Belgian Beer & Brewing Terms

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.

A malty, strong French-style ale.

The designation "abbey beers" originally applied to any monastic or monastic-style beer.

Regular bruin or brune beers such as Grottenbier (nl) are darker than amber ales, less sour than Flemish brown ale, and less strong than dubbel.

Shallow cooling vessels used in the production of lambic beer.

The dubbel (also double) is a Belgian beer style. It is a characteristically brown, bottle conditioned ale whose alcohol content varies between 6 and 8% abv. The name of the beer is indicative of its higher alcohol content in comparison with the Trappist monks’ usual lunchtime beer. The dubbel may have been served inside the abbey on religious holidays but was mainly produced to be sold outside to support the abbey. Other Trappist breweries have introduced similar beers, and many commercial breweries in Belgium have since taken to calling their strong dark ales “dubbels”.

A version of Belgium's "wild-fermented" wheat beer, which is the result of blending Lambic of "one summer" with old Lambic and chaptalized with candy sugar. Faro is an intriguing balance of wineyness and sweetness. This was probably the beer being served in Breugel's paintings of Flemish Village Life. (Lindemans description)

This term has been used for beers, especially in Belgium, to indicate a more elaborate version of a brand.

Gueuze (also spelled Geuze) is a lambic style beer. It is made by blending young (1-year-old) and old (2–3-year-old) lambics into a new beer, which is then bottled for a second fermentation. Because the young lambic is not fully fermented, it contains fermentable sugars, which allow the second fermentation to occur.

Flemish black cherry used in some types of lambic and fruit beers.