A Toast to the Fathers: The Humble Brilliance of Belgian Single (Patersbier)

This Father’s Day, we are brewing a beer to honor those who lead with quiet strength, patient guidance, and unwavering dedication. There’s no more fitting tribute than the Belgian Single—also known as Patersbier, or “Father’s beer”—a style brewed with simplicity, purpose, and reverence. Like the fathers we celebrate, this beer is unassuming on the surface but deeply fulfilling at heart. 

Patersbier has its roots in Trappist monasteries, where monks crafted rich, high-alcohol ales like Dubbels and Tripels to support their abbeys. But for their own daily sustenance, they brewed something different—something more modest. The Belgian Single was their everyday beer, designed to nourish without excess, to refresh without distraction. It was a beer of balance, brewed by those who lived lives of devotion and discipline.

Pale golden in color, gently hopped, and fermented with expressive Belgian yeast, the Belgian Single is a masterclass in restraint. Its aromas hint at orchard fruit and orange spice, while the flavor is dry, clean, and lightly bitter. At around 5.0% ABV, the Cooley Bay Belgian Single is meant to be enjoyed steadily and thoughtfully—just like the company of a good father.

Today, few commercial examples of Patersbier exist, but its spirit lives on in the hands of craft brewers and homebrewers who honor its legacy. On this Father’s Day, it serves as a perfect metaphor: dependable, crafted with love, and quietly extraordinary. So here’s to the fathers—biological, spiritual, and chosen—who show us the value of humility, hard work, and heart. May your day be full of warmth, and your glass filled with something as quietly noble as a Cooley Bay Belgian Single.

Proost!