Top Belgian Beers

Are you looking for the top Belgian beers? If yes, you are in the right place. The art of brewing beer is centuries old and originated in 9,000 BC in Mesopotamia. Beer found its way to other civilizations, from Egypt to the Roman Empire to medieval Europe and modern times.

Today, Belgium is home to the world’s best beers, boasting uniqueness in character, taste, and style, thanks to innovative brewing knowledge. That’s why Belgian brewers always sweep the board at international beer competitions. Read on!

What is a Belgian Beer?

The traditional method of making beer involves the use of water, hops, and barely. However, brewers also add wheat to create citrusy and crispy flavors. Brewing companies add a yeast culture to the mash derived from the mixture to convert sugars into alcohol and carbon dioxide.

Many breweries in Belgium add rough grains, such as maize or rice, to maintain the beer’s stability and taste. Also, hops are essential ingredients in the brewing process because they give the beer its bitterness and improve its preservation.

Not only do Belgian breweries use classic bitter hops, but they are also turning to more aromatic hops to achieve fruity flavors. On the other hand, Lambic brewers use aged and dried hops to achieve less bitterness in their beers.

Spontaneous fermentation beers and mixed fermentation beers are two unique Belgian beer types. The spontaneous fermentation does not involve inoculation of hops and Lambic wort with a yeast culture.

However, the process involves exposing the hopped wort to the cool air outside, which results in spontaneous beer fermentation. Although companies and individuals can brew beers anywhere, there is nothing like the microflora found in the air in the South Western region of Brussels. There are numerous categories and classifications of top Belgian Beers. These include but are not limited to:

1. Top-fermenting beers:

Trappist
Abbey Beer
White Beer
Blonde Beers
Strong Blonde Beer
Amber Beers
Dark Beers
Stout Beer
Scotch Ales
Barley Wine

2. Spontaneous fermentation beers:

Lambic
Oude geuze
Geuze

3. Beers of mixed fermentation:

India Pale Ale
Biere Brut (local Belgian beer type)
Fruit beer
Versnijbier
Vlaams Bruin

There are dozens of brands and hundreds of beer products available on the market. However, not all of them are the best. We have done tremendous research on beers. Based on our findings and personal experience, we recommend the following top Belgian beer brands if you want to satisfy your liquor taste buds. Continue reading!

Westmalle Trappist Tripel

If you are wondering what is a tripel beer, Westmalle Trappist Tripel gives you the answer. It is one of the best Belgian beers in the world. It is a blond Trappist Ale brewed in Antwerp, offering unique flavors, freshness, and taste. Not only has Westmalle Trappist Tripel a rich malty flavor that tastes great, but it also has citrusy elements, such as lemon-infused caramel, allowing you to enjoy the most refreshing beer.

Sometimes, we think Westmalle Trappist Tripel tastes like banoffee pie due to its creamy texture and fresh aromas from grapefruit cloves and coriander. Anyway, you can pair this top Belgian premium beer with any food item, but it tastes incredible with fish pie. We are sure you will love Westmalle Trappist Tripel.

Liefmans Kriek Brut

Liefmans is a reputable brewery with years of experience producing some of the world’s best Belgian beer. However, the company’s Kriek Brut is second to none, thanks to its sour, toasty, and complex Lambic Ales combined with cherries.

The ruby-colored beer feels and tastes delicious. Liefmans Kriek Brut is available in different flavors, including sour taste, maraschino cherries, and marzipan. No matter which flavor you choose, you will always enjoy freshness, soothing aroma, and taste, making Liefmans a special velvety-texture beer.

Oude Geuze Boon

Oude Geuze Boon Lambic is one of the top Belgian beers with unique features, such as natural and earthy sourness, smoothness, and less salty. The addition of hazelnuts, banana chips, toffee, and toast make this Lambic beer smoother, sour, and delicious.

Besides, one thing that makes Brouwerij Boon unique from other Belgian beer brands is the 100% spontaneous fermentation style. Oude Geuze Boon uses 18 months old unpasteurized, unfiltered, and unsweetened Lambic, making it one of the finest beers in the world, an award-winning Belgian premium beer.

The 100% pure fermentation process loads the Oude Geuze Boon Lambic with probiotics, improving your digestive system. The sour taste is due to various compounds rich in antioxidants. So, if you are looking to taste the healthiest beer, look no further than Oude Geuze Boon Lambic. Who knows, maybe you will even visit the Brouwerij Boon brewery for the ultimate experience.

La Chouffe Blond Ale

La Chouffe Blond Ale is the epitome of Belgian beers. Sourced from the Ardennes region, La Chouffe Bond Ale is loaded with blond ale infused with coriander to produce a peppery, refreshing, and delicious flavor.

Once you taste this Belgian style ale, you will want the experience again and again because it quenches your thirst, thanks to the refreshing aroma, herby notes, the sweetness of grapefruit, and aromatic cloves.

In addition, La Chouffe is an unfiltered and re-fermented blond beer with a pleasant, fruity, and spiced flavor with a mild taste of hops that creates a perfect balance of ingredients. The intense golden-yellow color and creamy texture are second to none.

Orval Trappist Ale

Orval Trappist Ale is one of the top Belgian beer for a reason – the subtle, citrusy, hops-based brewing that leaves all beer products behind. The awesome-looking bronze color and unique aromas of nutty caramel with the boosted freshness of floral undertones make Orval Trappist Ale the essence of Belgian premium beer.

You will love the diverse taste of Orval Trappist Ale. First, it feels citrusy and then malty, sweeter, and softer, and by the time you take the final sip, the beer will taste crispy and dry. Brasserie d'Orval S.A., the brewing company, also uses ingredients like raisins, pear, cherry, apple, and dates to make the best Trappist beer and also gives out tips on how to correctly serve Orval beer.

Final Words

The top Belgian beers are the staple drinks in every adult event across the world. Whether fermented, spontaneous fermented or a mix of fermentation, the taste of Belgian beer releases dopamine and serotonin hormones in your brain, elevating your mood and suppressing stress. The aromatic molecules, different fruity ingredients, sourness, freshness, and state-of-the-art brewing process make Belgian beers an essential item on every drinker’s bucket list.

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