Belgian beer weekend

The duration of the holiday is 3 days. The event begins on Friday afternoon and is first closed, as it is the day of professional brewers. First, the entire delegation attends a solemn mass at the Cathedral of Saints Michael and Gudula , commemorating St. Arnold, the patron saint of the brewers. Arnold in the Middle Ages was a priest and took care of the health of parishioners, inspired them with how harmful raw water is and that beer is much more healthy. After the knights of the beer order and their guests go to the Gothic Hall of the Brussels Town Hall for a ceremony. Then the festival moves to the central square, the entrance to which is by invitation only.

The festival opens its doors to everyone by noon when the tent camp of brewers arriving from all over the country opens at the Grand Place . The event on Friday continues until 22.00.

The second day of the holiday begins with a parade of brewers. It takes place on elegant antique carts, carts for beer barrels and company trucks. This whole procession can be observed from morning to lunch. Preparation and decoration of the transport of brewers for the procession takes place at the Fish Market, located on Drovyanaya Embankment. The beer tent camp is open from 10:00 to 21:00 on Saturday, and from 9:00 to 20:00 on Sunday.

Beer tent camp on Saturday is open from 10:00 to 21:00, and on Sunday - from 9:00 to 20:00.

Admission to this event is free. By tradition, guests pay directly for beer not with money, but with beer corks. You can buy them here, the cost of one is 1 euro.

Another feature is the glasses in which guests are presented with beer. Each type of hop-malt drink has its own special container. At the festival you can see tall glasses with a stable bottom, pot-bellied on long thin legs, with a narrow and wide neck, and even those that cannot be put on the table at all without a special wooden stand. It is almost impossible to take out one of these masterpieces from the festival territory, since all the bags of visitors are checked at the exits. But you can take along some free souvenirs: coasters for glass mugs and rectangles with the logo of the brewery.

In addition, beer tasting is accompanied by performances by jazz groups, brass bands and entertainment for children.

On a beer weekend, you can try many Belgian beers such, first of all, we are talking about lagers , such as Stella Artois , known throughout the world. Camp beer is the result of grassroots fermentation, i.e. fermentation takes place at temperatures below 15 ° C, and in Belgium yeast is usually not used for its preparation, and fermentation is carried out due to microorganisms from the wort itself ^[1] .

Another well-known lambic variety is beer prepared by the method of spontaneous fermentation (that is, without yeast), a product with a sour taste and the main pride of Brussels residents. Such beer is obtained only in the Zenna river valley, which is west of Brussels - in the air there are some special bacteria that cause fermentation. A sweeter lambic beer is Faro with roasted sugar.

Favorite varieties of Belgians are light, often with the addition of fruit. Therefore, at the festival you can try Kriek cherry beer, raspberry Frambois, fig-flavored Blaugies, Huyghe mint, Moortgat almond and others.

The most unique offer at the beer festival is Trappist beer . The Cistercians brew it in six monastic breweries in small batches, usually distribute them for donations, and they monitor the accuracy of the old recipe and the observance of technology very carefully, which is why the result is outstanding. Trappist beer is almost always priced at four lids. Cheaper Abbij beer (Abdijbier), but it is already a factory product under the license of one of the monasteries, that is, something massive.

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