Epicurious has been putting a ton of old content from Bon Appetit and Gourmet online, including this 2003 story on the beers of Wallonia. Wallonia is the southern, French-speaking half of Belgium. It’s recently been in the news over fears that Belgium will dissolve, but beyond geopolitical issues… it’s a beer drinker’s heaven:
Perhaps because the area’s largely rural character necessarily makes for small marketplaces and contained villages, Wallonia’s brewers have typically been of an artisanal bent. Like their Flemish neighbors to the north, they prefer to brew fruitier, rounder-tasting ales rather than leaner, crisper lagers, and they like their beers strong. However, they are less constrained by the classic beer styles of the north—such as the Belgian wheat ale (known as “white” beer), the lambic beers (fermented by wild, airborne yeasts), or the wood-aged Flemish red and brown ales. Wallonian brewers also tend to be a bit more experimental in their approach, often spicing their ales with great enthusiasm.
Here in Philadelphia, Walloon beers can be found at, among others, Monk’s Cafe and Zot.
Drinking Beer in Wallonia [Epicurious]
