Taste Over 30 Kinds of Belgian Craft Beer at the First-Ever Belgian Beer Festival in the Country

If you think the beer festivities ended with Oktoberfest, we’ve got a pleasant surprise for you. Beer connoisseurs, enthusiasts, and newbies looking to indulge in the finest selection of liquid gold shouldn’t miss Made in Belgium, the first-ever Belgian Beer Festival in the country. The festival brings together over 30 varieties of Belgian craft beer from some of the most celebrated Belgian breweries under one roof. Gather your friends together on November 30, at the Sunset Pavilion of Sofitel Philippine Plaza Manila, and enjoy the beer festivity. 

Get a Chance to Win Two Tickets To The First-Ever Belgian Beer Festival in the Country

“In Belgium, we have 3,500 different types of beer,” says Les Deux Belges’ Sales Director and Chief Drinking Officer, Romain Hotterbeex. “The population is roughly 11 million people, and it takes around three to four hours to cross the whole country by car. It’s the same as crossing Manila but with half the population. We decided to do this event with Sofitel for people to discover and to understand more about Belgian beer, and experience a part of the culture we have in Belgium.”

The first Belgian beer festival in Manila is all about discovery. During the event, Les Deux Belges prepared a variety of breweries and styles to showcase the range of Belgian beers currently available in the local market. “For us, it was always a dream to get the wider public a chance to taste different beers,” shares Les Deux Belges’ co-founder and treasurer, Emmanuel de Ghellinck. “The event is made for people discover that there is more than one type of beer and that there is so much more out there like you would find in wines. Like wine, each bottle is different, from grape variety, region when it’s grown, and how much time they spent on process. The best way of finding out what you like and what you don’t like, and discover all the flavors.”

Emmanuel compares developing a taste for the nuances of Belgian beer to that of drinking wine. “It’s like when you start drinking wine,” Emmanuel explains. “In the beginning, you prefer sweeter wines. And then, when you taste more and more, your palate will develop,” he says. “If you give an excellent wine to a beginner, the first time the person tastes it, they’ll say it’s awful because his tongue and his flavor palate is not yet ready. It’s the same with the beers; it’s something you build step by step.”

Those who enjoy their drinks with food will be spoilt for choice at the festival. Pair any of these delightful beers with Belgian comfort food prepared by Sofitel’s culinary team. Enjoy savory fares like Beef Carbonnade, Chicken Waterzooi in Ramekins, and Belgian-style Burger with Endive. Lutosa, the famed Belgian french fry maker, will be providing the Belgian fries for the event. Belgian fries are cut thicker and cooked twice – first in beef fat, then in vegetable oil – and at different times and temperatures for maximum crispiness.

Guests may also indulge in sweet confections like Croustillons with Whipped Cream and Speculoos Crumbs, Belgian Chocolate Cones with Coffee Liquor, and Tiramisu with Speculoos from Lotus Biscoff (speculoos is a typical Belgian biscuit given to children by St. Nicholas, the Belgian Santa Claus, to children). Belcolade, a big name in Belgian chocolate, will prepare tastings of different types of chocolates and even have an exhibit during the event to show more information about cacao. There’s also going to be a Belgian Waffle Station with a wide array of compotes and sauces! Writing about all the feasts makes us incredibly hungry! 

Get to know some of the featured breweries and the beers at the event:

 1) Brasserie C

Located in Liège, Belgium, Brasserie C was founded in 2012 by Renaud Pirotte and François Dethier during their agricultural studies. They will be featuring Black C (8% ABV), an imperial stout that is rich in flavors of roasted coffee and cacao. It is unpasteurized, unsterilized, unfiltered, and brewed from roasted and grilled malt, and fermented for a long time.

2) Brussels Beer Project

The Brussels Beer Project is a brewery founded by beer enthusiasts Olivier de Brauwere and Sébastien Morvan in 2013, who sought to build a brewery steeped in innovation. Their mission is to wake Belgian beer, dust it off, and get it out of the middle-ages. Brussels Beer Project will feature Delta IPA (6.5% ABV, with lychee and passionfruit notes and a bitter finish), Grosse Bertha (7% ABV, a blend between the recipes of a triple and a hefeweizen), Jungle Joy (6.6 % ABV, fruit beer with mango and passion fruit), and Babylone (7% ABV, their homage to the Babylonians who made fermented brews, made by replacing 20% of the malt with unsold fresh bread, which gives the beer a pleasant toffee and toast quality).

3) De Halve Maan

De Halve Maan (The Half Moon) is a family-owned brewery founded in 1856 and located in Bruges, Belgium. They will be bringing in Brugse Zot, the city beer for Bruges: Brugse Zot Blonde (6% ABV, a special Belgian blonde with complex flavors of spice, orange, lemon, is well-balanced, and has a refreshing dry finish) and its dark sibling, Brugse Zot Dubbel (7.5% ABV, strong, bitter, with a hoppy finish and notes of coffee roast).

They will also offer Straffe Hendrik, the brewery’s flagship beer that referments in the bottle—Straffe Hendrick Tripel  (9% ABV, a blonde tripel with a powerful taste and touches of malt, caramel and hops, good to be paired with cheeses, pineapple and mango) and Straffe Hendrik Quadruple (11% ABV, and intense, dark, full-bodied beer).

Fun fact: De Halve Mann completed a two-mile-long beer pipeline in 2016 that connects the brewery to the bottling plant. Funding for the pipeline came from 500 people who contributed to an online crowdsourcing campaign, those who chipped in received free beer from the brewery.

4) Dubuisson

Dubuisson Brewery is a family-owned brewery founded in 1769 in Pipaix, Belgium. They’re bringing in Cuvée des Trolls (7% ABV, citrusy and barely bitter Belgian Strong Pale Ale), Surfine (6.5% ABV, a refreshing, balanced, slightly bitter Saison), Bush Blonde (10.5% ABV, gentle, slightly bitter, balanced Belgian Strong Pale Ale), and one of the oldest specialty beers in Belgium and the flagship brand of the Dubuisson Brasserie, Bush Ambrée (12% ABV, strong, bittersweet, with a caramel finish). 

5) Lindemans

Lindemans Brewery is a family-owned brewery in Vlezenbeek, southwest of Brussels, that specializes in lambic beer, a style of Belgian ale that uses raw wheat and wild yeast. The event will offer Kriek (3.5% ABV, with fruity fresh flavor of cherries), Pecheresse (2.5% ABV, enriched with peach juice, the sweetness of peach balances the sourness of the lambic), Framboise (2.5% ABV, added with raspberry juice with a slight sour finish), Apple (3.5% ABV, balanced fruit beer with sweetness of red apples, freshness of green apples, and sour-sweet character of lambic), Faro (4.5% ABV, matured in oak for a year and added with sugar syrup, this lambic has a sweet syrup flavor with ample sour-sweet finish), and Gueuze (5% ABV, a one year old lambic that is slightly sweet and dry with notes of rhubarb and champagne).

Click the links to see the cocktail recipes we made with Apple Lambic Beer, Faro Lambic Beer, Kriek Lambic Beer. 

Pro tip: Emmanuel suggests to do a beer cocktail called Peche Mel Bush, a delightful mix of Lindemans Pecheresse and Bush Ambree. Just as the servers for a bit of both and enjoy the perfect combination.  

6) Van Steenberge

Van Steenberge produces some of the most recognizable Belgian beers since its creation in 1784. The Baptist is a tribute to their founder Jan Baptist De Bruyne, and Van Steenberge will be bringing in Baptist Wit (5% ABV, a witbier with refreshing notes of coriander and orange peel and a mild bitter finish), Baptist Blond (5% ABV, slightly bitter yet full-bodied with a smooth finish), Baptist Saison (6.5% ABV, a citrusy and hoppy Saison with a distinct, pleasant bitterness), and Baptist IPA (6.7% ABV, a hoppy IPA with citrusy tones and a smooth light bitter finish). 

The brand will also feature Piraat (10.5% ABV, slightly sweet, complex and rich, with a long hop bitter finish), Piraat Triple Hop (10.5% ABV, with four additional hops to the original Piraat recipe, this beer has a hop bitter and slightly fruity taste with a very dry finish), Gulden Draak Classic (10.5% ABV, a full-bodied beer with notes of chocolate, caramel, and alcohol , and a long bittersweet finish), and Gulden Draak 9000 Quadruple (10.5% ABV, smooth and slightly sweet).

7) Westmalle

Westmalle Brewery is a Trappist brewery that produces three beers brewed by Trappist monks. They’ll be offering Westmalle Tripel (9.5% ABV, strong, dry, and complex Trappist ale with creamy mouthfeel and a hint of bitterness and a long finish), which is credited for being the first beer to use the word Tripel, and Westmalle Dubbel (7% ABV, a beer with touches of caramel, malt, and ripe banana, and a long dry finish).

8) Lefebvre

Lefebvre Brewery was founded by Jules Joseph Lefebvre in 1876 and strived to have the lowest chemical footprint as much as possible. They’re going to offer Rouge de Bruxelles (7% ABV, fruity with acidity that balances the strong malt taste and the fruitiness of cherries), Barbar Bok (8.5% ABV, brown ale with notes of honey and chocolate, and a long, fruity finish), Hopus (8.3% ABV, hoppy and malty, with a bitter aftertaste that isn’t too overwhelming), and Floreffe Triple (8% ABV, an abbey beer favored by the monks of the Floreffe Abbey, this beer has a malty and delicate bitterness, well-balanced, and with a caramel and licorice finish).

Made in Belgium is patterned after the 3-day Belgian Beer Weekend Festival, a celebration that brings together a mix of major and micro-breweries and attracts around 60,000 visitors each year. The time-honored tradition began over 15 years ago, with recent celebrations taking place at the Grand Place Brussels. 

Fun fact: Unesco added Belgian Beer to its Heritage List in 2016 as part of the List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, a list of holidays, cultural practices, and foodways worldwide. The list helps to demonstrate the diversity of cultural heritage and raise awareness about its importance.  

While Made in Belgium is a bit of a celebration of Belgian beer, beer geeks will have a blast diving into the intricacies of these brews. Come with your friends and experience a night of great beer and delicious food, and fall in love with Belgian beer.

Tickets for Made in Belgium are at Php 3,700 per person. For tickets and inquiries, call +632 8832 6988 or visit www.madeinbelgium.events.

Made in Belgium is presented in cooperation with Lotus Biscoff, Belcolade, Puratos, Lutosa, Belgian-Filippino Business Club, World Class Concepts Corp, Brasserie C, Brussels Beer Project, De Halve Maan, Dubuisson, Lindemans, Van Steenberge, Westmalle, Lefebvre, and media partners DrinkManila.com and WhenInManila.com.