40 international beer experts have gathered in Brussels for the first Brussels Beer Challenge-- an international three-day beer tasting contest.
The best of the 500 beers showcased from 16 countries are picked by the jury Sunday, when the event draws to a close.
A member of the organizing body said the new gourmet status beer holds is the reason behind the gathering.
Beer columnist Luc De Raedemaeker said, "Especially in Belgium, beer is still wrongly regarded as something to drink when you are thirsty or something to drink in a large quantity when you go out with your friends. It’s only recently, in the last few years, that beer has become more and more used at gastronomic events and that beer is regarded more as a delicacy and not only as a thirst quencher. We also see more strong gourmet beers. I think that explains why we did not have a beer contest in Belgium until now. We have been too lax and have not been proud enough of our good beers for too long."
Countries featured include Belgium, the United States, the U.K, Germany to name a few.
One American beer critic Lisa Morrison explained how the tricky task of evaluating a brew worked.
American beer critic Lisa Morrison said, "You start with the beer and you’ll admire the colour, look at it, see if it’s the right colour for that particular style and then, you will go from there. And probably at this point, you’ll give it a little swirl so it kind of gets everything going in there a little bit again. And then, you just give it a good whiff and try to really identify what some of those aromas are that you are picking up, then the next thing you do is you finally get to taste it."
For Chinese judge Wenjie ’Joop’ Shen, the contest is an opportunity to share experiences with other beer connoisseurs from across the world.
Shen said, "This is my first time, I feel very honoured to be judging together with the world’s experts. Everyone knows beer and I feel very proud to take part."
The Brussels Beer Challenge is part of ’Brusselicious’, a series of events organized by the Brussels Capital Region, in a bid to promote the city as a gourmet destination.