Food & Beer Culture

What food pairs well with witbier? Light, fresh dishes where citrus and herbs can shine. The classic pairing is mosselen met friet, mussels with fries, enjoyed all over Belgium. The subtle tartness and orange peel cut through the salty richness and keep the dish feeling fresh.

A second example is witloof, as the Flemish call chicory. It's often wrapped in ham and baked with cheese. The vegetable's delicate bitterness meets the pale beer, which never overpowers it. Witloof is considered Belgium's national vegetable, and Flemish Brabant is one of the regions where it's grown.

In Leuven, beer life centers on the Oude Markt, a long square in front of the town hall lined café after café. It's a student city, and you can feel it: in the evening, students and locals alike sit outside, order beer in small glasses, and linger for hours.

Research is part of the beer culture here too. KU Leuven runs a one-year postgraduate program in Malting and Brewing Sciences, training brewers and maltsters from around the world, complete with its own pilot brewery on the Arenberg campus in Heverlee. This makes Leuven a city where beer is both enjoyed and studied, to understand why it tastes the way it does. The Leuven Institute for Beer Research supports this work, and some brewers from Hoegaarden and the surrounding area have gained their knowledge here.