Every summer since I was 14, my dad has taken me to Europe with him. I’ve been to some large cities like London, and some tiny towns like Lenzburg in Switzerland. I always knew I wanted to study abroad when I was in high school. I wanted to spend more than just 2 weeks exploring and getting to know different cultures, food, places, and people. What I didn’t realize is how terrified I would actually be when the time came to board a plane and live with a family that I had never met, in a city that I’d never been to, with people that I didn’t know. A summer abroad isn’t a very long time in the grand scheme of things, but the unknown is always a scary thing, and I had no idea what to expect. Lucky for me, this trip has been filled with amazing people, an amazing host family, and of course, great beer and food. I’m taking two summer courses while I’m here. The first is called the European Union and the World. It’s a 300 level poly sci class.. I’ve never taken a poly sci class a day in my life. To balance the ever-confusing politics and policies of the EU, my second class is called the Belgian Brewing Industry in a Global Context. Needless to say, we’ve already started brewing our own beer and we take frequent field trips to breweries. When in Belgium… Do as the Belgians do.
The beer really is a huge part of the culture here, more so than I expected. The first day of our Belgian Beer class we were asked to list all the beers that we know, every type of beer we know, and all of the breweries that we know of. About half of the class is American and the other half is Belgian, and the Americans were absolutely put to shame when it came to knowing anything about beer. I personally didn’t know anything at all about beer and was insanely embarrassed when I put down “light” as a type of beer….
The first week we were here, we took an excursion to a place called Beersel, a small town just outside Brussels. Our day started will an insanely beautiful hill walk which then led us to a little restaurant/brewery. Everything on the menu incorporated their beer in the recipe and we were able to tour a section of the brewery where the beer ferments. The beer that they make can only be brewed in Beersel because it’s spontaneously fermented, so the natural yeast and bacteria in the air (as well as the water in the area) help to create a flavor unique to Beersel, Belgium. Some of the beer was more of an acquired taste, like the sour, uncarbonated beer, but the process was fascinating and the food was to die for.
Mack's Compass 