Belgium is toasting its centuries of beer-making and 430 breweries with a new visitor centre in Brussels that recounts the history of Belgian production and aims to show what is unique about the country’s beers and brewing culture.
Beer aficionados see the country as the fatherland of the world’s most incredible variety of indigenous flavors and brewing styles. The tumultuous history of Europe’s smallest nation has resulted in the diversity of its indigenous beer brewing traditions, including gueuze and lambic beers aged in wooden barrels, Belgian dark solid beers, dubbels and tripels from abbeys, and many more, all of them influenced by the rich diversity of foreign styles brought to the country through its tumultuous historical path.
The first guilds of brewers were established in the 14th century, aiming to professionalize their craft and to bargain with the state for tax exemptions. But it was in the 1960s that beer started to make its mark, boosted by international events such as the beer festival in Bruges and the appearance of specialized beer pubs.
The country had 3.200 breweries at that time, but many closed due to two world wars and a general economic crisis that hit the industry hard. Nevertheless, Belgian brewers did not give up and were determined to revive their fortunes by promoting their specialty beers abroad.
This resulted in a significant increase in sales and an even greater interest among foreigners in the Belgian product. In addition, in the last few years, a new generation of brewers has emerged in the country, aiming to relaunch traditional beers and innovate with creative and original beer styles.
This is precisely the heart of the new Belgian Beer World that will open on Saturday in the vivid, neoclassical former Brussels Stock Exchange, renovated for 90 million euros ($96.25 million). In the building once home to stock exchange traders and their trading desks, visitors will learn about the brewing process in interactive workshops and enjoy the multi-sensory experience of tasting beers with all their complex flavors.
The project has controversy, however. Two Brussels organizations, Inter-Environment and ARAU, have publicly expressed their concerns that the new center could attract too many tourists to the city and degrade its liveability in the same way as over-tourism has done for cities such as Barcelona and Venice. But the city’s mayor says it is up to the local community to decide whether they want to welcome visitors with a smile and plenty of beer. The public will be able to visit the center from April, and, according to the organizers, more than one million people are expected to do so each year. The center will be open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays and from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekends. Visitors can book a tour online. Prices start from EUR12.50.
