The glass for Kwak beer takes the shape of a bulb and stem, so needs a wooden frame to stand upright.

Her sweet scent led me though a narrow Belgian alley and, holding her by the hand, I felt her shy chill slowly warm to mine.

We paused. Slowly I found my face tilting towards hers, and the bar fell silent. Melodies from an old-school juke box were drowned out in the moment.

I felt the weight of her kiss and instantly knew I would be hooked. Her name was Leffe, the sweetest girl in town.

Belgian blondes are not hard to find and this place has plenty of them, staring at you invitingly.

Brussels is said to be home to more than 460 different types of beers, with some 300 of them residing in my neck of the woods, a three-storey bar in Fidelity Alley called Delirium Cafe.

In this famous – and therefore packed – bar decorated with vintage beer signs, I soon learned the secret to these brews.

Each Belgian beer has an individual glass, and if that fact doesn’t impress you, then nothing will.

The most unusual glass houses an ale called Kwak, and ordering this is not as easy as it should be.

Due to the popularity of its beautiful pint glass, in some bars you must leave your shoe as a deposit to ensure you do not get a free souvenir to take home.

It takes shape of a bulb and a stem, ensuring the final part of your pint flows smoothly as you take your last sips. Due to the round base of the glass dome it is suspended in the air by a wooden frame and looks more like it belongs in the back of a science lab than a pub.

The afternoon in the pub rolled on and soon it was not just the blondes seeking attention, as darker blends also caught my eye, with the odd Pilsner keeping them company.

Like a child in a sweet shop, I could not resist. A wink in the right direction was enough to send another brew my way.

I could almost feel the spark as my tongue tried vainly to decipher the correct flavours.

Six beers in Belgium are made in monasteries and their ‘daughters’ are hardly allowed out of town

“Daughter of a monk,” the barman gulped, revealing the secret.

Six beers in Belgium are made exclusively in monasteries and their “daughters” are hardly allowed out in town.

Ordering a Trappist brew is not easy for the locals. Each customer is limited to two crates per week and must book well in advance.

To collect the brew, patrons must supply their car registration plates and are limited to a certain number of crate orders per year.

This secrecy keeps the legends alive and ensures that they never find their way over to Brussels’s high streets.

In keeping with religious traditions, the monasteries’ accounts are closely monitored to ensure they do not make any profits over what they need to keep the breweries producing smooth, silky beer. Having visited one of the monasteries just outside Vienna in Austria as a teenager, I still remember the magical atmosphere of these hidden areas.

Ordering a stein of a Trappist beer feels like a rite of passage and I would love to carry on more research about the beers in Belgian monasteries one day.

After a busy early afternoon learning how to become a beer connoisseur, I decided to straighten up and guided by the deep, darkened cobbles, I tried to explore some more of the city’s charms, which include Manneken Pis, a rather curious statue of a little boy urinating facing laughing crowds on a street corner.

He is joined by his sister Jeanneke Pis in Fidelity Alley, while the peeing dog Zinneke Pis completes a trio that draw the tourists.

Those crowds can be completely avoided if you step into the city’s botanical gardens for a quiet break.

Hugged by tall, grey business buildings, if you explore this spot properly you will find a quiet, hidden bar offering a wee snack.

Caffe Botta offers refreshing Italian cured meats and you would be missing out not to order some of its homemade iced tea – a secret recipe with a dash of alcohol that makes a nice change from the beer.