Discover Belgian Beer Styles – Which one is your style?

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Discover Traditional Belgian Beer Styles

Belgian beer is known as one of the most diverse and rich beer cultures in the world. With hundreds of years of history, the combination of farming families and monks has created unique Belgian beers, bearing the distinct cultural mark of Europe. Belgian Beer comes in a full range of colors, flavors, and alcohol contents, from light to strong, suiting everyone’s palate. When you enjoy drinking Belgian beer, you not only enjoy a delicious beverage but also immerse yourself in the history and culture of this country. So, where to drink Belgian beer? Belgian Restaurants in Saigon like Baron Bier will be the ideal place for you to experience authentic Belgian beer styles.

Trappist and Abbey: Flavors from the Monastery

Trappist beer is produced by monks of the Trappist order. In Belgium, there are five monasteries producing prominent Trappist beers including Westmalle, Westvleteren, Orval, and Rochefort… Additionally, three Norbertine communities in Flanders also produce beer in their abbeys at Averbode, Heverlee, and Grimbergen. Furthermore, many other breweries in Belgium produce Abbey beer under agreement with existing monasteries or historically established ones. Abbey beer is famous for its complexity and characteristic flavors of fruit and spices. The two most popular styles of Abbey beer are dubbel (6-7% ABV) and tripel (7-9% ABV). Dubbel is a brown beer with flavors like caramel, raisins, or licorice, sometimes accompanied by a slightly burnt finish. Meanwhile, tripel is a golden beer, stronger and usually more bitter than dubbel.

Witbier: Relaxing White Beer for Sunny Days

Witbier (white beer) is an unfiltered wheat beer, giving it a characteristic cloudy appearance. This beer is often spiced with coriander and dried orange peel to create a fresh and refreshing flavor. With an alcohol content of about 5%, Witbier is an excellent choice for quenching thirst on sunny days. You can try beers like Hoegaarden, St. Bernardus Wit, Vedett Extra White, or Brugs Tarwebier (Blanche De Bruges).

Strong Blonde Beers: Powerful Golden Beers

The strong blonde beers (7-11% ABV) are golden beers with a thick foam head and high carbonation. A hint of malt sweetness is balanced with a slightly bitter finish. Prominent beers of this style include Duvel, Omer, Hapkin, and Satan Gold.

Spéciale Belge: A Distinctive Traditional Beer

Spéciale belge (4.8 – 5.5% ABV) is an authentic Belgian beer style, created in 1905 as a response to the success of German and British beers in Belgium at that time. Spéciale belge is an amber-colored beer with a gentle malty flavor, sometimes with a slightly nutty taste. Some prominent beers you can try are Pauwel Kwak, Palm, ‘Spécial’ De Ryck, and Tonneke.

Saison: Classic Farmhouse Ale

Saison is a farmhouse ale originating from the province of Hainaut, in the French-speaking region of Belgium. Originally, this beer was brewed in winter so farmers could drink it during the summer. Saison usually has a dry flavor, with spicy or hoppy notes, ranging in color from pale gold to amber, and a relatively low alcohol content (5-6.5%). Some prominent Belgian Saisons include Saison Dupont, Saison d’Erpe-Mere, Saison de Dottignies, and St-Feuillien Saison.

Brut: A Unique Combination of Beer and Champagne

Bière brut or Brut des Flanders (8-12% ABV) is a strong beer fermented in the champagne style. The production process involves rotating the bottles so the yeast settles in the bottle neck; this yeast is then removed, and the beer is topped up. The result is a refined, highly carbonated beer with dry fruit flavors. Beers you can try include DeuS, Malheur Bière Brut, and Grimbergen Magnum Opus Brut Beer.

Lambic & Geuze: Unique Sour Flavors

Lambic is a wheat beer naturally fermented from airborne yeast and aged in wooden barrels. By blending young and old Lambic, one creates Geuze, a carbonated beer with a mild sour taste. Oude Geuze, a traditional variant protected across Europe, is a highly complex beer, highly appreciated by beer experts worldwide. Geuze is a sweeter variant. Some typical producers are 3 Fonteinen, Cantillon, De Cam, and Oud Beersel.

Fruit Beer: The Sweet Combination of Fruit

Fruit beer (2.5-6% ABV) is beer brewed with fruit, fruit juice, or fruit extract. The most traditional type is Oude Kriek, produced by steeping sour cherries in lambic. Just like Oude Geuze, Oude Kriek is protected at the European level. Besides that, Kriek is a sweeter variant, and you can find many other flavored beers such as raspberry, lemon, peach, and strawberry. Some prominent fruit beer producers include Timmermans, Lindemans, and De Troch.

Flemish Sour Ales: Stylish Mixed Fermentation Beers

Flemish sour ales (4.5-8% ABV) are mixed fermentation beers, blended from old and new beer. This beer is famous in the southern part of Flanders, featuring a balance between mild sweetness and subtle sourness. Typical breweries for this style are Rodenbach, Liefmans, and ‘t Verzet.

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If you are looking to discover traditional Belgian beer styles and searching for a Place to enjoy Belgian Beer in Saigon, Belgian Restaurants like Baron Bier are the ideal place for you to experience authentic Belgian Beer culture right in the heart of the city.