Table Beer is the English translation of the Belgian concept of tafelbier (French: bière de table). Although this seems to imply that they are equivalent to “table wine,” this is not the particularly the case. Table beers are invariably low in alcohol—typically between 1% and 2.5% by volume— although a few nudge up to 3.5%. Their color ranges from light blonde to jet black and all shades of amber and brown in between. Most but not all are sweet, some intensely so. Hopping is low to middling. Whereas the Belgians have their tafelbier, the Dutch have their dark sweet lagers, which they refer to, confusingly, as oud bruin, which is an entirely different style in Belgium. See oud bruin. But these Dutch beers are clearly related to German malzbier and similar brews found occasionally in Scandinavia. Most of these beers are promoted for the health-enhancing qualities of the malt they contain. Many older Belgians remember with affection how they were introduced to beer by their parents over Sunday lunch, with a glass of tafelbier, poured from a genuine beer bottle. In the late 19th century, Belgian brewers faced stiff competition from companies that espoused an anti-alcohol philosophy while plying the public with all sorts of herbal “tonics.” In Belgium, as in many other countries at the time, sweet low-alcohol beers gave brewers their own tonics to sell. In Belgium, the last brewery to produce only table beers, De Es of Schalkhoven in Limburg, closed in 1992, although Gigi of Gérouville in Luxembourg continued until 2007, while supplementing its production with regular beers. There are roughly 30 tafelbieren still in regular production by mainstream Belgian brewers.