French Belgian Ale

This recipe takes inspiration from the lighter, easier-drinking blonde ales that the Belgian Trappist monks brew largely for themselves—but you can have some, too.

Much of the attention often goes to bigger beers—such as the famed dubbels and tripels from Belgium’s monastery breweries—but don’t let that keep you from appreciating the smaller ales in life.

Based on discussions with Rochefort brewmaster Gumer Santos, here’s a homebrew-scale recipe inspired by the Trappist abbey’s strongest dark ale—with notes on how to adjust the recipe to approximate the 6 or 8.

In Belgium’s Namur province, at the Notre-Dame de Saint-Rémy abbey, head brewer Gumer Santos shares some of the methods that go into the Brasserie des Trappistes Rochefort’s highly regarded dark ales—as well as its newer blonde triple.

From Shawn Cooper and Joran Van Gingerachter of Atlanta’s Halfway Crooks, here’s a recipe for their own “brewer’s beer”—a dry, bitter, quenching pale ale packed with Belgian-grown hops and accentuated by careful yeast expression.

From beer-baron bobbleheads to bespoke barrel-aged blends, here are a few recs from our editors.

This Belgian-style amber ale should serve as a fine vehicle for any “concrete” sugar such as panela, piloncillo, rapadura, tapa de dulce, or jaggery.

You voted, and we tallied. Here are your favorite breweries broken down in categories by beer barrels brewed.