The nation of Belgium is a unique microcosm of many things, not the least of which is beer. Despite its small size, and the massive lager brewing influence of neighbouring Germany, Belgium maintains its own near completely unique model of beer and brewing. A tiny ecosystem of styles that are rare to encounter, and even rarer to see produced abroad.
While the various types of these beers are myriad, it’s the small stable of ‘abbey ales’ that are most famous, and that most inform international re-creations. Hops are an afterthought in these beers, with the majority of the flavour driven by aggressive, highly attenuated yeast strains. These impart a great deal of character during fermentation, expressing strongly phenolic spice notes of clove and pepper, as well as esters that can manifest as a distinctly fruity or even bubblegum aroma. An invert sugar, often referred to as ‘candi sugar’ is also added to boost the final %abv. These practices are otherwise anathema to the modern conventions of clean drinking, malt and hop driven beer.
These abbey ales can be broken down into four core styles. Enkle, or Single, which is a comparatively low (5%abv) blond beer. While almost never produced here, it will very occasionally find its way to New Zealand markets in the form of Belgian brewed six packs, with the Palm brand being the most commonly available. The first of the ‘serious’ abbey beers is Dubbel. A rich and significantly malt driven brown ale, typically brewed above 6%abv, that melds yeast character with malt complexity. Dubbel’s presents a very broad spectrum of flavours that can range from very sweet and fruity to dry and nutty with a slightly sour Oloroso sherry character, particularly if allowed to age.
Next is Tripel, which is rare to see under 8%abv and often presented over 10%. A peculiar outlier to its stablemates, brewed with a very high proportion of sugar to the malt. This results in a pale gold pour and deceptively light body, which is incongruous with its high strength. The aroma and flavour are almost entirely derived from the yeast character, making it the most acutely descriptive example of Belgian beer.
Finally there’s Quadrupel, a return to the dark and rich style of Dubbel, but brewed to the limit, almost always achieving double digits in %abv. These exceptional ales are very much beer through the lens of winemaking; as strong as and often bearing an even greater ageing potential as fine red wine.
While New Zealand craft brewers will take the occasional punt at one of these styles, there is only one local producer that fully specialises in these beers. Craftwork Brewery, located in the South Island township of Oamaru exclusively brews Belgian styles, with the abbey ales among them. The Craftwork range should be the first port of call for anyone seeking to explore locally brewed examples of these unique and singular beers. Or for those looking to steep themselves somewhat more deeply, they will be hosting the Bruxelles Oamaru Belgian Beer Festival in the township itself on the 18th of July.