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Belgian Ales

Style of the Month: Belgian Ales

There’s a reason every beer geek dreams of visiting Belgium: to explore the world’s most diverse and captivating regional ales. Spicy, fruity and complex, Belgium’s award-winning brews are ideal for winter sipping.

Ready to Explore?

Slightly smaller than Vancouver Island, Belgium is home to distinctive ales brewed by old school, artisanal methods. From the wild, Burgundy-esque ales of Flanders to the coveted, complex Trappist ales brewed by six different monasteries, to the creamy, fruity witbiers born in the village of Hoegaarden, this small country produces beers that are steeped in tradition yet continue to win over the palettes of modern drinkers.

You May Taste

Ranging in colour from blonde to deep auburn, Belgian ales are typically bubbly and light-to-medium bodied with low bitterness. Distinctive yeast strains also really drive their flavours. Look for fruity notes such as apple, anise and bubble gum, spicy notes like coriander, white peppercorn and allspice, and funky notes like horse blanket, fresh barnyard and roasted pineapples. Expect bread dough and baguette flavours from the lighter hued ales and toasted nut and caramel notes from the darker ales.
 
Sip Them With

Belgian ales are super food-friendly thanks to the fruity and spicy yeast strains as well as their grainy malt character. Higher ABV brews like Duvel and St. Bernardus Abt 12 are sublime with braised meats like beef short ribs or duck legs as well as rich, creamy desserts like crème brûlée or caramel flan. Sessionable sippers like Leffe Blonde or Leffe Brune pair perfectly with a well-seasoned roast chicken, turkey with all the fixings or a classic moules-frites. Witbiers are lovely with fish, from ceviche to sushi to seafood pasta. Any of these Belgian ales will find harmony with bold, aged cheeses served with crackers and jam.

Serving Tips

Let Belgian ales warm up for 10 to 20 minutes; their intricate flavours will unfold with every sniff and sip. A stemmed tulip or chalice is the perfect glass for most Belgian ales. Hold it by the stem if the beer is the right temperature or cup the bowl with your hands to warm it up. If you have a wheat beer glass or vase, it’s a great choice for serving witbier; the tapered lip amps up the aroma while the curves support the pillowy, frothy head.

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Beer FAQs

Your Top Questions Answered

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What is craft beer?

Craft beer is made by small-scale breweries, often independently owned, that practise traditional artisanal brewing techniques to create authentic and uniquely flavourful beers. These craft brewers may focus on either classic or lesser-known styles of traditional beer, or create innovative new modern brews. 

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How many calories are in a beer?

A standard 340-millilitre or 12-ounce beer that has five per cent alcohol by volume has about 150 calories. Styles of beer that contain more alcohol, such as IPAs, have more calories — up to 170. Light beers, which have less alcohol, have around 100 calories. While darker beers sometimes have a higher alcohol content and therefore more calories, that’s not always the case: consider Guinness Draught, a dark stout, which has just over four per cent alcohol by volume and 125 calories per 12 ounces. 

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How many beers are in a keg?

Most standard North American kegs hold 58.7 litres: in terms of standard 340-millilitre or 12-ounce bottles or cans, that’s 165 servings; if you’re counting by 16-ounce pints, its 124 servings. European beers often come in 50-litre kegs, yielding 140 340-millilitre glasses or 105 pints. Smaller 30-litre kegs (sometimes called “pony kegs”) give 82 standard beers or 62 pints. Mini-kegs (Heineken, for example) hold five litres: that’s about 10 pints or 14 glasses. 

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How is beer made?

All beer is made with four key ingredients: barley (or other grains), water, hops and yeast. First, barley is malted (meaning the grains are sprouted and then kiln-dried) to get ready for brewing. The malt is then mashed, or cooked with warm water, to create a sugary liquid called wort. The wort is boiled with flavouring hops, and then in the final step, it’s fermented with yeast, which creates the alcohol and finished beer.

There are many different styles and regional traditions of brewing, but to simplify, they basically fall into two categories: for ale, the beer is stored at room temperature while the yeast feeds on the sugar in the wort and produces CO2 and alcohol as by-products; for lager, fermentation is the same, but it happens at cooler temperatures so the process takes a little longer

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How long does beer last?

Check for an expiry or best-before date on bottles and cans: “best” is best when consumed fresh. Bottles and cans stored at room temperature are safe to drink for at least four months after purchase and up to eight months when it’s stored in the refrigerator or a cool place. Draft or craft beer stored in a glass bottle keeps for two or three days in the refrigerator when tightly capped. And remember, keep beer away from light: it can develop a “skunky” flavour from a chemical reaction to UV light, which is why it’s usually packaged in cans or dark glass bottles.

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What is beer made of?

Most beer is made from just barley, water, hops and yeast. That’s all! Each ingredient contributes to the beer’s flavour, as do the specifics of the production process. Some brewers may use other grains, such as corn, rye, rice, wheat or even oats, to produce different types of beer. Some styles even incorporate additional flavouring ingredients, including fruits and herbs.