This Jupiler's for You

More Belgian imports are likely in the wake of InBev's deal for Anheuser By CHARLES FORELLE and JOHN W. MILLERJuly 19, 2008; Page W4 Amid all the patriotic tub-thumping about the recently sealed takeover of Anheuser-Busch, maker of all-American King of Beers Budweiser, by Belgian-Brazilian InBev, one vital fact has gotten lost. Americans could soon get to drink a lot more, and more unusual, kinds of beers. WSJ's Charles Forelle and John Miller travel to Belguim to speak with Joris Pattyn, one of Belgium's finest palates, as he weighs in the beers owned by InBev, including Budweiser. (July 18) InBev already was one of the world's biggest beer companies before it bought Anheuser-Busch. It makes hundreds of different brews around the globe, but exports only about two dozen to the U.S.. That's likely to change, the company says. For the $52 billion it paid for Anheuser, InBev gets access to the U.S. company's many-tentacled distribution network that can spread its brews into convenience stores, markets and bars across the country. InBev says it's looking at "brand strategies" before deciding which new beers to ship across the pond. "Maybe we'll sell a Russian beer in the U.S.," says spokeswoman Marianne Amssoms. InBev owns four breweries in Russia, including one called Tinkov and one called Tolstiak. It's hard to say which new beers may come over, but one can never be too prepared. So as a service to our American readers, the Journal's Brussels-based beer-testing squad sampled some of the Belgian brews InBev doesn't yet export Stateside. InBev already ships some Belgian beers to the U.S. -- chief among them are the Stella Artois pilsner, two Leffe abbey-style beers and the Hoegaarden wheat beer. But its Belgian line is far broader than that, including unfiltered and raspberry beers, and Hoegaarden's Forbidden Fruit, which packs about double the alcohol punch of a Bud. We ventured up to Ghent, a medieval city half an hour's train ride from Brussels, to spend an afternoon -- and evening, it turned out -- at one of its standout beer bars, the Kaffee de Hopduvel. Our guide was Joris Pattyn, full-time dentist, part-time beer judge. Mr. Pattyn estimates he's tasted some 8,300 different beers in his lifetime. He's a frequent judge at international beer competitions and is co-author of the forthcoming "100 Belgian Beers to Try Before You Die." (None of the InBev brews is in Mr. Pattyn's book.) Frederic Sierakowski/Isopix/Sipa Press for The Wall Street Journal Many Belgian aficionados look down their noses at InBev beers, labeling them as corporate creations that homogenize taste and crowd out more complex products from smaller brewers. Mr. Pattyn keeps an open mind and graded the beers for us out of a possible top score of 5. He says he never makes pronouncements before a careful tasting. HOEGAARDEN CITRON Mr. Pattyn's cardinal rule of beer tasting: Start with the light stuff, end with the heavy stuff. It doesn't get much lighter than this recent addition to the InBev lineup, a spinoff of the classic white beer meant to lure younger drinkers with its sweetness. Mr. Pattyn sticks his nose in the glass. The lemon scent seems partly artificial. "It reminds me of a children's lemonade." But, he says, it's "not badly made." Too sweet for us, but you could do worse at the ballpark on a hot summer's day. Strength: 3% alcohol by volume (abv) Style: Fruit-flavored wheat beer Mr. Pattyn's score: 2.3 Our verdict: This isn't really beer. Coming to America? Americans are used to drinking their Hoegaarden with a slice of lemon. This skips a step. HOEGAARDEN ROSE Belgium has a long tradition of cherry and raspberry beers. The best of them play the fruit against a sour backdrop and layer on complex tastes. This isn't the best of them. Mr. Pattyn sniffs. "At least a small part of