Hold my beer: Belgium’s unique beer culture

• Belgium launches a new Beer World in Brussels
• The Beer World opens on Saturday in the neoclassical.
• Visitors will learn about the Belgian identity called “Belgitude”

Belgium is working on the promotion of its centuries in the production and making of beer and 430 breweries with a newly established visitor center in the capital of the country that is Brussels that recounts the history of Belgian production and aims to unveil the uniqueness of the country’s beer and beer culture. 

Belgian Beer World will open on Saturday in the neoclassical former Brussels Stock Exchange, renovated for 90 million euros ($96.25 million). 

Visitors will get to know about “Belgitude” – Belgian identity – and what distinguishes Belgian beer from the rest – such as the four different methods of fermenting and the culture of each beer having its own branded glass. 

Belgium boosts of 1,600 productions of beers and its beer culture secured a place on the UNESCO global list of traditions worthy of preservation in 2016. 

The newly established center showcases production in the Middle Ages when beer was a safe alternative to contaminated water and hops were introduced as a preservative, and up to the modern day. The tour ends with a beer, suggested by a virtual barman, in the building’s rooftop terrace bar.