You won't be Haacht off by these Belgian classics

Haacht is certainly a name I recognised, not just as the brewer of M&S Belgian Lager(!) but as one of the older family breweries in Belgium. So when I spotted its bar at this year’s Brew//LDN show, I was curious: with all the problems over Brexit red tape and with fewer mainland lorries coming over to the UK, why would a Belgian brewer be entering the UK market right now?

“Haacht sees the UK as the biggest European beer market, but also a complex one,” explained UK country manager Matthew Langley (left). “The UK has so many different beer categories, it’s not at all like Belgium. Setting up a subsidiary here is a real commitment to the UK market, and we have to set up now to smooth the imports – everybody is really confused about the rules.” 

The brewery has three main families of beers, plus a few individual brands and outliers, such as its Belgian Pilsner, Primus. Super 8 is the more mainstream line – Export is a pale lager, Flandrien is a strong (6.4%) blonde ale, Blanche is as you might guess a Witbier, and then there’s IPA (6%), which is more traditionally English in style than American or Belgian. For now, only the IPA and Flandrien are coming to the UK.

Then there’s the Charles Quint line of three strong beers, which aren’t coming over, and thirdly, the family that Belgian beer lovers are most likely to recognise which is the Tongerlo abbey beers. 

These remind us that, while Trappist beers can only be brewed in the abbey precincts, almost all ‘abbey beers’ are actually brewed commercially, with the brewer having licensed or bought the name. Here, there’s three regulars – Tongerlo Lux is the Blond (6%), then the Dubbel is Tongerlo Nox (6.5%), and lastly there’s the Tripel, Tongerlo Prior (9%).

So what of the beers? 

Haacht had Super 8 IPA on draught at the show – deep chestnut-brown and dry-sweet, with notes of toasty malt, biscuit and grapefruit, it’s a very nice modern take on a classic English IPA. Flandrien on the other hand is more classically Belgian in style – a little candy sugar and spicy hops, its sweetness balanced by a drying alcohol warmth. If you like Leffe, say, you’ll probably like this. 

Why two Belgian Blond ales in the mix? Well, Tongerlo Lux is noticeably different from Flandrien – sweetish, yes, but with estery notes of melon and spiced apple, and a crisp dry edge. It’s lovely, but then the other Tongerlo beers are even better. 

Nox (right) is dark and plummy-sweet, lightly roasty and ashy, with hints of wine and cocoa, and a drying hoppy bitterness. Prior Tripel is fruity and lightly floral, full-bodied and estery-smooth, with hints of Weissbier-like banana and lemon, and a boozy warmth balanced by peppery drying hops. 

All in all, it’s a pretty solid line-up. Nothing too crafty, but well-made examples of Belgian – and English – classics. Langley adds that, in Belgium at least, Haacht also has several seasonals such as a Belgian Saison and a Tongerlo Christmas beer. “They’re also going to bring out a Stout,” he added. “On one level they’re very staid, and on another they continually surprise me!”

It's Oktober, time for a Festbier

It’s Oktober, and these days, that means Oktoberfestbier*! Finding a decent Festbier used to be a bit of a trial outside Germany – and more particularly, outside Munich**. That’s changed now though, thanks to North London’s music-inspired Signature Brew, and the latest iteration of its Festbier, Luftballon.

When I tried last year’s brew of Luftballon, it seemed just a little light for the style, but this year’s release is smack on target. It’s smooth and malty-sweet, lightly bready and toasty, with drying hoppy notes and a mild bitterness, mouth-filling yet somehow also light and not cloying. Just the ticket, both for Oktoberfest and more generally for an autumn afternoon or evening...

*Or at least it does for the non-Americans out there – most American breweries that brew Oktoberfestbiers stick to a variation on the amber-brown Märzen style, whereas the Bavarians almost all switched about half a century ago from Märzens to golden Festbiers. 

To explain further, Märzen was more or less a stronger version of what we now know as Vienna lager – the amber beers that succeeded Dunkel lagers as the mainstream drinker’s choice. Meanwhile, Festbier is basically a strong version of Munich Helles, the golden beer that in turn displaced Vienna amber in the Bavarian public’s affections. 

And yes, I know that if the Munich Oktoberfest had been running this year it would be over by now...  

**The six Munich Oktoberfestbiers are all fine brews and eminently quaffable, but having a choice is nice – and there’s always something a bit uncomfortable about a cartel. (The Big Six Munich brewers are the only ones legally allowed to use the term ‘Oktoberfestbier’ and sell it at the Wiesn. In my opinion, if that isn’t a cartel then I don’t know what is!) 

Still, hopefully next year Munich will get that more choice too, as upstart Giesinger Bräu has reportedly broken through at last and got permission to become the seventh member of the Oktoberfestbier gang, alongside Paulaner & Hacker-Pschorr (both owned by Schörghuber), Spatenbräu & Löwenbräu (both now AB-Inbev) & the two independents Augustiner & Hofbräu-München.