
order to lower turbidity, but a slight haze impossible for a homebrewer to saturate little information for developing your own
is OK in most Belgian styles. the wort with that much oxygen. recipes. I’ve provided three recipes to use
as guidelines in developing your own. You
Because most Belgian beers are dominated I generally keg lower gravity beers out of can brew them as-is or use them as a jump-
by fruity esters and phenolics, many brew- convenience, but bottle conditioning is ing off point. You may need to alter quan-
ers believe that you need to ferment at the preferred method of packaging for tities to fit your brewing setup. All of these
high temperatures. But that can produce high gravity Belgian-style ales. The flavors recipes have produced award-winning
an overly phenolic beer that’s prone to will marry and round out. Spices that are beers in competitions.
medicinal and solvent-like flavors. Most too pronounced will mellow with age as
Belgian strains will give adequate phenols well. If you want to build up additional Bill Schneller has been a homebrewer
and higher alcohols without a high fer- phenols and esters in the beer without for five years and brews mostly
mentation temperature. getting the off-flavors associated with high Belgian-style ales. He’s also an accom-
fermentation temperatures, you can con- plished sausage maker and cook, and
Stick to standard ale temperatures of 65 to dition the beer at warm temperatures for is very interested in beer and food
68° F. If the yeast seems to be lagging, you several weeks after bottling. I’ve used tem- matching. He’s a proud member of the
can bump up the temperature a little, but peratures as high as 80 degrees for two to Oregon Brew Crew, Oregon’s oldest
avoid temperatures above the mid-70s three weeks with good results. I don’t do homebrewing club. E-mail him at
unless the strain specifically says to ferment this all of the time, but certain yeasts seem [email protected].
www.beertown.org January/February 2005 ZYMURGY 35
