Belgium

De Dolle Brouwers has a reputation for colorful branding and characterful, high-gravity beers that hold up beautifully in the cellar. Yet their process is intentionally laborious and layered, from the coolship and Baudelot cooler to the open copper fermentors and more in an old, classic Flemish brewhouse.

From our Love Handles files on the world’s great beer bars: Famous among beer lovers and centrally located—yet oddly tricky to find—the De Garre pub in Bruges, Belgium, oozes atmosphere and class.

From our Love Handles files on beer bars we love: Gist offers finely honed ales, music, and atmosphere just off the Brussels tourist path.

Regula Ysewijn’s recently revised book, “Belgian Café Culture,” is a striking look at a country’s traditional third spaces as well as a compelling plea to support and preserve them while we can.

“We had the idea that what’s lacking somehow today is this stubbornness, to stick to something—and to create something distinct in that way,” says Tom Jacobs. “For us, we want to do something that lasts.”

Duvel, Belgium’s iconic and elegant golden strong ale, is pale, dry, highly carbonated, and it boasts a distinctive fermentation profile. What are the stories, ingredients, and processes behind the archetype?

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.

From our Love Handles files on beer bars we love: This is one of Belgium’s longest-running beer cafés, with a deep selection and plenty of bric-a-brac to admire over an ale and a snack.

Through dire decades for traditional lambic, this multigenerational Brussels brewery kept the flame lit long enough to witness the current renaissance. Yet Cantillon continues to explore methods for using fruit while staying true to the family’s vision.

The founder and brewer of Chicago’s Keeping Together selects an experience-driven six-pack that transports her back to cherished moments in time.

A brief chapter in the latest adventures of the “Rarest Barrel,” pH1.

Even in 20th century Belgium, “saison” was interpreted in different ways. Those interpretations continue to branch off into myriad ways today.

In this edition of Love Handles—where we put the spotlight on the world's great beer bars—we check out The Cask in Richmond, Virginia; the Ware Jacob in Antwerp, Belgium; and the Eastside Club Tavern in Olympia, Washington.

Try to brew it if you want—many have tried—but few beers belong to their own place more than traditional Belgian gueuze.

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.

Biotransformation is not just real, it’s measurable, says New Belgium's hops-focused innovation brewer in this deep dive into the mechanics of hops aroma and flavor.

Historical quirks, local preference, and individual creativity all have a say in the diversity of Belgium’s brown ales.

Whether African, Caribbean, or Belgian, foreign export stouts occupy the oft-overlooked middle ground between the smooth lows of dry Irish stout and the highs of alcoholic exuberance.

Real lambic takes time. It laughs at hasty plans. Until recently there were only eight lambic brewers in the Senne Valley. Discover the two newest brewers taking on a very old tradition.

We picked a few happening this winter and spring that will give you more than just another standard beer-drinking experience.