7 Things to Know About Drinking Beer in Belgium

There are several things that Belgium is known for and beer is most certainly one. Sure there are other things to do while visiting Belgium, in between beer breaks that is. But you quickly learn that beer in Belgium is much more than a beverage or means of getting drunk. There’s a craft and culture to it here that you’d be hard-pressed to find anywhere else in the world.

Any visit to Belgium can easily include moments to experience Belgian beer culture, whether it’s a brewery tour or simply a visit to a beer cafe. That being said, it’s worth knowing a few things before you embark on a journey into this infinite realm of blondes, stouts and ales. If you want to make the most of drinking beer in Belgium and come out the other side not looking foolish, here are some things you really ought to know.

1. They Take Beer Seriously

Don’t even bother trying to convince a Belgian that any other nationality’s beer compares. They won’t have it. There’s an immense sense of pride in the history, quality and range of the country’s beer.

Each new destination you visit, you’re bound to find a great variety of local drops to try – some that might only be available in that town or pub, as well as the more common regional beers. I mean, even animal shelters make their own beer! So if you like beer, it stands to reason that you’ll always find at least one beer you like wherever you are.

Interestingly, the beers aren’t always centuries old (plenty are that old mind you), but there are still many new breweries popping up across the country. This surely has had a positive impact on the Belgian beer industry, letting it both respect its history as well as experiment to continue mastering the craft.

Belgium has over 400 different beers by some estimates. However, given the turnover in breweries, the types of beers they craft, and how localised distribution is for smaller breweries, it is almost impossible to know exactly how many types of Belgian beers exist.

Not content with just drinking beer, Belgians find all sorts of uses for it. It’s used as an ingredient in dishes like stoverij, a delicious and hearty beef stew that I often order in Belgium. Mechelen is a great destination to explore this, as you can find beer in their local cheese as well as their apple pie.

It’s also very common to buy bottled beer in Belgium rather than draught beer at a bar, cafe or restaurant. This is likely because most places have extensive beer lists, meaning you have far more choices than your average bar or pub in other countries. As such, don’t be surprised if the beer menu is pages longer than that of the actual food. And while some restaurants offer wine-pairing suggestions, you’ll find restaurants in Belgium that have beer-pairing suggestions instead.

2. Each Beer Has Its Own Glass

In most countries around the world, you simply drink beer out of a standard pint glass or mug. In Belgium however, each brand of beer warrants its own degustation glass. And no, this isn’t some marketing ploy to trick tourists into buying all sorts of glasses. The idea is that the distinct shape of each glass is designed to bring out the unique flavours and character of the beer.

For the majority of beer in Belgium, the glasses won’t seem all that unusual. You’ll find that most beers come with goblet or tulip glasses, which seem quite fitting for such distinguished beer. Then there are the weird ones.

The most unusual I’ve come across is the glass for Kwak. Sort of shaped like a test tube with a rounded bottom, the Kwak glass requires its own wooden frame to keep it upright. The beer’s name is said to come from the glass’s inventor, who designed it in the time of Napoleon for coach drivers as they were not allowed to get off their carriage when passing or arriving at inns.

Yet, I was told it comes from the sound of the beer sloshing as air rushes to fill the bottom of the glass as you drain it. Yes, this beer even requires the right technique to drink it!

It’s not only the shape of the glass in Belgium that shows how seriously they take the pouring of the beer. In many beer cafes and restaurants, it’s best to let the staff serve the beer for you so that they may pour that specific beer correctly.

3. It’s Stronger Than It Looks

In other countries, you’ll generally find beers that are somewhere around 3-5% alcohol. The strength of beers doesn’t usually vary much either. Not so in Belgium, where not only can beers be incredibly strong, but they’re able to completely mask it. While at home you may regularly enjoy a few beers and feel absolutely normal, drinking a few Belgian beers can have a drastically greater impact on your sobriety.

This is also reflected in the size of bottles and drinks served to you in bars and restaurants. In other parts of Europe, beers tend to come in 330 ml and 500 ml bottles, but Belgian beer mostly comes in 330 ml bottles in these establishments.

Draught beer sizes tend to be smaller too, and its unlikely you’ll be leaving the bar with a 1-litre mug. The exception probably is the hefty “The Max” yard glass at De Dulle Griet in Ghent, where you have to trade in your shoe to the bar for your drink. This is to stop you from running off with the unique glass, or at least running off with both of your shoes.

4. Trappist Beers

There may be no bigger buzzword in the world of Belgian beer than “Trappist“. It immediately lends the beer an air of exclusivity and authority. So what does it mean for something to be a Trappist beer?

The Trappists are actually a monastic order originating out of the La Trappe Monastery in France. Historically, many monasteries had their own breweries as a means to serve their community or provide for themselves. Most of the Trappist monasteries were lost to history, their numbers dwindling to more or less a dozen.

After the concept of Trappist beers grew in popularity in the 20th century, a group formed to restrict the use of the label to those who strictly follow the tenets of the Trappist Order. Today you can find 12 monastic breweries worldwide whose products bear the authentic Trappist logo – 6 of whom are in Belgium, with 3 in Flanders and 3 in Wallonia.

An important component of monastic breweries earning the distinction of Trappist is that the breweries must be operated as non-profits, with revenue reinvested in the monastery or its brewing work. As such, there are also many Abbey beers and breweries that don’t have to adhere to the strict Trappist regulations.

Likely the most famous of the Trappist beers is Westvleteren 12 brewed by the Saint Sixtus Abbey in Vleteren. After all, it is frequently referred to as the best beer in the world. Demand for this abbey’s beer is even higher since the monks only brew a relatively small amount of the beer, only enough to support the abbey and no more.

In turn, the process for purchasing the beer is quite strict, involving pre-ordering over the phone, a one-case limit and the taking down of your licence plate and phone number. And so, all of this feeds into the reputation of the Trappist beers.

5. The Humble Pintje

On the other end of the scale from Trappist beers is the humble pintje. A slang word, pintje refers to the country’s fairly standard lagers like Maes, Jupiler and Stella Artois.

There’s nothing wrong with these beers, they can just be looked at as fairly common and basic. If you like these beers because they’re familiar that’s fine, but I do think it’s worth exploring more local brews as well. To order a basic lager in a beer cafe or bar, you can gesture at the bar with your pinky for a pintje.

During a heavy drinking occasion like Aalst Carnival, Belgians will stick to drinking pintjes. This is because it’s easier to drink with a lower alcohol content, not to mention cheaper in bulk. They also seem to be the rare case where it is okay to drink out of the can rather than from a glass. Fun fact – one of the most popular pintjes Jupiler actually renamed itself to “Belgium” for the World Cup!

6. Dubbel and Tripel Time

There are two other words regarding Belgian beer worth getting acquainted with – “Dubbel” and “Tripel“. You’re bound to come across the terms as you look through a beer list as they’re very common in Belgium. Both terms appear to be based on Trappist beers by the Westmalle Brewery and describe the character of beer that these specific beers typified.

Beers with the label Dubbel are typically dark, heavy and strong brown ales that bear a resemblance to an old Westmalle beer, the Dubbel Bruin. Tripels on the other hand are generally a strong pale ale similar to the Westmalle Tripel which sparked the term’s popularity.

It seems there’s a general understanding that the names also relate to the amount of grains used in brewing the beer, which in turn affects the relative strength of the beers. The alcohol content of Belgian beers varies from brew to brew but often you’ll find Tripels with 8-9% compared to the 6-7% of many Dubbels. Not strong enough? Then why not venture into Quadrupel territory, with beers like Gulden Draak that are 10.5%?

7. Why Not Try a Fruit Beer?

When people think of Belgian beers, they likely envision pale lagers, blonde ales or thick stouts. What they probably don’t expect however is a broad variety of fruit beers. Yes, Belgium doesn’t discriminate against fruit beers and they’re not just restricted to the realm of microbreweries here.

Probably the most common fruit beer is Kriek, a sour cherry beer. Traditionally out of Flanders, kriek is typically a lambic beer, which means it is made with wild yeast and bacteria. Some brewers exclusively brew kriek beers, while others supplement their range with a single offering. For the latter, they usually market the beer with the “rouge” name, eg. Silly Rouge which I tried in Tournai.

The are actually two types of lambic beer: kriek and geuze. Whereas kriek often offers a fruity flavour, geuze is more likely to be dry and sour, making it a refreshing choice when drinking in summer. It’s usually easy to tell a geuze beer, as they come in a champagne-style bottle complete with cork. This style of beer is iconic to the Brussels and the Brabant regions, and often bears the nickname “Brussels Champagne”.

If you consider yourself a beer purist, I recommend leaving your judgements at the door until you’ve at least given kriek or geuze a try. After all, one of the joys of travel is experiencing new or different things.

Bonus: Belgian Beer Recommendations

With hundreds of beers out there, you’re probably looking for somewhere to start, right?

Like all things, it’s going to come down to personal taste, but I’m happy to provide a few of my favourites as personal recommendations. So one no-brainer for me is Delirium, the beer with the pink elephant. A blonde tripel this is my go-to beer as it’s very common and quite easy to drink.

Another safe choice in my opinion is La Chouffe, another blonde but stronger and more fruity flavour. Of course, my last recommendation could be Westvleteren but that seems obvious, so instead I’ll go with Swaf Tripel by the Brasserie de Silly since I actually met one of the brewers.

What would you like to know about beer in Belgium? What are your favourite Belgian beers? Please share your thoughts and questions in the comments below.