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Belgian Beers – Cultural Heritage of UNESCO

From golden pilsners and brown ales to the strong Trappist brews produced in monasteries, Belgian beer is enjoyed all around the world. Drink’s history stretches back centuries to medieval monks. And today, enthusiasts say the beer diversity in Belgium is unequalled anywhere else in the world.

On November 30th 2016 Belgium’s Beer Culture was recognized by UNESCO as part of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, officially designating it as something that should be preserved for future generations.

The history and broad variety of brews available make Belgium's beer industry stand out from other brewing traditions around the world.

What is special to the Belgian beer culture is the combination of variety, innovation and tradition. There are more than 3,000 different beers in Belgium, more than 200 breweries and these breweries have created around them a unique beer culture.

Belgian beer is renowned throughout the world for its wide array of tastes, from extremely sour to bitter, brewed in numerous cities, towns and villages across the west European nation of 11 million people.

“It is the unparalleled diversity of the art of brewing and the intensity of the beer culture, as a part of our daily lives and at festivals in our country, that make this beer culture a part of the identity and the cultural heritage of the entire country,” as per statement of the culture ministers of Belgium.

There are more and more countries developing their beer industry with more variation, and they always refer to the Belgian beer styles. We are proud that Belgian Beers serve as a solid point of reference and are a source of inspiration to the beer industry and for the beer related activities in the rest of world.

To satisfy the quality requirements of this enormous variety of beers, Belgian malting company Castle Malting has developed an entire spectrum of premium base and specialty malts. The unique properties of Belgian malts are essential to all famous Belgian beer styles, just as much as the unique brewing processes.

All the recipes proposed on our website hereafter are based on some famous Belgian Beers and will be ideally brewed with the top quality Belgian Malts by Castle Malting.

These recipes are intended to be a starting point for your inspiration and you are quite welcome to add your own touch to make your beer even more special.