Above: Belgian Brewers Day 2018 (tip: play while reading this article).
Webcam Grand-Place: check out the festivities and watch the drinking live.
The 25h edition of Belgian Beer Weekend is upon us, with the blessing of the beer on Friday morning followed by various ceremonies and a festival over the weekend at Brussels’ Grand-Place.
The celebration of Saint Arnould is a wondrous spectacle. Members of the Belgian Brewers association and various beer club members and others dressed in medieval garb troupe up to Saint Michael and Gudula Cathedral with a barrel of beer.
Inside the cathedral there is singing and a ceremony capped off by a priest consecrating the beer. It is a sight to behold and was held on 5 September in the morning, paying tribute to Saint Arnould, the patron saint of brewers.
The ceremony is organised by the Knighthood of the Brewers’ Paddle and the association. New members are enthroned into the knighthood at a ceremony later that afternoon in Brussels town hall.
After a series of talks and other ceremonies, the beer festival at Grand-Place, Brussels will open to the public at 17:30 on Friday. A total of 57 Belgian breweries will serve 570 different beers are at the festival at the Grand-Place. Belgian Beer Weekend attracts an average of 60,000 visitors annually.
On Saturday and Sunday there will be parades of brewers and confraternities. See the programme here.
Krishan Maudgal, Director of Belgian Brewers, said: ‘With this 25th edition, we’re not only celebrating the rich history of our beer culture, but we’re also looking ahead. Our sector is once again facing strong headwinds, with higher costs, declining competitiveness, and increasing competition abroad. At the same time, this weekend we’re demonstrating that Belgian beer is alive and kicking: with a record number of breweries, more than 500 unique beers – with and without alcohol – and tens of thousands of visitors who together transform the Grand Place into a unique beer festival.’
Get knighted
Honorary knights are individuals “who have rendered loyal services to the brewing profession”, the association says in a website blurb. The knights by rights are active members of the brotherhood who, owing to their profession, birth or alliance, are closely related to the brewing industry.
The knights hail Gambrinus as the “King of Beer”, who according to the Knighthood is “Jan Primus”, the Flemish name for Duke Jean I, the son of Henri III and Alix of Burgundy.
According to this version of the Gambrinus legend, Primus “laid down the foundations for Brabant’s brewing industry by allowing the deputy mayors of Brussels the right to grant licences for brewing and selling beer”. He was also the honorary President of the Brussels Brewers’ Guild, the forerunner of the Knighthood of the Brewers’ Paddle.
The fun begins
For the rest of us ordinary idiots the festivities start at 18h after the inauguration of the beer stands on Grand-Place. On Saturday a parade sets off with historical brewery carts and beer wagons though the streets of Brussels.
There is a Brewers’ parade starting from the Grand-Place. Another parade takes place at noon Sunday with several bands and brewers’ confraternities.
All in all it is a great weekend hearkening back to the glorious past and glorious present of Belgian brewing.
So let’s get ready to hear the beer blessing, which according to the Catholic Gentleman magazine is:
Benedic, Domine, creaturam istam cerevisae, quam ex adipe frumenti producere dignatus es: ut sit remedium salutare humano generi: et praesta per invocationem nominis tui sancti, ut, quicumque ex ea biberint, sanitatem corporis, et animae tutelam percipiant. Per Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen
This is translated as:
Bless, O Lord, this creature beer, which thou hast deigned to produce from the fat of grain: that it may be a salutary remedy to the human race, and grant through the invocation of thy holy name; that, whoever shall drink it, may gain health in body and peace in soul. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Pics: Celebration of Saint Arnould September 2018
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