How Belgian Beer Taught The Bay Area to Drink Differently
**Before we dive in, a quick reminder that our 2026 Beer Week collaboration brews begin this week, with public meet-ups following each brewday at the host breweries. You find details at the bottom of this email.**
Roughly 18 years ago, the Bay Area beer scene experienced a paradigm shift.
In late 2007 and early 2008, three beer bars opened within months of each other and went on to reshape our local beer culture. The Monk’s Kettle, The Trappist, and La Trappe weren’t the region’s first craft beer bars — places like Toronado and The Bistro had long set the standard — but their near-simultaneous arrival signaled something new: a growing appetite for unfamiliar beer and a more engaged, educational approach to serving it. These bars didn’t just offer long lists; they taught people how to navigate them, becoming incubators for the brewers, publicans, Cicerones, and beer obsessives who would shape what came next.
What might surprise newer craft beer drinkers is that all three of these foundational spaces were built, at least initially, on Belgian and Belgian-style beer. The same was true shortly afterward at Pangaea in Sacramento, which played a similar role in that city’s beer culture.
At the time, Belgian beer wasn’t a niche. It was synonymous with a burgeoning movement toward beers of greater complexity and depth.
A Very Brief Map of Belgian Beer
Speaking in extremely broad terms, Belgium’s brewing heritage can be grouped into three major traditions.
Lambic Brewing & Other Sour Ales
The oldest and most revered tradition. Lambic and Gueuze are true beers of terroir, capable of doing things at the table that wine simply can’t. Real Lambic is spontaneously fermented — brewed with at least 30% unmalted wheat, hopped only with aged, nearly aroma-less hops, and cooled overnight in open vessels called coolships, where wild yeasts and bacteria from the air inoculate the wort.
From there, the beer ages for years in reused oak barrels. Authentic Gueuze is a blend of young and old Lambic (often 1-, 2-, and 3+ year-old beer), bottle-conditioned until flinty dry, and capable of aging for a decade as its acidity softens and complexity deepens. Only a handful of breweries make it, and none make very much. The process is expensive, risky, and slow.
Sour beer styles like Lambic and Gueuze, the darker beers of Flanders, and the more recently developed American Wild Ale styles are all characterized by pronounced acidity, produced through the intentional use of wild yeast and bacteria. Depending on the organisms involved, sour ales can smell like cherries, balsamic vinegar, yogurt, lemon peel, barnyard funk, or washed-rind cheese. On the palate, they range from gently tart to intensely sour.
Monastic & Abbey-Style Ales
This tradition gave us Dubbels, Tripels, Quadrupels, and Strong Dark Ales. These beers are defined by expressive yeast, warm fermentation temperatures, and the intentional use of simple sugars like candi sugar or caramel syrups.
Here’s the counterintuitive part: brewers add sugar not to make beer sweeter, but drier. Simple sugars ferment completely, boosting alcohol while thinning the body. The result is a beer that will smell sweet — typical aromas include dried fruit, caramel, and chocolate — but drinks dry, lively, and remarkably refreshing, thanks to high carbonation and low finishing gravity.
Farmhouse Brewing: Saison & Friends
The most rustic and experimental branch of Belgian brewing. These “provision beers” were brewed for farmworkers and everyday drinking, and they tend to be brighter, more bitter, and more hop-forward than monastic styles. Saison and bière de garde embrace expressive fermentation, varied grains, sugars, and spices, and sometimes venture into earthy or funky territory.
Both Abbey and Farmhouse ales thrive on a productive tension: fruity and sweet on the nose, dry and vibrant on the palate. High carbonation, combined with low finishing gravity, creates a champagne-like mouthfeel that keeps even high-ABV beers nimble. It’s an exciting and unique sensory experience that once captivated adventurous American beer drinkers.
So… Why Did Belgian Beer Fade?
Belgian beer hasn’t vanished, but it has slipped out of the center of the conversation. In many ways, this mirrors the decline of dark beer we discussed recently. As beer cultures mature, they tend to consolidate around a signature set of styles. In the U.S., that has increasingly meant IPA (in all its forms) and pale lager.
Packaging has played a role as well. The rise of cans, now the dominant format for craft beer, has made bottle-conditioning far less common. That matters because bottle-conditioning is essential to achieving the high carbonation and lush mouthfeel that help define many Belgian styles.
The result? Belgian beer moved from serving as an aspirational siren calling us out of America’s industrial beer doldrums to a quiet undercurrent we admire at the margins of what is now one of the world’s most vibrant beer cultures.
Where to Drink Belgian-Style Beer Today
Belgian beer never stopped being extraordinary. We just stopped talking about it as much. If you want to reconnect with the beers that helped build modern craft culture, start here.
Belgian-Style Specialists
- Sante Adairius Rustic Ales (Capitola, Santa Cruz, Oakland)
One of the most respected Belgian-inspired breweries in the world. In Craft Beer & Brewing’s 2025 Readers’ Choice Awards, SARA was voted the #2 Saison producer on the planet, trailing only Brasserie Dupont, and a top-10 sour ale producer overall. Their Oakland Arbor occupies the former home of The Trappist, making it a fitting continuation of local beer history. - Foxtale Fermentation Project (San Jose)
Known for creative ingredient use layered onto classic Belgian foundations. Current offerings include: a farmhouse ale with candy cap mushrooms, a grissette brewed with malted sunflower seeds, and a Flanders brown ale with pomegranate. - CuVer Brewing (Windsor, CA)
Founded by Belgian-born brewers, CuVer focuses squarely on classic Belgian styles. On Saturdays, the tasting room offers glass pours of bottle-conditioned vintage ales, a rarity in today’s beer landscape.
Breweries Better Known for Other Things (That Still Excel at Belgian Beer)
- Russian River Brewing Company (Santa Rosa, Windsor)
Best known for Pliny the Elder, but originally made its name with Belgian-style ales bearing the “-tion” suffix. A look at the Santa Rosa brewpub’s tap list often reveals a deep bench of seven Belgian-style ales. - Fieldwork Brewing (Multiple locations)
While IPAs and increasingly non-alcoholic offerings dominate the spotlight, Fieldwork consistently releases thoughtful Belgian-style ales. Standouts include Olyvia (Belgian Pale Ale) and White Dahlia (Belgian Wit), available on draft and in cans. - HenHouse Brewing Company (Santa Rosa, Novato, Petaluma)
Now closely associated with IPAs and pale ales, HenHouse’s early identity was rooted in saison. Current offerings like Clocked Out (Witbier) and An Honest Day’s Work (strong saison-style ale) show that lineage is still very much alive.
🍻 Upcoming Events Featuring Our Member Breweries
🎉 Free (Pay-As-You-Go) Public Events This Weekend!
TONIGHT! Tuesday, 1/20— Y2K Pop Trivia at both Del Cielo locations!
(Martinez & Livermore, CA| 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM )
Use your flip phone to call your friends to join you at either Del Cielo location and test your knowledge at 2000’s Pop Trivia
MORE INFO –> Del Cielo hosts Y2K Trivia at both locations!
TOMORROW! Wednesday, 1/21—Coast Chapter Industry Meet-Up at Discretion Brewing
(Soquel, CA| 3:30 PM)
Each of our Beer Week collaboration brew days will be followed by a public meet-up at the host brewery taproom. There will be a bunch of cool beer people in one place, talking shop and drinking fresh beer. Find the one in your area and join us.
Thursday, 1/22—Tri-Valley Industry Meet-Up at Headyworks
(Livermore, CA| 3 PM)
Each of our Beer Week collaboration brew days will be followed by a public meet-up at the host brewery taproom. There will be a bunch of cool beer people in one place, talking shop and drinking fresh beer. Find the one in your area and join us.
Thursday, 1/22—North Bay Industry Meet-Up at Old Caz
(*Rohnert Park, CA| 3:30 PM - sold out!)
Each of our Beer Week collaboration brew days will be followed by a public meet-up at the host brewery taproom. There will be a bunch of cool beer people in one place, talking shop and drinking fresh beer. Find the one in your area and join us.
*Old Caz Production Brewery (Not the SOMO Pub) - 5625 State Farm Drive
Friday, 1/23—East Bay Industry Meet-Up at Brix Factory
(Oakland, CA| 3 PM)
Each of our Beer Week collaboration brew days will be followed by a public meet-up at the host brewery taproom. There will be a bunch of cool beer people in one place, talking shop and drinking fresh beer. Find the one in your area and join us.
Saturday, 1/24—Grateful Dead Tribute at Discretion Brewing
(Soquel, CA| 3 PM - 5 PM)
Discretion welcomes Joel Martin, leader of the Grateful Dead tribute band, Grateful To The Core for an afternoon of Dead songs and delicious beer!
MORE INFO –> Pay Respects to the Dead In Soquel!
Sunday, 1/25—Burns Supper at Steel Bonnet Brewing
(Scotts Valley, CA| 4 PM - sold out!)
Steel Bonnet's annual Burns Supper Celebration features live Celtic music by Peter Daldry from 5-7pm and traditional Celtic fare brought to you by Celtic Tea Shoppe. Celebrate the life & works Robert Burns with good beer and Celtic cheer!
MORE INFO –> Burns Supper In Scotts Valley!
📅 Save the Dates
Thursday, 1/29—San Francisco Industry Meet-Up at Bartlett Hall
(San Francisco, CA| 3 PM)
Each of our Beer Week collaboration brew days will be followed by a public meet-up at the host brewery taproom. There will be a bunch of cool beer people in one place, talking shop and drinking fresh beer. 50% off pints for industry!
Monday, 2/9—Beer Week 2026 Event Listings Go Live
Be sure to check Sfbeerweek.org the day after the Super Bowl!
Friday 2/20/2026 - Sunday 3/1/2026 — Beer Week 2026
(The Whole Damn Bay Area!)
The biggest and best regional celebration of independent craft beer on the planet!
Keep up-to-date on all the events at sfbeerweek.org
Saturday 2/21/2026— SF Beer Week Fest 2026 at Salesforce Park
Tickets on sale now! Early Bird pricing ends 12/31/2025!
More Info –> SF Beer Week Fest 2026!