Belgian Beer

What do changes in the beer market and drinking habits portend for one of the most creative and influential beer-producing countries? These data points from the Belgian Brewers industry group provide an eye-opening glimpse.

Overshadowed by the global fame of Belgian ale and lambic, pils is nevertheless the country’s most popular kind of beer—light, inexpensive, and available at every corner café. It’s also uniquely Belgian, with many independent breweries making distinctive versions worth seeking.

We asked five brewing pros about their most beloved Belgian beers—any style, as long as it’s made in Belgium. Here’s what they recommend.

Belgium’s dark, strong ales are among the most complex and impressive beers in the canon—yet extract brewers can tackle them as well as anyone, as long as we pay attention to a few key points.

Known for their high-gravity beers and irreverent attitude, the Struise Brouwers have injected fresh energy into Belgian beer over the past two decades. Yet the systems they’ve built to brew these big beers are as creative as the beers themselves.

For De Ranke, looking back was looking forward. When the Belgian beer industry was minimizing bitterness, De Ranke embraced it instead, carving out a hop-forward niche that’s been influencing fellow brewers for nearly three decades.

This wife-and-husband brewing team in Wallonia blend their Belgian and Brazilian roots with a deep love of tradition and a spark of contemporary creativity.

Yvan De Baets, cofounder and head brewer at the Brasserie de la Senne in Brussels, has been researching (and brewing) saison for more than two decades. He has argued that “yeast is the biggest myth about saison.” We asked him to elaborate.

Saison is a dynamic creature—ever-evolving, open to interpretation, and grounded in a myth that is basically true. It chafes at hermetically sealed definitions and style guidelines. Plot twist: You get to write its next chapter.

One of Belgium’s most distinctive tripels leans in a more bitter, aromatic direction. Inspired by Orval as much as Westmalle, De Ranke Guldenberg is a contemporary classic. Here, Joe Stange speaks with cofounder Nino Bacelle about its origins and makings.

Golden-blond with a lithe body, lively mouthfeel, resilient foam, and sneaky strength—equally at home on the dinner table or next to your easy chair—here are a few of our favorite tripels.

Brewers don’t develop their tastes and skills in a vacuum; they’re affected by others, both before and during their careers. Here, Yvan De Baets of Brasserie de la Senne in Brussels chooses his pack and defends it (and wishes he could pick more than six).

A 20th-century invention made famous by monks, this strong but elegant ale of hospitality is built from the simplest of ingredients—yet it’s among the most challenging to brew well. Jeff Alworth explains its origins and context.

Belgian stout has its own special history and a distinctive strut. What sets it apart? Breandán Kearney, award-winning beer writer and a brewer at Siphon in West Flanders, reports from Belgium.

After 13 years living abroad, our Missouri-based managing editor spent the past year getting reacquainted with the American beer scene. Here are his beery highlights.

Joe Stange, managing editor of Craft Beer & Brewing Magazine® and co-author of Good Beer Guide Belgium, explores how that country’s wilder-side beers have continued to evolve.

Apologies in advance for some European bias. These picks span a year of travel and a trans-Atlantic move back to the States, where I now gawk like a yokel at the weird and wonderful American beer scene.

Perkins shares lessons learned over two decades of work at Allagash, from building haze stability in witbier to fermenting with Brettanomyces and spontaneous fermentation

Candi sugars are at once an underused and an overused ingredient. Let's dive into the specific function candi sugars can play in beer.