The Catholic University of Leuven was founded on December 9, 1425 by the will of Pope Martinus V. It is one of the oldest existing Catholic universities and the oldest university in the Low Countries. The university is modeled after the University of Paris.
In the 16th century, there was a flowering in the university with the rise of humanism, leading to an increased interest in going back to original texts. The Collegium Trilingue was thus established in 1517, providing classes on the Hebrew, Latin, and Greek languages. The University of Leuven also became a training center for Roman Catholic scholars. This attracted many scholars, such as Erasmus and Pope Adrian VI.
In 1783, Minckelars discovered the suitability of coal gas. The university was put under tremendous pressure for state interference, and the French banned the university in 1797. In 1816, the university was reopened as a state university, founded by William I of the Netherlands. Belgian bishops thus founded their own Roman Catholic university in 1834 in Mechelen, though this location later changed.
The university hall and library have burned down twice. The first time was in 1914, and over 300,000 books were lost. The second time was in 1940.
The University of Leuven actually has many branches in other locations. An institution was established in Congo, which was a Belgian colony at the time. After gaining independence, this became the University de Kinshasa in 1971. A campus was also founded in Kortrijk in 1965.
Leuven University was solely a French-speaking university until 1911, when the first courses in Dutch were offered. Later, in 1936, courses became analogue and were taught in both languages. In 1968, the university split into two independent universities…something that became legally official in 1970. The Dutch-speaking campus was situated in Leuven, while the French-speaking campus was located in Ottigans.
Our next stop was the InBev brewery, where beers such as Stella Artois, Jupiler, and Budweiser are currently made. We donned these awesome orange construction vests because…uh, I don’t know, actually.
The beer we know as Stella Artois actually precedes its name. This beer was first brewed in 1366, while the name Stella Artois was established in 1770. This brewery later joined Jupiler, forming the company InBev. Budweiser later followed. InBev produces 400 million hectoliters of beer per year. That’s a lot of beer…
Beer is formed by transforming starch into sugar and adding yeast and hops. These two ingredients are the primary contributors for aroma, taste, and color of beer. It’s obviously a lot more complicated than that, though: the temperature throughout the many processes can also affect the color, aroma, and taste dramatically. For example, if the hops are dried at 80 degrees, the beer it is used for will be the color of Stella Artois. If it is dried at 100 degrees, the beer will take on the color of a Leffe Blond. If the hops are dried at temperatures higher than 130 degrees, caramelization will occur, resulting in the very dark beers. Water is also a very important ingredient for beer: for every liter of beer, you need four liters of water. Water is used for cleaning as well as for the beer itself. However, different kinds of water need to be used for its different purposes: water has to be considered “soft” for cleaning, while water cannot have iron in it if it is being used for the beer itself.
There are two kinds of fermentation that can occur, depending on the weight of the yeast used. If the yeast is lighter than the beer, fermentation happens at 60-20 degrees. This is known as top fermentation and forms beers such as Leffe. If the yeast is heavier than the beer, a process known as bottle fermentation occurs. This fermentation can only happen in temperatures lower than 15 degrees, and forms many of the lighter beers and pilsners that we are familiar with.
After fermentation, the sugar turns into alcohol. Carbon dioxide and heat are added, and the base of beer is formed within ten days. The yeast is then removed and the temperature is lowered to 7 degrees for four days. After this, the temperature is lowered to -1 degrees and the beer is filtered.
It was actually very loud in the brewery due to all the machinery, so I couldn't hear everything he was saying. If you want to learn more about the art of beer brewing, you can look at this helpful diagram made by The Oatmeal.
The factory was extremely hot, and it was a very warm day in Leuven as well. Fortunately, we were all greeted by a bar serving Stella Artois on tap for free at the end of the tour. Hooray!
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