Leuven Innovation Beer Festival in Leuven (Belgium)
Our guide during the Beerwalk in Mechelen told us about Leuven Innovation Beer Festival. Here you won’t find big breweries but rather small innovative breweries.
During this edition, 16 breweries from all over the world were invited to let their beers tasted at De Hoorn Brewery in Leuven.
De Hoorn brewery was the perfect location for this beer festival: a beautiful building with enormous history. Besides the different brewery stands, there were also standing and normal tables where you can stand or sit to taste your beers. Later in the afternoon, it was getting busier, making the room a little bit too small.
Leuven Innovation Beer Festival is not cheap: 25 euro if you buy your tickets online beforehand. For this, you will get 8 tokens, a tasting glass, a bottle of water and a booklet with all the different breweries and beers. There is also a free place to hang your coats and toilets are free.
The beers
Before going to the festival, I made a list of all the beers I wanted to taste. These were mainly the sour beers. My boyfriend is more a fan of stout beers.
I tasted:
- Marc de Merlot by brewery À tue-tête – grape ale; 6.5% alc vol
- Sou’rish 1 by Bogedal brew – oak matured soft sour; 7.7% alc vol
- Rosé by Bryggeri Helsinki – wine beer; 8.8% alc vol
- Hungarian Terroir: Villány – Spontan Syrah by Monyo brewing company – Spontaneously Fermented Beer Aged In Hungarian Syrah Red Wine Barrels; 8.1% alc vol
- Witgoud by Brouwerij Hof Ten Dormaal – Belgian blond with chicory roots; 8% alc vol
- Triple Virgin Cherries by Edge Brewing Barcelona – Belgian tripel with cherries; 7.7% alc vol
- Ardenne Wild by Brasserie Minne – sour ale; 6% alc vol
- Leche del Diablo by The Dancing Camel Brewing company – Chili Pepper Belgian-style Wit; 5% alc vol
My favourite beers were:
- Triple Virgin Cherries
- Witgoud
- Leche del Diablo
I also tried a few sips of de Mead by Hof Ten Dormaal (delicious!) and some stout beers by De Moersleutel. I like stout beers for only a few sips, not a whole glass. I prefer the sour beers.
You can follow my beer adventures through Untappd
When visiting the Leuven Innovation Beer Festival, you can stay for the weekend. Book your hotel here.
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