Beer Styles

The Westhoek's most famous beer is a dark strong ale. Westvleteren 12 and St. Bernardus Abt 12 are often called Quadrupels, though that's a brand-origin term, not an official style category. The BJCP competition guidelines classify such beers as "Belgian Dark Strong Ale": reddish-brown to blackish-brown, with aromas of raisin, fig, caramel, and spice.

The Tripel is the golden counterpart. Pale yellow to golden, dry and spicy, with more alcohol than its color would suggest. The yeast contributes pepper and fruit, the sugar keeps it light. Pour a Tripel and a Dark Strong Ale side by side, and you'll notice that color and strength don't necessarily go hand in hand.

In between sits the Blond. It's milder, with six to seven and a half percent alcohol by style guidelines, and easier drinking. Westvleteren, by its own account, brews three beers: Blond, 8, and 12. Taste them side by side, and the family resemblance is unmistakable.

The difference from the neighboring style is easy to remember. A German Weissbier lives on banana and clove from wheat; a Belgian Tripel lives on pepper and fruit from barley and candi sugar. A Pilsner is cool, bitter, and crisp, while a strong Belgian ale is warm, round, and long. The difference between a Dubbel and a Dark Strong Ale also mostly comes down to strength: the Dubbel stays under eight percent, the Dark Strong Ale goes beyond it. Westvleteren 12 and Abt 12 are firmly on the strong side.