Beer Styles from Around the World: Belgium Part One - Trappist Ales
For a country of only 10.4 million people, the Belgians sure know their beer! According to the Brussels tourism board, there are about 100 breweries operating in the country, sporting about 500 different products. While living in Brussels summer of ‘06, I was fortunate enough to try over a hundred different beers covering a wide range of styles and deliciousness.
Belgian beer got its start around the ninth century with isolated monastaries that started brewing their own hooch. These monks knew their beer and with a little help from Louis Pasteur they perfected it. The picture of me on the left was taken by fellow Newly Corporate writer Blake at Het Elfde Gebod in Antwerp. The name translated from Flemish means ‘The 11th Commandment.’ Look at this beer menu… *drool* I think the 11th commandment is to get pissed in short order, an easy task with beers containing up to 10% alcohol.
The menu refers to ‘Trappisten’ ales meaning beers from a certified Trappist brewery. There are six such breweries in Belgium: Achel, Chimay, Orval, Rochefort, Westmalle and Westvleteren, as well as a seventh in the Netherlands called Koningshoeven. These are the only brands that may carry the official trappist product logo.
Together these Trappist breweries produce around 20 brews, all top-fermented, bottle conditioned (bottled with yeast for final fermentation) with alcohol levels ranging from ~6% all the way to about 12%. Most styles fall into one of three categories single, double or triple. There are some exceptions including an odd IPA like beer from Achel as well as my favorite, the Quadrupel. In general, the alcohol content increases as you jump from a single up to a double and ultimately up to the quadrupel. To get alcohol levels up to 12%, the breweries add Belgian candy sugar, derived from beets, that provides more sugars for the yeast to consume. The effect is that the stronger beers will often have a sweet taste– very misleading if you ask me as they’re quite capable of knocking you on your ass after a drink or two. It’s funny, you can actually feel the warmth of the alcohol coarsing through your veins after the first few sips. I feel it in my neck, which is weird, but nice at the same time!
General Details About Trappist Ales:
A single (’Enkel’ in Dutch) is usually malty with some fruity overtones. Singles have a yellow color and are the lightest to drink of the pack.
A double (’Dubbel’) is usually a dark brown color. Dubbels are heavier than singles but not as strong as a triple. A nice happy medium if you ask me.
Triples (’Tripel’) are most often a golden brown color. These strong ales are as complex as wine with fruity overtones, great mouthfeel and a crapload of alcohol.
Quadrupels aren’t brewed very often, but Koningshoeven brews a kick ass called La Trappe. Blake captured the essence of this beer in it’s natural habitat on the right. 
One of the cool thing about these beers is that each brewery has its own glass. You’ll never see a bartender pour a beer into the incorrect glass with the exception being some of the more obscure beers. Even then, the glass is certaily not labeled with another beer’s name. The Belgians take glassware seriously and any good bar will almost always have the official glassware for the beer being served. On a side note, these glasses are pretty cool to collect. I have about 30 at home and have a habit of trying to impress my guests by presenting them with the brewery inscribed glass for the obscure Belgian beer they’ve never tasted before. Experienced beer drinkers eat it up too as part of the tasting experience.
There you have it, one of the many styles of beer in Belgium. Next time you’re at a liquor store, see if you can find one of the brands listed above. Most stores will carry Chimay (my least favorite), but see if you can find some other ones. They’re more expensive by far but I promise it will be different from anything you’ve tasted and a much better alternative to Miller Light.. ugh.
Coincidently, I’m leaving for the Netherlands and Belgium tomorrow for 9 days. I’m heading to Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp starting December 26th. Wish my liver luck!
Cheers!
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