The best Belgian beer is Chimay Blue, the Trappist dark strong ale from Scourmont Abbey that is still the benchmark for the whole country, deep, warming and endlessly complex. That is my verdict after buying and tasting ten of the most iconic Belgian beers side by side, every one out of my own pocket, and scoring each on aroma, balance, body and drinkability.
I am Dan, and beer is my life. I have been an active homebrewer for over 10 years and have tasted breweries all over the world. This guide is built from my own tasting notes, with honest scores and a full review behind every pick. You can read more about me or see everything I have reviewed on my author page.
Belgium does not really have one beer style, it has a whole world of them. Below is the best Belgian beer for every mood, from the Trappist dark strongs and golden strong ales through the abbey tripels to a proper lambic sour. A quick note on the map: Trappist beers are brewed inside a working monastery, abbey beers borrow the tradition without the monks, and lambics are wild-fermented sours that taste like nothing else on earth. I have ranked them together here because that is how people actually shop for Belgian beer.
The Best Belgian Beers, Ranked
Here is the short version, ranked by how they actually taste. Full reviews are linked under each pick.
| Rank | Beer | Style | ABV | Calories | Our score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chimay Blue | Belgian dark strong ale (Trappist) | 9.0% | 250 | 4.8/5 |
| 2 | Duvel | Belgian golden strong ale | 8.5% | 230 | 4.7/5 |
| 3 | Gulden Draak 9000 | Belgian strong ale (quadruple) | 10.5% | 290 | 4.5/5 |
| 4 | Affligem Tripel | Belgian abbey tripel | 9.0% | 250 | 4.4/5 |
| 5 | Chimay Red | Belgian dubbel (Trappist) | 7.0% | 200 | 4.4/5 |
| 6 | Delirium Tremens | Belgian golden strong ale | 8.5% | 230 | 4.3/5 |
| 7 | Gouden Carolus Classic | Belgian dark strong ale | 8.5% | 240 | 4.2/5 |
| 8 | Lindemans Cuvee Rene | Belgian oude gueuze (lambic) | 5.5% | 150 | 4.1/5 |
| 9 | Piraat Ale | Belgian strong pale ale | 10.5% | 290 | 4.0/5 |
| 10 | Petrus Aged Red | Flanders red sour ale | 8.5% | 220 | 4.0/5 |
The Best Belgian Beers at a Glance
Swipe through the top picks and tap any card to jump straight to the full write-up.
Best Belgian Beer Overall: Chimay Blue
Chimay Blue, also sold as Grande Reserve, is the beer that shows why Belgium sits at the top of the brewing world. It is a genuine Trappist dark strong, brewed inside Scourmont Abbey, with layers of dark fruit, spice and warming alcohol that keep unfolding as it warms. It also ages beautifully, so it is worth buying a couple to keep.
Belgian dark strong Trappist ale, 9% ABV, around 250 calories. Rich, fruity and warming, and one of the great beers of the world.
- Genuine Trappist beer with real pedigree
- Rich dried-fruit and spice complexity
- Dry finish keeps 9% dangerously drinkable
- Ages superbly for a couple of years
- Strong enough to sneak up on you
- Pricier than everyday beers
- The dark, fruity profile is not a summer quencher
Serve it right: A Trappist dark strong deserves a wide-bowled goblet or Belgian chalice that lets the aroma open up and supports a big, lasting head. A stemmed tulip does the same job beautifully if you do not have a chalice.
- Also worth trying: Gouden Carolus Classic
Pairing it with food? Try our beer and food pairing guide. More like this in our Chimay Red review.
Best Belgian Golden Strong Ale: Duvel
Duvel is the beer that defined the golden strong style, and it is still the one every other brewer copies. It looks like an innocent pale ale and drinks like a wolf in sheep’s clothing, with a huge rocky head, a bone-dry finish and 8.5% ABV hidden behind pear and pepper. Pour it cold into a proper tulip and let the head build.
Belgian golden strong ale, 8.5% ABV, around 230 calories. Deceptively pale, fiercely fizzy and dangerously easy to drink.
- The definitive Belgian golden strong ale
- Huge, beautiful head and lively carbonation
- Crisp, dry and dangerously drinkable
- Consistent quality bottle after bottle
- The 8.5% hides too well for its own good
- Needs a big glass and a careful pour
- Very dry finish is not for sweet-tooths
Serve it right: A strong Belgian ale shows best in a stemmed tulip glass that funnels the fruit-and-spice aroma to the nose and gives the rocky head room to form. This LAV set is made in Europe.
- Also worth trying: Delirium Tremens
Pairing it with food? Try our beer and food pairing guide. More like this in our Gulden Draak 9000 review.
Best Belgian Sipping Beer: Gulden Draak 9000
If you want the full, decadent Belgian experience in one bottle, Gulden Draak 9000 is it. This 10.5% quadruple is dark, rich and boozy, all caramel, dark fruit and a warming finish that begs to be sipped slowly beside a fire. It is a dessert in a glass, not a session beer.
Belgian strong ale, 10.5% ABV, around 290 calories. Deep, sweet, warming and unapologetically strong.
- Big, warming, richly malty character
- Loads of dried-fruit and caramel depth
- Distinctive and easy to spot on the shelf
- A single 750ml bottle goes a long way
- At 10.5% it is a sipper, not a session
- Sweeter and hotter than some like
- The alcohol warmth is very noticeable
Serve it right: A Trappist dark strong deserves a wide-bowled goblet or Belgian chalice that lets the aroma open up and supports a big, lasting head. A stemmed tulip does the same job beautifully if you do not have a chalice.
- Also worth trying: Gouden Carolus Classic
Pairing it with food? Try our beer and food pairing guide. More like this in our Piraat Ale review.
Best Belgian Abbey Tripel: Affligem Tripel
Affligem Tripel is a textbook example of the golden abbey tripel: pale, deceptively smooth and dangerously drinkable for a 9% beer. There is honey, orchard fruit and a soft spiciness from the yeast, with just enough bitterness to keep the sweetness in check. A brilliant introduction to the tripel style.
Belgian abbey tripel, 9% ABV, around 250 calories. Golden, spicy and warming with a surprisingly drinkable finish.
- Classic banana-and-spice tripel character
- Well balanced and drinkable for 9%
- Widely available and good value
- A great introduction to the style
- Less complex than the abbey and Trappist tripels
- Big-brewery ownership will bother purists
- Still a strong beer that sneaks up on you
Serve it right: A strong Belgian ale shows best in a stemmed tulip glass that funnels the fruit-and-spice aroma to the nose and gives the rocky head room to form. This LAV set is made in Europe.
- Also worth trying: Duvel
Pairing it with food? Try our beer and food pairing guide. More like this in our Chimay Blue review.
Best Belgian Sour: Lindemans Cuvee Rene
For something completely different, Lindemans Cuvee Rene is a traditional oude gueuze, the wild-fermented sour of the Brussels region. It is tart, funky and bone-dry, with a Champagne-like sparkle from bottle refermentation. It is the most challenging beer on this list and the most rewarding once it clicks.
Traditional oude gueuze lambic, around 5.5% ABV, roughly 150 calories. Tart, funky and bone dry, and utterly unlike any other beer.
- A genuine traditional unsweetened gueuze
- Complex, funky and endlessly interesting
- Bone dry and superb with rich food
- A real champagne alternative at the table
- The tartness and funk are polarising
- Nothing like a conventional beer
- Pricier than everyday bottles
Serve it right: A strong Belgian ale shows best in a stemmed tulip glass that funnels the fruit-and-spice aroma to the nose and gives the rocky head room to form. This LAV set is made in Europe.
- Also worth trying: Petrus Aged Red
Pairing it with food? Try our beer and food pairing guide. More like this in our Petrus Aged Red review.
Explore More Beer Guides
Want to go wider? These guides cover the rest of the beer world:
Belgian Beer FAQs
What makes a beer Belgian?
Belgian beer is defined less by one style and more by a way of brewing. Belgian brewers lean on expressive yeasts that throw fruity and spicy flavours, higher strengths, and centuries-old traditions like Trappist and abbey brewing and wild lambic fermentation. The result is a range that runs from pale golden strongs to dark, raisiny dubbels and mouth-puckering sours.
What is the difference between Trappist and abbey beer?
A Trappist beer must be brewed inside a working Trappist monastery, under the monks’ control, with profits going to the community or charity. There are only a handful in the world, and Chimay is one of them. An abbey beer uses the same monastic styles and often a real abbey’s name, but is brewed commercially, like Affligem. The styles overlap, the certification does not.
What is the strongest Belgian beer here?
Gulden Draak 9000 and Piraat both come in at 10.5% ABV, the strongest in this guide. They are sipping beers, best poured into a small glass and taken slowly. Even the mid-pack Belgians like Duvel and Delirium sit around 8.5%, so none of these are session beers.
What is a Belgian gueuze?
A gueuze is a blend of young and old lambic, the wild-fermented sour beer of the Brussels region. It is refermented in the bottle, which gives it a Champagne-like sparkle, and it tastes bracingly tart, funky and dry. Lindemans Cuvee Rene is a traditional example. It is the most acquired taste on this list and worth trying at least once.
How We Test and Score
Every beer here was bought with my own money and tasted properly, not skimmed from a spec sheet. I score each on aroma, balance, body, drinkability and how well it does the job it is built for. Simple beers are not marked down for being simple, but the ones with real character and balance score higher. You can see every score on the individual beer reviews.
Looking for a stronger, funkier tripel? See our Golden Monkey review from Victory Brewing.
