What Belgian beers are on the Chez Clément menu?

Belgium is one of the great brewing nations of the world, with a beer culture so deep and varied that UNESCO inscribed it on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2016. A serious Belgian bourgeois brasserie is expected to carry that heritage on its beer list, alongside the wine cellar. Chez Clément, founded in 1858 in Genval / La Hulpe, fits this expectation with a brewer-limonadier ancestry, the second-generation owners, Jules Clément and Marie-Lidwina (1923-1954), brewed beer themselves on the premises.

The Belgian beer repertoire is organised by family. The Trappists (Chimay, Orval, Rochefort, Westmalle, Westvleteren, Achel) are produced inside monastic walls with the certified « Authentic Trappist Product » designation. The abbey beers (Leffe, Maredsous, Grimbergen, St-Feuillien, Tongerlo, Affligem, others) follow monastic recipes but are brewed commercially under licence. The wild-fermentation Brussels family includes lambic, gueuze and kriek, spontaneously fermented in the Senne valley and protected by EU traditional speciality status. The wheat beers (Hoegaarden style, but also smaller artisanal references) are summer-friendly and citrussy. The ambers (Palm, De Koninck) and Belgian blondes (Duvel, La Chouffe, Karmeliet Tripel) complete the standard repertoire.

Beyond the major families, the Belgian beer scene includes hundreds of independent craft brewers, regional specialities and sour or fruit-driven references. Saison, scotch beers brewed in Belgium, oud bruin (sour brown), and Christmas seasonal beers add depth to a serious list. At a brasserie of Chez Clément's scale (230 seats, more than 1,400 covers a week, brigade of thirty-two under Chef Vincent for thirty years), the beer list is structured by style category rather than alphabet, to help guests navigate by pairing intention.

The pairing logic at table is one of the small joys of a Belgian brasserie experience. A wheat beer goes with mussels and grey shrimp. A blonde abbey works with vol-au-vent or roast poultry. A Trappist brown lifts carbonnade flamande and autumn game. The Chez Clément official list focuses on a curated selection: Chimay Blue and Orval as the two Belgian Trappists; Leffe Blonde, Triple Karmeliet, 888 Triple Eight, Chouffe Blonde, Duvel and Stella on the abbey / brasserie side; Bertinchamps Triple and Lutgarde white as house highlights; Liefmans Fruitesse for the fruit-driven palate. The 0.0% range includes Carlsberg, Corona, Triple Karmeliet, Bertinchamps Passion 0.0% and Hoegaarden rosée 0.0%. Lambics and gueuzes are not on the permanent beverage list.