Style family · 5 styles · node 08 of 11

Belgian

Abbey lineage on American labels — dubbels, tripels, saisons, table beers. Labels here are often a brewery's passion project line, which makes them worth watching even at low volume.

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Labels: 675
This week: 10
Median ABV: 7.0%

Styles in this family

Saison 311Quad / Belgian Strong 167Belgian Blonde / Pale 88Tripel 75Dubbel 34

Saison311 labels: Farmhouse ale: dry, peppery, highly carbonated, historically a harvest beer and now a brewer's canvas — with fruit, with Brett, with grisette's lighter cut. Saison labels often come from a brewery's most personal line. A vintage or a farm named on the label is common and worth noting.
Quad / Belgian Strong167 labels: Quadrupel and the Belgian strong dark and golden ales: the top shelf of the abbey tradition, 9% and beyond, often vintage-dated. Rare labels with a long cellar life, and a few are among the most sought labels on Hop Grail. Quad on the label is plain; strong golden ale sometimes hides under a proprietary name.
Belgian Blonde / Pale88 labels: Belgian blonde and pale ale: golden, yeast-expressive, moderate strength, the abbey tradition's approachable door. Labelled at low volume by breweries with a Belgian program, often as a year-round anchor for the rest of the line. Blonde on a label can also mean an American blonde ale; the yeast language separates them.
Tripel75 labels: Belgian tripel: pale, strong, dry, deceptively light for its 8 to 10%. Labelled sparingly and usually as a special release. When a brewery gets a tripel approved, it tends to also get a saison and a blonde approved in the same season — the abbey line arrives together.
Dubbel34 labels: Belgian dubbel and abbey brown: dark candi sugar, raisin and bread, moderate strength. A small, steady set of labels from breweries that keep an abbey line. The label usually says dubbel or abbey-style; look for the sugar and the yeast in the fine print.