It's a bumper weekend in Brussels for beer lovers, from a sea of stalls taking over the iconic Grand Place to a world record beer tasting attempt over in the former Fish Market in Saint Catherine.
Around 50 breweries are setting out their stalls on Grand Place for a three day tasting festival to celebrate Belgium's beer heritage. Belgian Beer Weekend, now in its 24th year, will welcome around 60,000 beer lovers from 6 to 8 September. Organised by the Belgian Brewer's Association, the weekend is an opportunity for visitors to taste the best that Belgian beers have to offer.
Of the more than 100 members of the Belgian Brewer's Association, some 47 will be represented at coveted spots at Grand Place, including the five breweries run by Trappist monks (Chimay, Orval, Rochefort, Westmalle and Westvleteren).
Leading names as well as smaller breweries will have a chance to impress visitors across the weekend. Breweries attending include Hasselt's Brewmine Tap, Aalst's Glazen Toren, and Gaume's Rulles. Brussels' operators will be scarce, with only de la Senne representing.
Cornelis beers at the 19th edition of the Belgian Beer Weekend in 2017. Credit: Belga / Laurie Dieffembacq
Entry to the festival is free and booking is not required. Most beers will be served in 15 cl tasting glasses, and must be purchased with a payment card which can be obtained at the entrance.
Payment cards can be loaded with money using a QR code or at the event info point, and refunds of unused tokens on the payment card can be made until 30 September at an administration cost of €1.
The Grand Place festival will run from 18:00 to 22:30 on Friday, from 12:00 to 22:30 on Saturday, and from 12:00 to 20:00 on Sunday.
World record attempt
Another unrelated beer festival is also running this weekend, organised by Brussels Beer Project. The Wanderlust festival is taking place at Place du Vismet (Fish Market) and will feature 14 artisanal breweries from Spain, France, Ukraine, Belgium and more.
Running on Saturday 7 (from 14:00 to 22:00) and Sunday 8 September (from 13:00 to 21:00), the festival will also attempt to break a world record for the biggest beer tasting ever organised.
Tickets start at €14 and include at least three tasting sized glasses of beer (12.5cl) as well as a Wanderlust glass.
Wanderlust is expecting around 3,000 visitors, and does not aim to overshadow the beer tasting festival at Grand Place. A spokesperson for Brussels Beer Project told Belga that the festivals' overlapping is a calendrical coincidence. They said that Brussels Beer Project recently joined the Belgian Brewers Association, and hopes to participate in the Belgian Beer Weekend in future.
This weekend also marks the first anniversary of the Belgian Beer Experience Centre located in Bourse, which opened following a three-year and €99-million renovation of the former stock exchange building.
