Made in Belgium is the first Belgian beer festival in the country

Over 250 beer connoisseurs, enthusiasts, and newbies, flocked to Made in Belgium, the first-ever Belgian Beer Festival in the country, last November 20 at Sunset Pavilion of Sofitel Philippine Plaza Manila. Guests indulged in over 30 varieties of Belgian beer from some of the most celebrated Belgian breweries under Les Deux Belges and enjoyed a spread of Belgian food from Sofitel’s culinary team.

Guests received a beer card to keep track of what they’ve tried and liked

Guests received a beer glass and a beer card with a list of the featured beers upon entry that they can use to keep track of what they’ve tried and liked. Les Deux Belges prepared a variety of breweries and styles to showcase the range of Belgian beers currently available in the local market. They offered a range of styles, from classic brews to the new modern craft beers, for guests to sample and explore.

Beers from the De Halve Maan Brewery – Brugse Zot Blonde, Brugse Zot Dubbel, Straffe Hendrik Triple, Straffe Hendrik Quadruple
Black C from Brasserie C Brewery and Westmalle Tripel and Dubbel
From Lindemans Brewery – Framboise, Apple, Pecheresse, Gueuze, Faro, and Kriek
Baptist Saison, Baptist Blonde, Baptist IPA, and Baptist Wit
From Dubuisson Brewery – Sufine, Cuvée des Trolls, Bush Ambrée, Bush Blonde, Bush Noel
From Lefebvre Brewery – Barbar Bok Blonde, Barbar Bok, Rouge de Bruxelles, Hopus
From Brussels Beer Project – Grosse Bertha, Delta IPA, Babylone, Jungle Joy

Some of our favorites include the Trappist Westmalle Tripel, Gulden Draak Classic, Baptist Wit, Grosse Bertha, Brugse Zot Blonde, and Bush Ambrée.

Some Belgian beers are meant to be served in their own special glassware to get the full flavor and experience.

Belgian beer glasses for sale
Beer advent calendars for sale
Beer racks with 10 Belgian beers

A shop was set up that sold excellent holiday gift ideas at a discounted price for attendees. They offered the featured beers, Belgian beer glasses, an advent calendar with 24 beers to count you down to Christmas day, and a 10-beer rack perfect for gifting and parties for sale.

DrinkManila contest winners Wilson de Jesus and Dennis Dimaliwat

Winners of DrinkManila’s Instagram contest were beer enthusiast Wilson de Jesus and his friend Dennis Dimaliwat. “Belgian beers are very strong but very delicious. You won’t think that you’re drinking strong beer,” Wilson says. “We hope to see more Filipinos next year trying to experiment more with their taste, trying to explore, and be bold in their way of drinking.”

Lucky guest got to taste Floreffe Triple at the festival

A couple of people managed to try every single Belgian beer on offer except for the scarce Floreffe Triple, and were rewarded with a bottle on stage and invites to next year’s Made in Belgium festival.

Les Deux Belges’ Emmanuel de Ghellinck, Romain Hotterbeex, and Gregory Tutt

“It’s a very good mix of Filipinos and foreigners,” says Les Deux Belges’ co-founder and treasurer, Emmanuel de Ghellinck, of the turnout. “The idea here is to share with other people and have more people try different types of beers. It’s a great turnout of people who are ready to discover the different beers.”

The first Belgian beer festival in Manila is all about discovery and was a great introduction to Belgian beers. This is just a taste of what Belgian beers have to offer, and we’re excited to see what the next Made in Belgium has in store.

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.

If you want to purchase the Advent Beer Calendars and Beer Racks for the holidays, visit Les Deux Belges’ online shop.

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