Hopulist issue 5

g
GROUP
BELGIUM-BELGIQUE
GROUP G
BELGIUM
PANAMA
TUNISIA
ENGLAND
Mon 18th JUNE
Belgium v Panama
Tunisia v England
Sat 23rd JUNE
Belgium v Tunisia
Sun 24th JUNE
England v Panama
Thu 28th JUNE
England v Belgium
Panama v Tunisia
Much like the national football team the Belgian craft beer scene is
awash with big name stars with a pedigree of high international standing.
As well as the big six trappist powerhouses, Belg|um has over 180
other breweries. If there was a World Cup of craft beer then Belgium
would surely have been crowned winners numerous times.
Belgium is one of the most visited nations in the world for craft beer
tourists, and to be quite honest, it is easy to see why. Even mainstream
lagers and beers are of a very high standard. The volume of Belgian
beer styles is too long to list here – Trappist, Abbey, Lambic, Amber you
name it and Belgian brewers have nailed it. In fact Belgian beer culture
is so ingrained that UNESCO inscribed it on their list of intangable
cultural heritage of humanity – established to ensure better protection of
important cultural heritages and the awareness of their significance.
Outside of the Trappist scene, Belgium is awash with brewers of long
history and outstanding talent. Examples include Liefmans, De La
Senne, Omer and La Bigote. To be honest, the beer scene in Belgium is
so well established and so complex, it’s hard to choose.
Our choice of star player was an easy one, considered by many to be
the best beer in the world – Westvleteren 12 is the Lionel Messi of craft
beer. At 10.2 per cent ABV we don’t recommend you enjoy too many of
these whilst the footy is on for fear of sleeping through the second half.
Although not the easiest to get your hands on we recommend everyone
to try Westvleteren 12 at least once on their craft beer journey.
To find out more about Belgian trappist beer read Issue Two of Hopulist.
kEY PLAYERS:
The golden generation
of English footballers
may have gone but
the same cannot be
said of craft breweries
in ENGLAND. The
boom has been massive,
not just in England but
across across the whole
of the UK and shows no
signs of slowing down
anytime soon, with a
healthy mix of styles and
methods it would take
too long to list all the
key players here but you
know who they are, you
wouldn’t be reading this
if you didn’t!
PANAMA is awash
with largely tasteless
pale lagers, although a
few craft beer venues are
popping up in Panama
City.
TUN|S|A had one
micro brewery based
in the coastal city of
Hammamet but reports
suggest it may now be
closed as tourism has
declined in recent years.
SA|NT S|XTUS
BEER: WESTVLETEREN 12
style: TRAPP|ST QUAD
abv: 10.2%
volume: 330ml
untappd: 4.56
FOOTY pred|ct|on:
Group W|nners: BELG|UM
Group Runner’s Up: ENGLAND