comprises the most varied and numerous collection of beers in the world. Belgian beer-brewing's origins go back to the in the country, producing about 500 standard beers. When special one-off beer styles are included, the total number of types of Belgian beer exceeds 1000.
These days, Belgian beers are sold in brown (or sometimes dark green) tinted glass bottles (to avoid negative effects of light on the beverage) and sealed with a cork, a metal crown cap, or sometimes both. Some beers are refermented (subjected to a final fermentation phase) in the bottle. These are often labeled "bottle-conditioned." Although many major brands of beer are available at most supermarkets, beverage centers located throughout the country generally offer a far wider selection, albeit at somewhat higher prices.
Fortunately, Belgium contains literally thousands of pubs (called cafés in Belgium) in spread throughout the country that offer a wide selection of beers usually served with care. To fully appreciate the wide variety of tastes in Belgian beers, each beer should be served at its "ideal" temperature (which is usually in the range of cellar temperature: 8–15°C or 46–59°F) and in an appropriate glass. The vast majority of Belgian beers are sold only in bottles—tap beers tend mostly to be pilsners and the occasional one-off. For the more adventurous, vintage beers are becoming somewhat easier to find. Beers that are bottle-conditioned and then aged often experience a taste evolution that, when successful, vastly improves the flavor of the beer.
Although there are hundreds of beer cafés throughout Belgium, among the most famous are "Beer Circus," "L'atelier," "Moeder Lambic," and "Delirium Café" in Brussels ; "de Kulminator" and "Kats" in Antwerp , "De Garre" and "t Brugs Beertje" in Bruges , "Het Hemelrijk" in Hasselt and "Het waterhuis aan de bierkant", "Hopduvel" and "Trappistenhuis" in Ghent .
Virtually each beer has its own glass. Beyond the basic shape of the glass (wide-mouth goblet, curvacious tulip glass, tall pilsener, etc), each glass is imprinted with a logo or name. The different basic shapes are designed to enhance the flavor and aroma of the particular beer.
Different bottle sizes exist: 250 ml, 330 ml, 375 ml, 750 ml and multiples of 750. The 375 ml size is usually for lambics. Other beers are generally bottled in 250 or 330 format (depending on brands). The bigger bottles (750 ml) are sold almost in every food shop but the choice is often not wide. Larger size bottles are named following the terminology used for Champagne but are quite rare. In Belgian cafés, when someone orders a ''demi'' (English: "half"), he receives a 500 ml glass (with beer from the tap, or from 2 bottles of 250 ml) whereas in France, ''demi'' means a 250 ml glass.
- Pilsner-style lager, or '', while Jupiler is the most popular in Belgium, along with Maes Pils .
- which often contains spices, such as coriander and orange peel. Some classical examples are La Binchoise Blond, Hoegaarden , Brugs and Steendonk .
- Abbey beers: these are top-fermented ales which are either associated in some way with an abbey or an imitation of abbey-style brewing. A few of these beers are still produced in abbey breweries to centuries-old recipes, while most are merely licensed by an abbey. The most internationally well-known brand of Abbey beer is Interbrew's Leffe . Others include Grimbergen , Tripel Karmeliet, Maredsous, Watou , Saint-Feuillien , Floreffe , and Val-Dieu .
- , Grimbergen).
- , Brugse Tripel ).
- Quadrupel: Even stronger than a tripel, these add an additional fermentation phase. Rochefort 10 and La Trappe Quadrupel are examples.
- Blond beers: like Duvel , Delirium Tremens , Blond Ciney and '' Brigand ''.
- Brown beers: try Kwak , Brown Ciney or Forbidden Fruit .
- monastery. For a beer to qualify for this category, the entire production process must be carried out by, or supervised by, Trappist monks on the site of the monastery. Only seven monasteries currently meet this qualification, all of which are in Belgium or the Netherlands. The current Trappist brands are Achel , Chimay , La Trappe , Orval , Rochefort , Westmalle , and Westvleteren .
- s endemic to the vicinity of Brussels . There are various types of Lambics. In its most natural form, Lambic is a draught beer which is rarely bottled, and thus only available in its area of production and one or two cafes in Brussels. Major brands include Mort Subite , Belle Vue , Cantillon and Saint-Louis . Some more mainstream brewers like Mort Subite and St. Louis do not suscribe to the orthodox rules of lambic production, adding extra sugars to sweeten their beers. Gueuze , also known informally as Brussels Champagne, is a sparkling beer produced by combining a young Lambic with more mature vintages. Exponents of this style are Girardin , Oud Beersel, Drie Fontijnen , Cantillon and Boon . Fruit beers are made by adding fruit or fruit concentrate to Lambic beer. The most common type is Kriek (made with Cherries ). Other fruits used are Raspberry ( Framboos ), Peach and Blackcurrant .
- 'Belgian Red': typified by Rodenbach, the epynomous brand that started this type over a century ago, this beer's distinguishing features from a technical viewpoint are a specially roasted malt, fermentation by a mixture of several 'ordinary' high-fermenting yeasts and a lactobacillus culture (the same type of bacteria yoghurt is made with) and maturation in oak. The result is a mildly strong 'drinking' beer with a deep reddish-brown color and a distinctly acidic yet fruity and mouthy taste.
- Amber beers. Modifications of British-style ales (hence high-fermenting) that were developed in the first half of the twentieth century to accommodate the discerning Belgian taste. The undisputed market leader Palm has an extremely mouthy, almost gluey taste. The De Koninck brand with its distinctive spherical glasses ('bollekes') is wildly popular in its native city Antwerp , being one of the many sources of pride to her notoriously chauvinistic locals.
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