Belgian Beer Guide: Styles, Trappists and Where to Drink

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No country takes beer as seriously as Belgium. A small nation makes well over a thousand different beers, in more styles than anywhere else on earth, and treats the whole thing with a reverence other countries reserve for wine. Monks still brew some of the most sought-after bottles in the world, wild yeast ferments sour ales in the air around Brussels, and every beer comes in its own branded glass. This is our complete guide to Belgian beer: why it is special, the styles you need to know, how to order it, and where to drink it. It is part of our wider what to eat in Belgium guide and our Paris and Belgium itinerary by Eurostar.

Why Belgian beer is special

Belgian beer culture is officially recognised, inscribed on the UNESCO list of intangible cultural heritage, and once you spend an evening with it you understand why. Three things set it apart. The first is sheer variety: Belgium never standardised around a single style the way Germany or the Czech lands did, so centuries of monastic, farmhouse and city brewing all survived side by side. The second is the living tradition of monastery brewing, which still produces some of the most prized beers in the world. The third is spontaneous fermentation, a near-extinct way of making beer with wild yeast that survives in the valley around Brussels and almost nowhere else. Add to that an obsession with serving each beer in its correct glass, and beer here becomes something to study, not just to drink.

The beer styles to know

You do not need to learn all of them, but a handful of styles will carry you through any Belgian beer menu. Here are the ones worth knowing, from the famous monastery beers to the everyday lagers.

Trappist beers, brewed by monks

The most famous Belgian beers of all are the Trappist beers, brewed inside monastery walls under the supervision of the monks. Only a handful of breweries worldwide may carry the Authentic Trappist Product label, and most of them are Belgian: Westmalle, Chimay, Orval, Rochefort and Westvleteren. Westmalle more or less defined the tripel. Chimay is the one you will see most widely, in its red, blue and white caps. Orval is a cult favourite, bone-dry and hoppy with a wild-yeast character unlike anything else. Rochefort makes deep, rich dark ales. And Westvleteren, brewed by the monks of Saint Sixtus in tiny quantities and sold mainly at the abbey itself, is regularly called one of the best beers in the world and is genuinely hard to get hold of. These are beers to seek out, not just order by habit.

Abbey beers

Abbey beers are the ones people often confuse with Trappist beers, and the difference is simple. These are brewed commercially in the monastery style, sometimes under licence from a real abbey, but not inside a working monastery. They are excellent and far easier to find. Leffe is the household name, and Affligem, Grimbergen and Maredsous are all worth ordering. Think of them as the accessible, widely available cousins of the Trappist beers.

Lambic, gueuze and kriek, the wild beers

This is the style that exists almost nowhere else. Lambic is made by spontaneous fermentation: instead of adding yeast, brewers leave the cooled beer open to the wild yeasts that live in the air of the Senne valley around Brussels, then age it in oak barrels for months or years. The result is sour, funky and completely unlike a normal beer. Gueuze is a blend of young and old lambic refermented in the bottle, dry and sharply sour and sometimes called the champagne of Brussels. Kriek is lambic steeped with cherries, and framboise with raspberries. The great names are Cantillon, which still brews in Brussels and welcomes visitors, along with Boon, Lindemans, Girardin and 3 Fonteinen. A traditional gueuze is an acquired taste, but trying one at the source is one of the essential Brussels experiences.

Witbier, the Belgian white

Belgian white beer, or witbier, is the cloudy, refreshing wheat beer spiced with coriander and orange peel. Hoegaarden is the classic, brewed in the village of the same name, and the style was famously revived there in the twentieth century after nearly dying out. It is light, citrusy and the easiest Belgian beer to love on a warm afternoon.

Flemish red and brown, the sour ales

From West Flanders come the red-brown sour ales, aged in large oak vats until they turn tart and winey. Rodenbach is the benchmark, sometimes called the Burgundy of Flanders, and Duchesse de Bourgogne is a sweeter, richer take on the style. If you like the idea of a beer that drinks almost like a sour red wine, this is where to go.

Blonde, dubbel, tripel and quadrupel

These are the strong ales that most people picture when they think of Belgian beer. A dubbel is a dark, malty beer around seven percent; a tripel is golden, deceptively smooth and often nine percent or more, with Westmalle Tripel the original; and a quadrupel is darker and stronger still. In the same family sits the golden strong ale, with Duvel its most famous example, pale and dangerously drinkable at well over eight percent. These are beers to sip slowly.

Saison, the farmhouse ale

Saison is the old farmhouse beer of French-speaking Wallonia, originally brewed in winter to refresh farm workers through the summer. It is dry, peppery and lightly fruity, and Saison Dupont is the classic bottle that put the style back on the map worldwide.

Pils and everyday lagers

Not everything in Belgium is a nine-percent ale. The everyday beer, the one locals drink by the half-pint, is pils. Jupiler is the big home-grown lager and Stella Artois, brewed in Leuven, is the one you will recognise from abroad. If you just want a cold, simple beer with your frites, this is it.

The glass matters

One of the first things you notice in a Belgian bar is that almost every beer arrives in its own branded glass, and this is not marketing so much as ritual. The shape is believed to suit the beer, and a bar that runs out of the right glass may apologise for serving your beer in the wrong one. The most theatrical example is the Kwak, served in a curved glass that stands in its own wooden holder because it cannot stand up on its own. Order a few different beers over an evening and you will end up with a small museum of glassware on your table.

Beer and food

Beer is not just something Belgians drink; it is something they cook with. The classic beef stew, carbonnade flamande, is braised slowly in dark beer until it turns rich and almost sweet, and you will find mussels, cheese and even sorbet made with beer. A strong dark ale alongside a plate of carbonnade, or a crisp pils with moules-frites, is one of the great simple pleasures of the country. We cover the dishes in full in our what to eat in Belgium guide.

A word on strength

Belgian beer is stronger than it tastes, and that catches a lot of visitors out. Many of the famous ales sit between eight and twelve percent, far above a normal lager, and the good ones go down so smoothly that you can forget what you are drinking. Pace yourself, drink water alongside, and treat a tripel or a quadrupel with the respect you would give a glass of wine rather than a pint of lager.

Where to drink beer in Brussels and Bruges

Brussels is the natural home of Belgian beer. The Delirium Café, marked by its pink-elephant sign off the Grand Place, is famous for a beer list that runs into the thousands, while À la Mort Subite and Moeder Lambic are the places to try traditional gueuze in proper old surroundings. For the full experience, the Cantillon brewery still makes lambic in the city and lets you walk through it. Bruges is just as good in a smaller way, with cosy specialist taverns like ‘t Brugs Beertje and the tiny, tucked-away De Garre, known for its own strong house tripel. Both cities are covered in detail in our Brussels travel guide and Bruges travel guide.

How to order and taste

The menus can be overwhelming, so the best move is simply to ask the bartender what they would recommend, and to say roughly what you like: sour, strong, light, dark. Order one beer at a time rather than a round of the same thing, so you can taste your way across the styles. Start lighter and work towards the stronger ales, and do not be shy about trying a gueuze or an Orval even if the first sip surprises you. Half the fun of Belgian beer is that there is always another style you have not met yet.

Where to book a beer experience

If you would rather have the beer explained as you drink it, a guided tasting or brewery experience is a good way in. You can book the Belgian Beer World experience in Brussels on Klook, and browse other Brussels tours and tastings below.

Frequently asked questions

Why is Belgian beer so famous?

Belgium has more beer styles than anywhere else, a living tradition of monastery brewing, and the rare wild-fermented lambic beers found around Brussels. Its beer culture is even recognised by UNESCO.

What is the difference between Trappist and abbey beer?

Trappist beer is brewed inside a working monastery under the monks’ supervision and carries the Authentic Trappist Product label. Abbey beer is brewed commercially in the same style, sometimes under licence from an abbey, but not by monks.

What are the Belgian Trappist breweries?

The Belgian Trappist breweries are Westmalle, Chimay, Orval, Rochefort and Westvleteren. Westvleteren in particular is famous for being made in small quantities and hard to buy outside the abbey.

What is gueuze?

Gueuze is a blend of young and old lambic, a beer fermented with wild yeast from the air around Brussels and aged in oak. It is dry, sparkling and sharply sour, and is sometimes called the champagne of Brussels.

How strong is Belgian beer?

It varies widely. Everyday pils is around five percent, but many of the famous ales run from eight to twelve percent, so they are much stronger than a standard lager. Pace yourself.

Which Belgian beer should a beginner try?

Start with something approachable like a Hoegaarden witbier or a Leffe, then try a tripel such as Westmalle and a dark Chimay. Save the sour gueuze and Flemish reds for when you are feeling adventurous.

Where is the best place to drink beer in Belgium?

Brussels and Bruges are the two best cities, both full of specialist beer bars and historic taverns. Brussels is also where you can visit a working lambic brewery.

Belgian beer is a rabbit hole worth falling into, and a slow evening working through a few styles with a plate of something to eat is one of the best nights out the country offers. For the food to go with it, see our what to eat in Belgium guide.