The beer market in Belgium

Beer is considered the world's best-selling alcoholic beverage.

It is mainly produced from barley malt, sometimes supplemented by other cereals. It can be consumed in bottles, cans or kegs. There are several types of beer: lager, white beer, red beer and brown beer. This difference in color results from the choice of malt and the temperature at which it is boiled.

Belgium's brewing sector is particularly diverse, ranging from large industrial brewers to artisanal micro-breweries. Some of the country's oldest breweries date back centuries, while new ones continue to spring up. There are some 430 breweries throughout the country, all of which help to renew the range of products on offer and bring certain innovations to beer.

Beer is an important part of Belgian culture. It's a hallmark of national know-how, which is reflected in the product's extensive exports. Today, we can count between 60 and 110 hop producers, which proves that this sector is extremely rich and varied.

Belgian beers are distinguished by their variety of styles, each with its own distinctive taste:

Among the most famous are the following categories:

Abbey beers

Lambic beers

Gueuzes

White beers: brewed with wheat and pale malts;

Blonde beers: brewed with pale barley malts;

Rousse or amberbeers: brewed with more roasted barley malts;

Brown beers: brewed with highly roasted brown malts.

The Belgian beer market, however, faces a number of challenges, including increased regulatory pressure in the area of public health, as well as changing consumer habits, with a growing preference for alcohol-free products.

However, Belgian breweries can count on several levers for growth, particularly the premiumization of the market, the craze for craft beers and the rise of brewery wine tourism, which attracts thousands of visitors to the country's breweries every year.

In addition, the low-trend segment is growing in popularity with the development of alcohol-free beers. Growth is stabilizing at around 10% a year, and these beers are becoming more and more popular as a substitute for beer and alcoholic beverages.

Finally, the sector remains highly attractive, with a stable industrial structure.

The global beer market is dominated by a number of major international players(AbinBev, Heineken, CR Snow). The rest of the market is made up of alarge number of independent local players. The Belgian market is no exception to this trend. Local players are dynamic, and Belgians remain attached to local, artisanal production.

Finally, beer in Belgium remains a key segment of the global alcoholic beverage market , oscillating between know-how and new trends.