Flanders

Flanders is the Dutch-speaking northern half of Belgium, from the North Sea coast to the Dutch border, with Antwerp, Ghent and Bruges among its cities. The experiences in this guide are in Bruges: two brewery tours in the old centre, each 16 euros for an adult, with a beer at De Halve Maan and a tasting at Bourgogne des Flandres.

Bruges, the brewing city of Flanders

For centuries the canals of Bruges linked the city to the sea, and international merchants built it into one of the largest Hanse cities, says Visit Bruges, the city tourist office. The 15th century was its golden age. Because large parts of the medieval city survived almost intact, UNESCO listed the entire centre as a World Heritage site, and the beguinage was recognised in 1998 together with 12 other Flemish beguinages.

• De Halve Maan has brewed in the city centre since 1856, when Henri Maes started out, and six generations of the family have run it since.
• Bourgogne des Flandres, on Wollestraat in the old centre, also distils: its whisky tasting pours single-cask whiskies distilled in Bruges.

Beer culture, from Flanders to UNESCO

Beer culture in Belgium was inscribed on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2016. UNESCO counts almost 1,500 types of beer made in the country with different fermentation methods, notes that some regions are known for particular varieties, and that beer also goes into cooking, for beer-washed cheese among other things.