Brussels is widely acknowledged as one of the world’s greatest beer cities. But according to today’s guest, author, podcaster, and beer writer Eoghan Walsh, it’s a curious distinction for a town that until recently only had a single brewery. On this third episode of the Beer Travelers podcast, we dive deep into the history and current state of beer and brewing in Brussels, Belgium. Eoghan has a point. Beer lovers, especially those here in the US, tend to canonize Belgium and Brussels. We speak adoringly of its cafe culture, the care with which each beer is served. Much of that stems from the unique place that a brewery such as Cantillon holds in the hearts of all beer fans. But in reality, the history of beer in Brussels has been up and down for the better part of a century. Even in more recent decades, the city’s beer and brewing scenes have been in great peril. Assisted in part by that adoration of beer geeks from around the globe, and of course their tourist dollars, Brussels is making a comeback. And today Eoghan Walsh walks us through the city’s vibrant and curious brewing history and updates on the status of things today and what is to come in its future. Eoghan runs Brussels Beer City, a great website you should visit, and he’s the author of a book of the same name as well as the more recently published A History of Brussels Beer in 50 Objects. For more on those endeavors, I recommend listening to the podcast that Eoghan and I recorded together back in January on Beer Edge. But today, we’re talking about Brussels and its beer scene and culture. It’s an incredibly informative conversation and it left me excited to return to Brussels and visit some of the spots Eoghan talks about.

We discuss Cantillon, Brasserie De La Senne, Le Source Brewing, and Mort Subite as well as many others during this podcast. Stay tuned at the end of the episode for one of my personal favorite suggestions for Brussels, another great place for a nightcap or to escape the crowds of the Grand Place and the tourist dens. 

In this episode of Beer Travelers, we discover Brussels, from its robust days of brewing to its more humble yet growing modern times, we try to capture all the city has to offer in this episode.

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