Brussels beer festival

29 Aug, 2012

The annual Brussels beer festival returns to the capital from 31 August to 2 September. Large, medium and the small specialist brewers will be bidding for custom in the centre of the city during the two-day festival.

The event starts with a blessing in the cathedral and the celebration of the patron saint of hop-pickers and brewers, Saint-Arnould. It ends with musical parades organised by brewers’ brotherhoods.

There are approximated 180 breweries in Belgium and about 500 different types of beer. Brewing has been an important part of the country’s culture since Mediaeval times and is associated with Trappist and Cistercian monasteries.

There are annual beer festivals as well as special tours of breweries throughout the country. The beer routes take in Brussels, Chimay, Dinant, Maredsous and Rochefort.