The life and times of the Brussels Beer Project

What started as two friends in a small garage has grown into an international organisation, as the Brussels Beer Project (BBP) celebrates six years of brewing in the Belgian capital. 

It all started when co-founders Sébastien Morvan and Olivier de Brauwere met as exchange college students in Canada. They enjoyed all kinds of beer, some good and some not so good. Later in life they reconnected and decided to do something special together for their 30th birthdays.

"At 30 we wanted to follow our own dream and it seemed like beer was the most exciting thing we could do together," Morvan said. "We started to get a deeper knowledge of beer. We brewed in Olivier's garage and went through all the YouTube tutorials, and all the forums to learn more. We went to brewing school and then one year later Brussels Beer project was born."

BBP was founded on millennial ideology and progressive thinking. Their brewery on Dansaert is filled with shiny machinery and young faces. The manifesto on their website says: "The idea is to tap into co-creation and forget about copy and pasting the past. We breathe the contemporary Brussels, a cosmopolitan town that lives and evolves."

The brewery opened with their Delta IPA, a beer with notes of passionfruit and lychee. Back in a 2013 competition it beat three other prototypes - Alpha, Beta and Gamma - to be elected as the locals' favourite.

Now, the brewery makes a new beer every two weeks. One of the more interesting variations is Babylone. Made from recycled bread, a single bottle is the equivalent of two slices of bread.

Since the very start, BBP has moved fast, opening tap rooms in Paris and Tokyo. Now work is under way to build a brand-new brewery in Anderlecht next year in the Port Sud district.

Sébastien Morvan will be discussing the circular and participative economy at Full Circle this Tuesday evening (25 June), in an event entitled "A Wasteless Revolution". He will reflect on how far the project has come - and on the challenges that lie ahead.

Full Circle, 25 June 18.30-20.30