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Glossary of Belgian Beer Terms

Abbey Beer
Beer which, though not brewed by monks, is nevertheless associated with a particular abbey (usually due to being brewed to an old abbey recipe). Leffe is the most well-known example - most Leffe beer is brewed at the Interbrew plant in Leuven nowhere near the Abbaye de Leffe.

Dubbel
Style of dark beer. Many breweries (especially the Trappists) brew a dubbel and tripel version of their beer, the tripel being lighter and stronger. Some monasteries also reputedly brew a single which is the monks' 'in-house' beer and not commercially available.

Gueuze
Sometimes called the 'Champagne of Beers', this slightly sour and refreshing style is a blend of old & young lambics and usually comes in a Champagne-style bottle.

Lambic
The lambic process involves brewing beer in open tanks, the fermentation being due solely to contact with airborne yeast. It is subsequently matured in oak casks for three years. Most lambics are fruit flavoured, though not all fruit beers are necessarily lambic.
Beer has been brewed in the Brussels region in this way since the 16th century.

Pils
Bottom-fermented beer relatively low in alcohol content (e.g. 5%). Examples are Stella Artois, Jupiler, Maes and Primus. Although this style represents most Belgian beer production in terms of volume, this website generally covers top-fermented beers, which are far more interesting and diverse in style.

Refermentée en Bouteille
The majority of Belgian bottled beers are refermented in the bottle, and the bi-product of this is a layer of yeast sediment which if the beer is poured carefully should remain in the bottle. Generally, the bottle should have been allowed to settle in an upright position for some time beforehand, but if, even after careful pouring into the correct glass , the beer is still cloudy then it doesn't matter, the taste will be affected a bit but the yeast is quite nutritious.

Trappist Beer
Beer brewed by Cistercian monks. There are only six Trappist breweries in the world and all are in Belgium.
They are Chimay, Westmalle, Orval, Rochefort, Westvleteren (St Sixtus) and Achel. Until 1999 the Dutch La Trappe brewery was also a Trappist but relinquished its status after going into business with a commercial brewery. Achel started up at around the same time. Trappist beers are all pretty strong, and they always bear the hexagonal 'Authentic Trappist Product' symbol.

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