The Belgian non-government led by Yves Leterme has announced a plan to tackle public debt by the issue of public bonds. Leterme was quoted in Thursday’s Le Soir as saying:

« Vu les difficultés sur les marchés financiers, nous voulons davantage faire appel à la capacité d’épargne des Belges pour financer la dette »

Given the present difficulties on the financial markets, we want to appeal to Belgians’ capacity for saving money.

Government bonds are supposed to be risk-free – this is their principal attraction – and Belgian people are indeed notable savers among Europeans. The government is now offering the incentive of a 4% interest rate for Belgians willing to fill the coffers in support of financing their burgeoning national debt.

There are however a couple of problems with the proposal of Leterme et al.

Firstly, we have embarked on a unique period in Europe, in which the economic landscape will almost certainly look rather different in five years’ time. So while Belgium is not in the same fix as Greece, there is no longer such a thing as a risk-free investment.

Secondly, Belgium is a strongly divided nation which still lacks a government after another recent breakdown in talks (indeed the political crisis itself is thought to have cost €1.8bn so far) and many potential investors may question how their money might be used.

By Brasserie Dupont. 8% ABV, serve at 12°

Brasserie Dupont, from the little village of Tourpes near Tournai, is pretty well-known here in Belgium thanks to the broad distribution of their popular copper kettle brews Moinette and Saison Dupont.

Dupont has been producing Bière de Miel (“honey beer”) as an organic product since 1997, having rediscovered the recipe after about 75 years in abeyance.

The brew, served in irritatingly small bottles or the 75cl Standard, is full of springtime flavours, in amongst which the honey is only one.

Indeed the strongest note in there for me is orange blossom. Refreshing, light and pleasantly floral.

By Brouwerij De Struise. 13% ABV, serve at 9°

This stout, named after the artist Delphine Boël, is very similar to De Struise’s super strong Black Albert: indeed it’s the product of similar origins.

What’s unique here is the barrelling process.

Cuvée Delphine has done some time in Kentucky bourbon casks, just as the Pannepot reserva editions did with their Calvados equivalents.

With a darker, thicker head, Delphine is also significantly drier in taste than Albert.

In addition to those same smoky, autumnal flavours, the all-important bourbon note comes through loud and clear.

By Brouwerij De Struise. 13% ABV, serve at 9°

De Struise created this stout for the renowned Ebenezer’s Pub in Lovell, ME and it comes with very high ratings.

I enjoy most Belgian stouts (the best of which include Ellezelloise’s Hercule and De Dolle Special Extra Export) but they tend to be fairly thin.

Not so Black Albert: the complexity of this brew is marvellous.

It’s bursting with flavours of roasted coffee beans, malt, cigars, black treacle, salty licorice and charcoal.

The alcohol is well-hidden but you’d be well advised to go steady nonetheless!

By Brouwerij De Struise. 7% ABV, serve at 9°

While the beer was never up to much in my home country, I did have a soft spot for Youngers IPA. So the appreciation of that fine brew, which I believe is no longer available, ought to qualify me to judge this unusual edition from De Struise.

It pours ruddy amber and looks pretty thick to boot. The aroma is sharp, fruity with a touch of something like shoe polish. Very curious indeed.

In the mouth, this one turns out to have a softer underbelly – it’s got plenty of malt and only just a hint of bitterness.

Given the interesting nose, I was a little disappointed by the comparatively nondescript taste.

By Brouwerij De Dool. 7% ABV, serve at 9°

Amburon is a relatively new beer from Tongeren, making its first appearance in 2009.

The name is presumably a portmanteau of the Ambiorix – a statue of whom stands in the town square at Tongeren – and the Eburones, the tribe of which Ambiorix was king during the Romans’ Gallic campaign.

Back in the twenty-first century, the beer is a blonde with pleasant grassy flavours and a light hoppy bitterness.

Very mild overall with a nice, dryish finish.

A malfunctioning cash register inadvertently brought us some good advice with this morning’s cup of java lava. They should set this up as a proper service.

Thanks to Uncle Luc for the photo!

By Brouwerij Verstraete. 33cl, 8% ABV, serve at 6°

Westhoek beers are famous for their use of hops, which are grown and harvested in the area around Poperinge. Yet despite the traditional bitterness that hops are expected to bring to such beers, I have often been surprised by the mildness of the finished product. De Ranke’s Hop Harvest is a case in point and so too, it would seem, is Papegaei from the microbrewery Verstraete.

Papegaei, or ‘parrot’ in English, pours out with a golden orange colour as bright as the bird but it’s not a beer that makes much noise. Served cold and therefore slightly cloudy, the taste remains unmuddled at a lower temperature, unlike other brews of similar type.

It’s full of soft, ripe fruits including melon and apricot and carries a hint of golden syrup. A nice, relatively light beer for those long summer evenings!

By De Halve Maan. 33cl, 11% ABV, serve at 10°

The Belgian beer market has plenty of good heavyweight donkers to offer, including classics such as Chimay Bleue, Rochefort 10° and my personal favourite Sint Bernardus 12 Abt from Watou. What’s more, quadrupels are calling cards for the primacy of Belgium’s brewing tradition. It’s not an easy club to join, but there’s always room for one more (good one).

Given De Halve Maan’s excellent reputation and the fact that their Straffe Hendrik 9° sets the bar high for tripels, I was curious to try out the quad.

Pours out surprisingly thin, with a promising head that diminishes quite quickly. It packs a whopping 11% ABV yet it’s very well hidden. Taste is quite sweet and not especially complex. There’s a good shot of licorice and rooty vegetables in there, as well a bit of charcoal roughness.

Very drinkable but overall I was a bit disappointed with it – I’d hoped for a rather more muscular brew.

By Brasserie Brunehaut for Bibco-La Ramée. On tap at KoKoB restaurant, Brussels. 8% ABV, served cool.

Ramée Blonde isn’t hard to come by – it’s a supermarket beer here in Belgium – but it’s not commonly found on tap. One location where it’s available is at KoKoB, a renowned Brussels resto serving exquisite Ethiopian dishes sans silverware.

The spiced, sometimes delicate flavours in KoKoB’s cuisine would be blunted by a less friendly beer but the Ramée is light and gentle enough not to dominate the proceedings.

Aromas include marmalade, apricots, coriander (of course) and baked goods. To call the taste mellow would be an understatement – it’s close to bubblegum – so the slight piquancy of the coriander provides a welcome touch of something a bit sharper.