12 July, Brussels: Festival celebrating the connections between Brussels’ beers and its history, architecture, food, and more launches on 14 July with 5 specially commissioned beers from local breweries.
To mark the fifth anniversary of Brussels Beer City, an award-winning website about Brussels and its beer, founder Eoghan Walsh launches the one-off BierCult festival of beer and culture from 14-17 July. BierCult is a weekend of tastings, talks, and tours in locations across Brussels. It celebrates Brussels, beer, and culture – history, art, food, literature and more.
Limited edition festival beers
As part of the festival, which kicks off with an opening event at the Mazette brewpub on Place Jeu de Balles on Thursday 14 July, Brussels Beer City has teamed up with five local breweries to brew five limited edition “birthday” beers. The participating breweries include Brussels stalwarts like Brasserie de la Senne and L’Ermitage, alongside newer breweries La Source Beer Co., Brasserie de la Mule, and Mazette. Each beer has been brewed with a local personality from the Brussels beer world, and together they celebrate the quality and startling diversity of beer styles available in Brussels today. The beers will be available at the festival launch event, and then at the festival locations across the BierCult weekend.
Speaking ahead of the event Eoghan Walsh, Brussels Beer City founder and creator of the BierCult festival said: “Brussels Beer City wouldn’t have been possible without the support of many fantastic people – brewers, bar owners, fellow writers, and more – from the Brussels beer world. And in 2022 we have such a fantastically diverse range of breweries in Brussels, which is by itself something worth celebrating. With the BierCult festival, I wanted to celebrate them in the best way I thought possible: by brewing a special birthday beer with them!”
BierCult Festival weekend – packed with events
Taking place in venues across Brussels from July 14-17, the festival celebrates Brussels beer’s links with culture, history, architecture, food, art, and music. Starting with a launch event and release of the five birthday beers at Mazette on Thursday July 14, the BierCult weekend will feature:
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An exhibition of iconic Brussels beer and wine label art (Friday 15 July, Be-Here)
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A live podcast show from the award-winning Belgian Smaak on the uniqueness of Brussels café culture (Saturday 16 July, 15.00, Goudblommeke in Papier)
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A conversation with four-time Beer Writer of the Year Pete Brown (Sunday 17 July, 19.30, Brasserie de la Mule, Schaarbeek)
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Book launch: A History of Brussels Beer in 50 Objects (Friday 15 July, 17.00, Brasserie En Stoemelings)
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Tours and tastings focusing on food, history, architecture, and fermentation
Find the full festival programme here.
“What’s great about beer goes so far beyond what is in the glass – in Brussels and elsewhere. There are connections between beer and art, beer and history, architecture, folklore, and more – so many facets of our culture can be linked back to beer,” Walsh said. “The weekend of BierCult festival activities celebrates all of these, with a particular focus on the unique relationship between Brussels’ fantastic brewers and their wonderful home city.”
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NOTES FOR THE EDITOR
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ABOUT BRUSSELS BEER CITY: Brussels Beer City was founded by Eoghan Walsh in 2017. Eoghan’s writing at Brussels Beer City has covered art and graphic design, architecture, mental health, social history, and more. Eoghan was crowned the Best Young Beer Writer 2018 by the British Guild of Beer Writers, and has received multiple gold medals from the North American Guild of Beer Writers awards. His work has featured in The Irish Times, Good Beer Hunting, and Belgian Beer and Food, and Pellicle. www.beercity.brussels
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BEER DETAILS – each of these beers have been specially commissioned to celebrate Brussels Beer City’s 5th birthday and the BierCult festival weekend. They are a collaboration between Brussels Beer City, the participating brewery, and a person from the Brussels beer community
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Brasserie de la Senne x Hélène Spitaels: Summer Crush
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A 3.5% summer session ale brewed with Hélène Spitaels, sommelier and tour guide
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Nanobrasserie L’Ermitage x Colleen Rakowski: Brotherly Love
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A barrel-aged sour ale brewed with Colleen Rakowski, a US brewer working with Brasserie Cantillon
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La Source Beer Co. x Rich Soriano: Hill of Tears
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A 6.1% American IPA brewed with American Rich Soriano
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Brasserie de la Mule x Cédric Dautinger: Vienna Lager
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A 5.2% Vienna lager brewed with Cédric Dautinger of beer news website Beer.be
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Mazette Brussels x Yannick Schandené: Suur de Bruxelles, fleur de sureau edition
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A 5.6% sourdough sour wheat ale brewed with Yannick Schandené of fermentation lab Fermenthings
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Press release from Brussels Beer City
Contact: Eoghan Walsh, eoghan@beercity.brussels