Belgium Beer Week 2026: What Went Down at Our Bottleshare Club

If you missed our recent Belgium Beer Week Tasting which took place on Tuesday 24 August - celebrating the start of Belgium Beer Week - you missed an epic journey through monks, harvest hops, and wine beer hybrids which really surprised! If you want to know more read on - and if you want to be the first to hear about our events sign up to our mailing list here

Check out our Belgian Beer Fridge and you might be able to grab a bottle or two of some of the below. Or keep an eye out for Belgian Beers on our closed loop Sustainable Flagon Refills.

Here’s a quick 30-Second Tasting Lineup - then read on to know more.

• Slaghmuylder Stimulo: Crisp, lively, and apparently packed with snap, crackle, and pop!

• Westmalle Duo: Rare draft only magic blending Tripel with snappy Extra.

• Westmalle Dubbel: Rich Candi sugar depth met its soulmate in fruit loaf and mature cheddar.

• De Ranke Hop Harvest 2025: Raw, whole-cone bitterness doing it’s hoppy magic - assertively bitter, then a chunk of Gouda smoothed everything out.

• Brasserie Dupont Bons Vœux: A celebratory 1.5L Magnum pour of Saison perfection, 9.5% of goodness.

• De Ranke Cuvée De Ranke: Funk, oak, and proper sour-bitter balance.

• Tilquin Pinot Noir: Grape pomace fruit lambic that with some dark chocolate and raspberries won over even the sour skeptics.

We kicked things off with Slaghmuylder Stimulo, a golden abbey-style blonde that led one attendee to blurt out, "Tastes like Rice Crispies!"—a testament to its bright, toasted grain body. Next up, the draft-only Westmalle Duo proved why Trappist blending is a lost art, with one attendee saying "If I didn't know I'd say this was a Modern Double IPA!" 

We then moved on to Westmalle Dubbel which showed off its rich Candi sugar backbone - which avid homebrewer and Beer No Evil Homebrew Club regular Simon stood and told us about the process and how Candi Sugar is used, instead of grain to add colour and depth to a Belgian Dubbel. This beer really came to life alongside spiced fruit loaf and sharp cheddar.

Things took a turn toward the world of BIG HOPS when we poured De Ranke Hop Harvest 2025. Jude who works with us nailed it, remarking, "It's like if The Kernel were in Belgium." Paired up with spicy cured meats, the transformation was instant: "It completely takes away the bitterness and you can taste the floral hops a lot more."

After popping a massive 1.5L Magnum of Dupont’s Avec Les Bons Vœux, we waded straight into wild sour territory. De Ranke’s Cuvée De Ranke brought the funky farmyard energy—prompting a laugh when someone noted it "smells a bit like old leather boots."

We finished on Tilquin’s Oude Pinot Noir, a wild lambic macerated on whole wine grapes. The ultimate proof that beer pairing works? A regular who openly said they didn’t like sour beers (and really didn’t like the Cuvée) took a bite of dark chocolate and fresh raspberry with the Tilquin and admitted: "Wow, the chocolate and raspberries make it so much smoother!"

Thanks to everyone who came along. And why not have a browse of our Belgian Fridge online, there are some wonderful things in there. Here’s to everyone who grabbed a ticket. Until the next bottle-share, keep exploring the good stuff!

Gareth and Gemma