In 1904 the Belgian brewery schools organised a competition to improve Belgian beer. The task was to brew a heavier beer with 5 percent alcohol. The brewers of Brabant named this beer Speciale Belge and gave their brands the prefix ‘Special(e)’ or the suffix ‘Ale’. Many brands fell by the wayside, but Palm became the market leader. The Special Belge is amber coloured and has a common alcohol volume of 5.2%. They are brewed according to the infusion method. The main ingredients are the brewing water rich in minerals and the light coloured malts of maritime barley. The beer is slightly hopped with soft aroma hops. Adding "top yeasts" results in a fruity, full beer with a fine bitter sweet balance. After the first fermentation the "young" tastes will refine and the typical tenderness will develop during the maturation process. Cooling the beer off to 0°C after maturation causes the turbidity that is later filtered out of the beer.