“But what makes Belgian beer so special is that even an amateur beer enthusiast can pick a Belgian beer out from any other. Whether it’s a pale ale, a dubbel, a fruit beer or a golden ale, Belgian beers taste unique, and that’s down to one thing: yeast. Belgian yeast comes in lots of forms, but it all has a floral, sweet kind of edge to it that’s completely in contrast to the crisp, bitter stuff used in most beers. In fact, as beer becomes more and more of an art around the world, people are realizing that the yeast is just as important as any other ingredient in the beer. When it eats the sugars from the barley, it leaves more than alcohol behind – along with carbon dioxide it leaves more chemicals which can taste and smell delicious or, sometimes, just awful. More and more I see beer aficionados arguing about the best strains, the fruity “esters”, funky “phenols” coming off them, and their uses in different styles.”

- JamieOliver.com