The corona crisis has left its mark on the Brussels brewers. After all, they suddenly had barrels of beer that could no longer be sold. Instead of just emptying it, four breweries now jointly market the distillate ‘Smells Like Brussels Spirit’.
“Smells like Brussels Spirit” is a collaboration between 4 Brussels breweries: Brussels Beer Project, En Stoemelings, La Source and No Science. Due to the corona crisis, all four had barrels of unsold beer that could no longer be sold. They have then processed this into an “eau de bière” of 37.5%. The spirit has flavours of gin and peket, a local spirit from the Walloon region in Belgium.
Sébastien Morvan of the Brussels Beer Project confirmed that, for now, this is a one-off project, motivated by the exceptional circumstances that the brewers are currently facing. Although, you never know if a second batch or a different brew might follow, as the 4 brewers have now gotten to know each other a lot better. Maybe we’ll see some nice collaboration beers together with the Brussels Beer Project and other local Brussels breweries.
If you want to taste the brew, you have to be quick, because there are only 1,400 bottles for sale. It might not be a Belgian beer from the Brussels Beer Project this time, but totally worth if you’d like to try something completely new.
The spirit is being sold for €33, about £30 and shipping to the UK is about £7. Not a bad price for a totally unique Belgian brew. You can buy “Smells like Brussels Spirit” on the Brussels Beer Project website for €33 + shipping.