Belgian brewers have been creating what we would recognize as modern “craft beer” for hundreds of years, but despite a history that extends far further than American craft brewing, the styles are significantly less structured and organized. Only a few of the abbey styles are really well defined—brews such as dubbels, trippels and quads. I mean honestly, how much really separates most quadruples from Belgian dark strong ales? Likewise, a catch-all term like “Belgian pale ale” can mean a million different things. You pretty much have to judge all Belgian ales on a case-by-case basis, no matter what the style guidelines may say.
“Belgian single/singel” is one of those styles you don’t see very often in commercial brewing, to the point where a rating site like BeerAdvocate doesn’t even list it as its own style. Historically, these beers are the missing link of the abbey brewing tradition—you may have wondered why they started at “double” and moved upward? Singles were beers typically not designated for sale to the public, Belgian table beers/session ales that were consumed by the monks on a daily basis as a part of meals. They’re usually light in color and low in alcohol, a dietary supplement as much as anything, designed to be quaffed without getting the drinker intoxicated.
They’re also very refreshing brews, when done well. You might compare one to a session-strength saison with a fuller body, or an abbey dubbel stripped of its darker malt flavors and thinned out considerably. And in a market that is embracing session beer in a big way, they’re suddenly a more desirable/marketable option for lovers of Belgian beer who want to remain vertical throughout the course of an evening. The fact that St. Bernadus is now offering an abbey single as its “Extra 4” is evidence of this. As is this new beer from Central Illinois’ Destihl Brewery, Abbey’s Single.