Next weekend the Italian city of Venice is organising a Belgian beer weekend. From Saturday 18 to Monday 20 April no fewer than 25 Belgian breweries will be selling their wares in the market hall near to the Rialto Bridge.
The Venice Belgian Beer Weekend will be similar to the annual beer festival that takes place on Brussels’ central market square each year during the first weekend of September. Belgian beer weekends have also taken place in Japan, the first of which was held in 2010.
Italy is the first other EU country to organise a Belgian beer event on this scale. The CEO of the Belgian Brewers Association Krishan Maudgal told the press agency Belga that Italy “Is an attractive market for many brewers in our federation,” Among the brewers travelling to Venice are the brewing giant AB InBev and smaller brewers such as De Meester from West Flanders and Dupont from Hainaut Province.
Italy is the fourth-largest export market within the European Union for Belgian brewers. Only France, the Netherlands and Spain buy more of our beer. Exports of Belgian beer to Italy have doubled over the past ten years and are estimated to have reached around 859,000 hectolitres in 2024.