Belgian Beer World Experience (Brussels, Belgium)

The Belgian Beer World Experience gives visitors an interactive look at the country's brewing history, along with tastings!

Banners for the Belgian Beer World Experience hanging between the pillars of a tall imposing Roman style building.

The Belgian Beer World Experience is a museum found in the city center of Brussels. It's housed in a gorgeous neoclassical building (Beurs Bourse) that was the stock exchange until 1996.

Now a renovated public space, it also holds a cafe, a restaurant called The Brasserie, and a beautiful rooftop terrace (the Beerlab) with fantastic views of the city.

Interior of the building housing the Belgian Beer World Experience, with a high domed ceiling and multiple Roman style pillars.

If you're trying to decide how best to include the local beer culture in your travels, here are our thoughts on the Belgian Beer World Experience.

View of pillars and archways from upper level of building housing Belgian Beer World Experience.

Will I Enjoy This Museum?

Maybe! It was set up like an interactive children’s museum, but was very much for adults. Don’t expect beer tastings until you near the end of the tour.

It’s a fairly extensive museum, and it took longer than I anticipated to move through.

We enjoyed it, but if you’re not sure about the museum part, another option would be to skip the tour and enjoy the rooftop bar at the end. (Simply take the elevator to the roof.)

If you do pay for the museum tour, your ticket includes a drink at the rooftop bar.

Sign listing ticket prices for Belgian Beer World Experience.

Another beer stop to consider in Brussels is definitely the traditional lambic producer Cantillon Brewery!

The Archeological Exhibit

The beer world exhibit includes access to the ruins of an old convent under the building. It's known as Bruxella 1238 and dates from the Middle Ages.

Archaeological exhibit featuring ruins from old convent under the building currently housing the Belgian Beer World Experience.

This would normally have been quite interesting to me, but it was extremely warm inside when we visited so we rushed through this part a bit.

It includes a funerary site for John I, a 13th century duke popularly connected with Gambrinus, "king of beer" according to European legend.

Sign explaining the history of the tomb of John I, called "the king of beer."

The Belgian Beer World Exhibit

The exhibit started with a monument to the King of Beer, along with an animated video.

Golden monument to "king of beer" with animated video playing on embedded screen.

There was information about the history of brewing that I thought was really interesting, including the shift from it being a typical women's job to that of men.

Murals depicting medieval beer brewers in Belgian Beer World Experience.

Sign explaining history of female brewers.

There were lots of interactive displays where you could attempt to do things like select the right options during the brewing process, or smell some of the brewing ingredients.

Containers holding various herbs used in beer brewing.

Next we got two beer tastings, which were nice and refreshing. (They were on a tray; I’m not sure exactly which beers we had.)

Two glasses of beer samples at Belgian Beer World Experience.

Further interactive displays explained the types of fermentation used in beer brewing.

Museum area in Belgian Beer World Experience explaining types of fermentation.

Interactive museum display about spontaneous fermentation.

There was also a video room with a story about how yeast works. It was fun, and at one point bubbles started blowing out of the wall.

Video room featuring orange and yellow display on walls and floor.

At the end of the tour, there was an interactive beer quiz to give you an idea of what beer you might enjoy.

It was a bit like taking an online personality test, so I think it was just for fun and to give you pointers on what to order if you aren't sure.

Screen displaying personalized beer recommendations at Belgian Beer World Experience.

Once you’re at the bar, there’s a list of which beers are included in the museum tour ticket. (Although you’re welcome to order additional beers.)

Menu displaying beers on tap, bottles, wines and soft drinks at Belgian Beer World Experience.

If the weather is nice, I definitely recommend taking your beer outside onto the balcony for a gorgeous view of Brussels. (This may be one of the best views of the city.)