Fewer than 10 years ago you could count on one hand the number of major bar shows across the world. BCB Berlin, Tales of the Cocktail and London Cocktail Week were the only ones with international draw. Over the subsequent decade the needle has shifted. Hundreds of bar shows now take place in cities across the world from Medellin to Almaty with a much bigger focus on growing the local scene rather than attracting international attention.

The second edition of Brussels Bar Show took place in March this year and, while it did attract international media, the focus was on highlighting the local bars, brands and drinking heritage.

Belgium has been brewing beer for more than a millennium and its traditional lambic style played a central role at the bar show. Cantillon is one of the last breweries of its kind in Brussels dating back to 1900 and still produces lambic, gueuze and fruit beers via spontaneous fermentation.

“As a brand we sell pretty much everything we produce. We’re currently in a balancing act between protecting the legacy of lambic style beers and also appealing to more consumers,” says Jean Van Roy, master brewer and fourth generation family member.

The scarcity of some of Cantillon’s beers makes it one of the most collected beer brands in the world. The Y12 Jamaica, for example, is a 16-month-old lambic brewed in 2021 which is aged for eight months in a Jamaican rum barrel.

“Given the nature of how we make our beers, each release is like a vintage,” adds Van Roy. “A combination of experimentation and spontaneous fermentation adds variety to our beers, but it’s no secret that we need to be attractive to the next generation of drinkers.”

Despite its rich history, lambic is a style in decline. Brussels once boasted hundreds of lambic breweries but today Cantillon is lone survivor. Regula Ysewijn, a food historian and author, says: “We’re certainly seeing a change in younger people. They aren’t spending as much time in estaminets (local cafes) and the type of beer they’re drinking isn’t as strong as traditional styles.”

One of the focuses at this year’s Brussels Bar Show was the use of lambic beer in cocktails with the ambition of exposing the style to younger consumers and reconnecting them to their heritage.

Three Belgian bars; Yi Chan, Bar Ran and Botanical by Alfonse played a central role at the bar show in the form of Cream Cocktail Collective, an educational platform which held “Belgian beer in cocktailsˮ workshops throughout the two-day show. The synopsis of the workshops was to demonstrate how Belgian beers can increasingly function as structural and flavour components in modern cocktails.

Yen Pham, founder of Yi Chan bar in Brussels, said: “These beers are so complex which makes them great to build drinks with. I don’t think it’s enough just to promote them as beers in their own right, but an ingredient which can be used to create with.

“Brands like Cantillon are a big part our identity so we want to protect their future by incorporating them in modern drinking occasions.”

The third edition of Brussels Bar Show is set to take place at Silo, Brussels from 21-22 March 2027.