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Belgium's wood-aged beers by Willard Clarke, 01/10 Wood is back in fashion. The trend to age beer in oak casks sourced from the wine and whisky industries has been taken up with enthusiasm in Belgium. It's a country that enjoys an abundance of fine beers, some of which now have the added dimension of wood-ageing. De Dolle Brouwers My first stop on a trip to sample oak-aged beers was the celebrated De Dolle Brouwers in Esen near Diksmuide and close to Ostend. The name of the company means "the mad brewers" and owner Kris Herteleer and his family have carved out a small niche in the Belgian market with beers that are seriously eccentric. De Dolle is based on the site of a brewery that dates from the 1840s but seemed destined to close in 1980 due the illness of the owner. But a group of keen home brewers, led by Kris Herteleer, his brothers and their formidable mother, took over the site and restored its fortunes. At first they brewed only at weekends but the interest in their beers encouraged them to move to full-time production, with Kris giving up his job as an architect. (right, the discreet entrance to the brewery!) The main beers are Arabier (8%) - a name based on an obscure joke about a parrot - and Oerbier (9%), which means original beer. Stille Nacht (Silent Night, 12%) is a Christmas beer while Boskeun (8%) is an Easter beer: the name means Wood Rabbit and is Kris Herteleer's nickname. The beers are brewed in wonderfully antique vessels, with a mash tun, two coppers and open fermenters. A "koelschip" or cool ship is an open pan where the hopped wort cools prior to fermentation. Kris says the cool ship allows wild yeasts to inoculate the beers, giving them a sour note. One large room in the brewery has oak casks from the French wine, Calvados and Cognac industries. Kris matures batches of his beers here and gives them the name of Reserva. A batch of Stille Nacht has been ageing in Bordeaux barriques for two year. I tasted a sample of Oerbier Reserva that has been stored in Bordeaux oak casks since 2006 and has been attacked by Brettanomyces wild yeast from the wood and lactobacillus from the yeast. The beer has a deep russet colour, a smoky and oaky nose with rich fruit and vanilla, and a fruity, sour palate with notes of burnt grain. The big finish has sour fruit, oak, wood and vanilla with some peppery hop notes. A barley wine-type beer called Dulle Teve (11%) has been stored in Calvados barrels for 2� years. It has an orange/bronze colour, a rich apple aroma with sour lactic notes, and a sweet fruit palate with apples and nuts. It's dry in the finish and the apple character becomes notably tart. A visit to Dolle Brouwers is always full of surprises. As I sat in the visitor centre, Kris wiped the dust from a bottle of Patersbier (Father's Beer) that was brewed for Steenbrugge Abbey before 1980s by the previous owners. This literally stunning beer is dark brown in colour with a lively head, a peppery hop nose with liquorice, caramel and burnt fruit notes, with tart fruit and roasted grain in the mouth and a dry finish with burnt fruit, roast and peppery hops. Right: the formidable Mutti (Mother) Herteleer, still active in the brewery in her 90s. Kris was keen for me to sample Oerbier made with and without yeast from Rodenbach. De Dolle Brouwers originally sourced its yeast from the celebrated "sour red" brewery in Roeselare but the supply was cut off at the start of the 21st century and Kris had to search for a new source. Oerbier dating from 1998, with 33 bitterness units, brewed with malt and candy sugar, is dark brown in colour, slightly sour, with a raisins and sultanas fruitiness. The finish is bittersweet, with continuing tart fruit and rich malt. A July 2010 version has a sharp and tangy nose, tart fruit and biscuit malt in the mouth and a pronounced peppery/spicy note from local Poperinge hops. Alvinne Alvinne offers delicious and fascinating beers and also has a shop packed with bottles from Belgium, the rest of Europe and from such far-flung parts as Argentina. The Picobrouwerij Alvinne is in Heule, a suburb of Kortrijk. Kortrijk is a major town on a main railway line from Brussels. That's the easy bit. From Kortrijk you'll need a cab to get to Heule. But this is Belgium and you can always hire a bike, though I wouldn't recommend cycling after a tasting at Alvinne. As well as brewing and selling beer, Davy Spiessens and Glen Castelein (left and right of picture) hold regular tastings in a spacious area alongside their bar on the first floor. Davy and Glen are brothers-in-law who started out as home brewers. They began to brew commercially in 2004 and may have to move to new premises to keep up with demand. Their inspiration is British cask beer though most of their production is bottle conditioned, with draught confined to a few specialist bars and beer festivals. They are currently making 500 hectolitres a year. The first beer I tasted was a 3.8% Freaky, which is decidedly low strength by Belgian standards. It has three malts and five hops, including East Kent Goldings and four American varieties. It has a peppery hop aroma balanced by biscuity malt and tart fruit and hop resins in the mouth and finish. To stress the British connection, Naked Ladies (4.4%) is brewed in association with Twickenham Fine Ales in London and has a massive spicy hop character with tart fruit and rich malt. My eye was caught by a line of wooden casks along one wall. Davy and Glen have Burgundy wine barriques, Normandy Calvados barrels and whisky casks from Glenrothes in Scotland, with some Kentucky bourbon barrels on order. A couple of casks carry the chalked name Podge: these are in honour of Chris "Podge" Pollard, who organises highly-regarded Belgian beer tours. The oak-aged beers are matured for between four and 10 months. Podge's beer - an imperial stout - is ageing in Calvados barrels: it has a burnt fruit, roasted grain and liquorice character with a fascinating hint of apple. The main beers at Alvinne are labelled Morpheus and use a yeast culture of the same name, which includes a lactobacillus for the sour note much loved by Belgians. The culture comes from France where it's used to make sour dough bread. Morpheus Extra (5.1%) has a malty/biscuity nose balanced by tart fruit and spicy hops. The full palate has rich malt, tart hops and a wine gums fruitiness, followed by a dry and hoppy finish. Morpheus Wild (5.9%) is an Oud Bruin (Old Brown) style, astonishingly complex, with a sour nose balanced by aniseed, pineapple, burnt fruit and hop resins. Malt, hops and tart fruit fill the mouth while the finish is dry, fruity and bitter, with a continuing note of sourness. A portion of Wild is aged in oak casks that were originally used for sweet dessert wine in France. The result has vanilla, grapes, wood and even rhubarb on nose and palate. On the ground floor, the small brewing kit will be familiar to British visitors, based on mash tun, coppers and conditioning tanks. One floor down in the cellar, plastic tanks hold beer and cherries for Davy and Glen's interpretation of kriek - cherry beer. De Dolle Brouwers 12b Roeselarestraat 8600 Esen Tours every Sunday 2pm, 3.50 euros with a free beer. Picobrouwerij Alvinne 138 Hellestraat 8501 Heule Shop open Thursday & Friday 10-4; every other Saturday, along with beer tastings (5 euros).

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