OnTap Magazine

ontapmag.co.za | Winter 2025 | 31 W hen you are chilling on the couch, and you receive a call inviting you to come and pour your beer at a Belgian beer and music festival called “The Beer Experience,” you definitely don't say no! Yes, these things do happen and yes, we were lucky enough to get a call just like that. So myself and Jake Sandenbergh – I brought a professional along, I could not do this alone – head brewer at Afro Caribbean Brewing Co. and all-round nice guy, prepared a pallet of our beers and popped it on a plane. We then packed some warm clothes and extra beer in our bags, and off we went. First stop was the Addis Ababa airport for a four-hour layover. We didn’t waste time and went straight to the lounge for a ‘beer and food pairing’ with some of the local beers on hand and a few interesting curries. After a boozy stopover, we were back on our next flight and looking forward to hitting the Belgian ground running at 7:30 the next morning. 7:30 am and we were out of the Brussels airport, on the train and sitting at a little cafe by 8:45. Coffee first! We then moved on to Cantillon to meet up with an old friend and maybe the most misunderstood bartender in Europe: Berto. Berto knows a thing or two about beer, especially what they make at Cantillon. But don't just wander in without knowing your stuff, you might just get an icy welcome. He can be very offish but if you too know a thing or two about beer, and are from South Africa, you are treated like a king. After our “quick stop” turned into two- plus hours of tasting from a very special collection served by the lovely Berto, we hit the road again and spent the rest of the day popping in and out of cool Belgian beer bars, trying beers we had never heard of, tasting Belgian snacks and doing a little sightseeing. A visit must is Poechenellekelder, a tavern right opposite that little guy taking a pee in public. [Editor’s Note: Greg here is referring to a well-known statue called Mannekin Pis, which a website called Belgian Smaak describes as “so disorientating and bizarrely unimpressive, that visitors often need a drink afterwards to digest the experience.”] You would think this would be a super tourist trap but it's not! It has good food, great beer and if you get the right server you will get to see the “flick”! (When the waiter flicks the bottle at the end of the pour.) We ended our night at The Brussels Beer Project, touring the cellar and sharing a few of our beers with the staff there. Friday morning: a big day ahead! We were up at 6:00, grabbed a coffee and then jumped on a train to Hasselt. (Sidebar: If you ever go to Belgium, you must take the train – always take the train. Efficient, clean, on time and you get a great view of the countryside for free.) It was brew day with Sibeeria Brewery (a Czech microbrewery from Prague) at Hop Hemel! We arrived in Hasselt just in time to mash in with our friends. This meant an early beer tasting, a few tweaks to the recipe and a little brewery tour, followed by lunch. We then had to head out, shower and hit the start of the beer fest as we were scheduled to pour beer at the VIP evening of The Beer Experience. Another short train ride brought us to CC Muze and ZLDR Luchtfabriek, an oldmining factory converted to a function venue for live entertainment and big events. The first night was a small private gathering with only four breweries, some VIP's and a bunch of really interesting – supposedly famous – bands. Belgian tunes are, well, unique... Day two and it's busy. More bands, more breweries and a lot more people. Our stock was starting to run low and we still had Sunday to go so we put a hold on our bar to save the rest for the final day. This allowed us to hit the floor and go meet some international brewers and try their beers. Jake and I cruised around, drank a lot of sours, ate about 10 mexicanos, which are basically a stick of meat with samurai sauce (don't knock it till you try it – best fest food ever!). The breweries that stood out to me were: 3 Fonteinen, Siren, Makroob Brewing (from Romania) and l’Apaisée. The latter makes wild sours that founder Xavier Righetti drives out to different campsites in Europe where he inoculates them in a cool ship trailer that he brings along. Ultimately, the most unique thing I have ever heard of. Day three and after getting home at Greg, Berto and Jake at Cantillon Serving beer at "The Beer Experience" Greg and Jake with Gaëtan from 3 Fonteinen