We’re also a Belgian beer bar.
Belgium is home to one of the richest brewing traditions in the world.
From Trappist monasteries and abbey breweries to farmhouse ales and historic city brews, Belgian beer reflects centuries of craftsmanship, experimentation, and local culture.
At Good Cheer Brewing we curate a selection of classic Belgian beers alongside our own historically inspired brews. Each beer tells a story: of monks and merchants, local brewing traditions, and style-defining innovations. Explore the story behind the Belgian beers we carry to discover where they come from and why they have become some of the most beloved ales in the world.
Belgian Beers on Tap
Chimay Blue - Abbaye de Notre Dame de Scourmont, Chimay, Belgium
Chimay Blue is one of the most famous Trappist beers ever brewed. The monks at Notre Dame de Scourmont began brewing in 1862, 12 years after the founding of their abbey. They brewed until WWII when the Nazi occupiers confiscated their copper brewing tanks so that the metal could be used for electrical cables. After the war the monks re-built their brewery, but larger and more sophisticated than before. They launched a commercial brand called Chimay in 1948. The monks created Chimay Blue 1956 as a special Christmas beer and it quickly became the brewery’s most celebrated offering. It is now available year-round, is a certified Trappist beer, and a global icon of Belgian brewing.
This Belgian Quadruple is prized for its depth and ability to age gracefully for many years. It’s rich, dark, and contemplative - changing in the glass as it warms up and loses carbonation.
St. Bernardus ABT 12 - Watou, West Flanders, Belgium
St. Bernardus ABT 12 is one of the world’s most revered Belgian abbey-style quadruples. Its roots lie in the brewing traditions of the nearby Trappist monks of St. Sixtus Abbey at Westvleteren. Westvleteren recipes were brewed under license at the St. Bernardus brewery from 1946 to 1992, when the rules for Trappist beers forced the monks at St. Sixtus Abbey to brew entirely within their own walls.
Even though production of the official Westvleteren quadruple moved to St. Sixtus Abbey and re-branded as Westvleteren XII, St. Bernardus continued producing its ABT 12 beer using the same traditional methods. Today it is widely regarded as one of the finest examples of the rich, dark quadrupel style. Westvleterenn XII is only available at the St. Sixtus Abbey and anyone purchasing the beer is limited to three cases and must swear to not sell it commercially.
Full-bodied and complex, St. Bernardus ABT 12 is known for its deep mahogany colour and layers of dark fruit, caramel, and spice. For many beer enthusiasts around the world, ABT 12 stands alongside the great Trappist beers like Chimay Blue and Westvleteren XII as one of Belgium’s most prestigious and sought-after ales.
Averbode - Melle, East Flanders, Belgium
Averbode is the result of a collaboration between Norbertine Abbey of Averbode, a monastery founded in 1134, and Brouwerij Huyghe, a famous Belgian family brewery founded in 1906. Averbode Abbey has played a role in Belgian brewing for centuries and was destroyed and rebuilt several times through wars and political upheaval. It produced beer until 1796, when the French Revolutionary Government captured what was then the Austrian Netherlands. The French government expelled the monks from their abbey and confiscated their property. The monks returned in 1802 but no longer produced beer.
The modern Averbode beer is from 2014, reviving a long tradition of monastic brewing that connects Belgian history with contemporary Belgian brewers. This Belgian Golden Ale balances soft malt sweetness with gentle bitterness and a touch of spice from traditional Belgian yeast. Notes of honey, citrus, and light herbal hops give it a bright, elegant character that reflects the refinement of Belgium’s monastic brewing tradition.
Duchesse de Bourgogne - Roeselare, West Flanders, Belgium
Named after Mary of Burgundy, a fifteenth-century duchess who ruled the region, Duchesse de Bourgogne is a classic example of historic sour Belgian beers and is a living expression of a style that goes back centuries. Duchesse de Bourgogne is one of the most celebrated examples of a mixed-fermentationFlemish red ale, a historic style from the Flanders region of Belgium. Brewed by the family-owned Verhaeghe brewery in Roeselare (founded 1885), this beer reflects a regional tradition that dates back to the 17th and 18th centuries, when brewers matured beer in large oak vats (called foeders) to develop complexity and character.
During its long aging in oak, the beer undergoes slow mixed fermentation that produces layers of fruit, caramel, and acidity. In contrast to modern sour beers that use lactic acid producing bacteria to create acidity overnight, Duchesse de Bourgogne is fermented with acetic acid bacteria for a year and a half, producing a much more complex sourness with vinous, balsamic, and enhanced malt character.
1956 Abbey-Style Tripel - Good Cheer Brewing, Calgary, Canada
Our in-house abbey-style tripel is the result of research into mid-20th century tripels. Brewed with yeast from a Belgian abbey, traditional Belgian malt, and candi sugar made from Belgian sugar beets, we even replicated Belgian water chemistry to make a true-to-style representation of a fantastic beer style.
Naturally carbonated during a long fermentation and cold-conditioned, this golden-hued ale produces aromas of white orchard fruit like pear and peach, with honey sweetness and clove, supported by the presence of floral European hops. Mildly sweet on first taste, this ale has a dry finish with subtle clove-like spices.
1890 Abbey-Style Single (Pattersbier) - Good Cheer Brewing, Calgary, Canada
Our in-house abbey-style single is the result of research into late-19th century monastic brewing. Brewed with yeast from a Belgian abbey and traditional Belgian malt, we replicated Belgian water chemistry to make a true-to-style representation of this historic style.
Patersbier - literally “Father’s Beer” - was the quiet, everyday ale brewed in Belgian abbeys for the monks themselves. Unlike the powerful Tripels and Dubbel-style beers they produced for sale, Patersbier was light, modest, and nourishing: a table beer meant to accompany work, prayer, and study. By the late 19th century, around 1890, many monasteries were refining this humble beer into a delicate, pale ale brewed from the same grist as their stronger beers but run off as a weaker second wort. It was simple by design - clean, bright, and sustaining.
This 1890 interpretation captures that era of monastic brewing as it stood on the threshold of modernity. Pale malt had become more widely available thanks to improved kilning technologies, and continental hops were prized for their subtle spice and herbal aroma. Fermentation temperatures were carefully controlled in cool stone-walled breweries, producing an ale that was crisp, lightly fruity, and effortlessly drinkable. Patersbier was never meant to impress visitors; it was brewed for the refectory, not the public house. It was beer as daily bread.
Belgian Beers in Bottles
Orval – Abbaye Notre-Dame d’Orval, Villers-devant-Orval, Belgium
Orval is one of the most distinctive Trappist beers ever brewed and one of the most unusual beers in the Belgian tradition. The abbey at Orval traces its origins to the 12th century, when Cistercian monks established a monastery in the remote forests of southern Belgium. The abbey was destroyed during the French Revolution in 1793 and remained in ruins for more than a century before Trappist monks returned to rebuild it in the early 1900s.
The modern brewery was established in 1931 to help fund the reconstruction of the abbey and the monastic community that had settled there. Unlike most Trappist breweries, Orval produces only a single commercial beer. Brewed with pale malts and dry-hopped with aromatic hops, the beer undergoes a secondary fermentation in the bottle with Brettanomyces yeast, giving it the distinctive earthy and slightly wild character that has made Orval famous.
The beer’s famous label depicts a trout holding a golden ring in its mouth, referencing the medieval legend behind the name “Orval,” meaning “Golden Valley.” According to the story, Countess Mathilde of Tuscany lost her wedding ring in a spring while travelling through the valley. When she prayed for its return, a trout emerged from the water with the ring in its mouth. Taking this as a sign of divine favour, she founded the abbey at the site. The fish and ring remain the symbol of Orval to this day.
This Belgian Trappist ale is prized for its complexity and evolution over time. When young it is bright and hop-forward, with notes of citrus and fresh herbs. With age it develops the dry, leathery, and rustic flavours that have made Orval a cult classic among beer lovers around the world.
La Trappe Quadrupel – Abdij Koningshoeven, Berkel-Enschot, Netherlands
La Trappe Quadrupel is one of the most influential strong dark ales in the Trappist tradition. It is brewed at Abdij Koningshoeven in the Netherlands. Though not a Belgian beer, we’ve included it here as an excellent example of the Trappist brewing tradition. The monks at Koningshoeven have produced beer since 1884 to support the life of the monastery and its charitable work. While many abbey-style beers are inspired by monastic brewing, La Trappe remains one of the small number of breweries officially permitted to carry the Authentic Trappist Product designation, meaning the beer is brewed within the walls of the monastery under the supervision of the monks.
La Trappe introduced its Quadrupel in 1991, reviving and popularizing the term for a rich, powerful dark Trappist ale. Deep amber-brown in colour, the beer is known for its layered flavours of caramelized sugar, dried fruit, figs, dates, and warming spice from the monastery’s house yeast. Strong yet remarkably smooth, it is a contemplative beer that rewards slow drinking and continues to develop complexity as it warms in the glass.
Rochefort 10 – Abbaye Notre-Dame de Saint-Rémy, Rochefort, Belgium
Rochefort 10 is one of the most celebrated Trappist beers in the world, and is also our head brewer’s favourite beer. It is brewed at the Abbey of Notre-Dame de Saint-Rémy near the town of Rochefort, where monks have lived and brewed beer since the late nineteenth century. Like all authentic Trappist beers, it is produced within the monastery under the supervision of the monks, with the proceeds supporting the abbey and its charitable work.
Deep brown in colour with a dense tan head, Rochefort 10 is known for its remarkable richness and depth. Its aroma is dense with notes of molasses, dates, cocoa, and dark caramel, with hints of plum, brown sugar, and warm spice rising from the glass, alongside a faint suggestion of old leather. Powerful yet elegant, it is a contemplative beer that rewards slow sipping and can age gracefully for many years.
Rochefort 8 – Abbaye Notre-Dame de Saint-Rémy, Rochefort, Belgium
The Abbey of Notre-Dame de Saint-Rémy traces its origins to the thirteenth century, when a community of Cistercian monks settled in the quiet valley along the Tridaine stream. Over the centuries the monastery was destroyed and rebuilt several times, most notably during the turmoil of the French Revolution when religious communities across Europe were suppressed. The present monastic community was re-established in 1887, and the monks soon revived the tradition of brewing beer to support the abbey.
Deep mahogany in colour, Rochefort 8 is renowned for its richness and balance. The beer offers layers of caramel, dark fruit, cocoa, and warming spice from the expressive Trappist yeast. Complex yet smooth and remarkably drinkable for its strength, it remains one of the most admired beers in the Trappist tradition.
Chimay Red – Abbaye de Notre-Dame de Scourmont, Chimay, Belgium
Chimay Red, also known as Première, was the first beer released under the Chimay name and remains one of the classic Trappist ales of Belgium. The monks of the Abbey of Notre-Dame de Scourmont began brewing beer in 1862 to support the monastery and its charitable work. Brewing continued for decades until the Second World War, when German occupiers confiscated the brewery’s copper kettles so the metal could be used for the war effort. After the war the monks rebuilt the brewery, larger and more modern than before, and introduced Chimay Red commercially in 1948.
This Belgian Dubbel helped establish the modern Trappist style: a rich, dark ale fermented with expressive abbey yeast. Deep amber-brown in colour, Chimay Red offers notes of caramel, toasted bread, dried fruit, and gentle spice. Smooth and complex yet approachable, it remains a benchmark for the Dubbel style and a cornerstone of the Chimay brewery’s enduring reputation.
La Chouffe Blonde – Brasserie d’Achouffe, Achouffe, Belgium
La Chouffe Blonde is the signature beer of Brasserie d’Achouffe, a small brewery founded in 1982 in the tiny village of Achouffe in the wooded Ardennes of southern Belgium. The brewery began as a hobby when two brothers-in-law, Pierre Gobron and Chris Bauweraerts, started brewing small batches of beer in a converted farm building. What began as a weekend experiment soon gained a devoted following, and the little brewery grew into one of Belgium’s most beloved producers. The label’s famous gnome, known as Marcel, reflects the folklore of the Ardennes forests and has become one of the most recognizable symbols in Belgian brewing.
La Chouffe Blonde is a strong golden ale that helped define the modern Belgian “blonde” style. Bright and effervescent in the glass, it opens with aromas of citrus, coriander, and gentle yeast spice. The flavour is lively and refreshing, balancing soft malt sweetness with notes of orange peel, herbal hops, and a subtle peppery warmth. Elegant yet approachable, it remains one of Belgium’s most popular and widely enjoyed beers.
N’Ice Chouffe – Brasserie d’Achouffe, Achouffe, Belgium
N’Ice Chouffe is the winter seasonal beer from Brasserie d’Achouffe, the small Ardennes brewery famous for its gnome-adorned labels and lively Belgian ales.
First brewed in the early 1990s as a winter warmer, N’Ice Chouffe is a rich dark ale designed for the colder months. Deep brown in colour, it opens with aromas of caramel, dark sugar, and winter spice. The flavour unfolds with notes of toasted malt, dried fruit, orange peel, and gentle herbal spice, balanced by the expressive Belgian yeast that defines the brewery’s beers. Smooth and warming yet surprisingly elegant, it is a festive ale that captures the comforting character of a Belgian winter beer.
Cantillon (assorted styles) – Brasserie Cantillon, Brussels, Belgium
Cantillon is one of the most revered and sought-after lambic breweries in the world. Founded in 1900 in Brussels, it is one of the last traditional lambic breweries still operating in the Senne Valley, where beers are fermented not with cultured yeast but with wild microorganisms from the surrounding air. While hundreds of lambic breweries once existed in the region, Cantillon survived the twentieth century by preserving these ancient brewing methods. Today the brewery also serves as the Brussels Museum of Gueuze, dedicated to protecting this historic style.
Because Cantillon brews slowly and only in the spring and summer, ages its beers for years in oak barrels, and refuses to industrialize production, its beers are released in very limited quantities and are prized by beer enthusiasts around the world. Cantillon’s beers are among the most collectible and celebrated in the beer world. They can age for up to thirty years and are a rare chance to taste one of Belgium’s oldest and most distinctive brewing traditions.
We carry these beers as we can get them, and currently have six that represent several expressions of the lambic tradition.
Gueuze
A blend of young and aged lambics that undergo a second fermentation in the bottle. Bright, dry, and effervescent, with sharp acidity and earthy complexity.
Gueuze 100% Lambic Bio
An organic version of Cantillon’s classic gueuze, brewed with organically grown barley and wheat and showing the brewery’s signature balance of citrus, funk, and lively carbonation.
Grand Cru Bruocsella
An unblended lambic aged for several years in oak barrels. Still and wine-like, revealing deep notes of lemon, oak, and cellar character.
Cuvée Saint-Gilloise
A dry-hopped lambic named after the nearby municipality of Saint-Gilles, adding herbal and citrus aromatics to the beer’s tart, rustic backbone.
Rosé de Gambrinus
A raspberry lambic that combines bright fruit character with the earthy complexity of spontaneous fermentation.
Kriek 100% Lambic
A traditional cherry lambic made with whole sour cherries added to aging barrels, producing a vibrant balance of tart fruit and wild fermentation character.
Chimay Green – Abbaye de Notre-Dame de Scourmont, Chimay, Belgium
Chimay Green (Spéciale Cent Cinquante) was first brewed in 2012 to mark the 150th anniversary of brewing at the Abbey of Notre-Dame de Scourmont. The monks began brewing in 1862, part of a long Trappist tradition in which beer supports the life of the monastery and its charitable work. While Chimay is best known for its darker ales, this anniversary beer reflects another important Belgian tradition: the strong, pale, golden ales that emerged in the twentieth century.
These beers—often called Tripels or strong golden ales—developed as a response to changing tastes and increased competition from pale lagers. Breweries began producing lighter-coloured beers that retained the strength and complexity of traditional ales while appearing bright, refined, and modern. Westmalle’s Tripel of 1936 became the most influential example, combining high strength with dryness, effervescence, and expressive yeast character. Chimay Green sits within this lineage, offering a Trappist interpretation of the style.
Pale gold in colour and deceptively strong at 10%, Chimay Green opens with aromas of citrus, orchard fruit, and fresh herbal hops. The flavour is lively and elegant, balancing soft malt sweetness with notes of lemon peel, pear, and gentle spice from the yeast. Despite its strength, it remains light on the palate, finishing dry, effervescent, and refreshing—an expression of a uniquely Belgian idea: a beer that is both powerful and graceful.
La Trappe Tripel – Abdij Koningshoeven, Berkel-Enschot, Netherlands
La Trappe Tripel is brewed at Abdij Koningshoeven, the only Trappist brewery in the Netherlands and one of the few in the world authorized to carry the Authentic Trappist Product designation. The abbey was founded in 1881 by monks who had fled religious persecution in France, bringing with them the brewing traditions of the Trappist order. Beer has been brewed at the monastery since 1884, helping to sustain the community and support its charitable work.
The name La Trappe refers to the French abbey of La Grande Trappe, the origin of the Trappist order, but in Dutch the word trap also means “kick,” a fitting double meaning for beers known for both their strength and refinement.
La Trappe Tripel is a classic example of the strong golden ales that define the Trappist tradition. Pale gold in colour, it opens with aromas of citrus, ripe fruit, and gentle yeast spice. The flavour is lively and expressive, combining soft malt sweetness with notes of banana, clove, and a subtle peppery warmth. Effervescent and deceptively strong, it finishes dry with a gentle bitterness—delivering both elegance and, true to its name, a quiet kick.