Blond beers are also known as gold ales and the color they have varies greatly. There are some whose color is a very pale straw like color and others it is golden blond. What you will notice with them all is that they are clear, crisp and dry, with a slightly bitter taste. Also although they do have some fruitiness to them this is not something that detracts from the beers aroma or taste.

These kinds of Belgian beers have a very high alcohol content compared to that of the more traditional kinds of pilsners being brewed in Belgium. Plus the ones we mention in this article have only been brewed since the 20th Century and yet are one of the most popular of all the Belgium beers one can now drink.

The most well known and popular of the various different varieties of Blond beer produced in Belgium today is that called Duvel. When translated into English it means devil and this particular beer is produced by the Brouwerij Duvel Moortgat (Duvel Moortgat Brewery) which was founded in 1871.

This particular beer when first produced to commemorate the end of the First World War was named the Victory Ale. However, during the 1920?s its name changed after an avid drinker of the beer described it as ?a real devil?. This was believed to be in reference to the alcohol content of the beer which is 8.5% and the name was then changed to what it is known as today.

This is considered to be the definitive version of what a Blond beer should be and is brewed by the Duvel Moortgat Brewery using pilsner malt, white sugar and Saaz and Styrian Goldings hops. It is all of these ingredients which give this particular beer is very full and distinctive taste.

Leffe Blonde is another of these beers which is popular not only in Belgium but also in France. The taste again is very distinctive with a slight almond undertone to it and although the recipe goes back many centuries it was not commercially produced until the 20th Century. Originally the beer was brewed by the monks of Leffe Abbey until the commencement of the French Revolution, they then had to abandon the abbey and at this time the abbey brewery was destroyed.

But in 1902 the Canons returned to the Leffe Monastery once more and in partnership with the Flemish based brewery Lootvoet based in Overijse beer begun to be produced once more in 1952. Today however all the Leffe blonde beer is now produced at the Stella Artois brewery in Leuven. Although the Abbey at Leffe still gets paid royalties as in accordance with the agreement originally put in place back in 1952.

As previously mentioned the major difference between Blond beers and more traditional kinds of ales and beers is not just the color and taste but its alcohol content. On average most beers and ales will have around 4.5% of alcohol but the Blond beers far exceed this.