Schaerbeek Beer Museum

The Schaerbeek Beer Museum is a small, community-run beer museum in Schaerbeek, one of the nineteen municipalities of Brussels. It was founded in 1993 by a group of eleven enthusiasts and officially opened its doors in March 1994. The municipality of Schaerbeek provided the space: an unused technical wing of an old school on rue de la Ruche, where the museum, run as a non-profit association, still operates today.

Why a beer museum in Schaerbeek?

The location is no accident. Back in 1899, the municipality of Schaerbeek counted no fewer than thirteen breweries within its borders — brewing was simply part of everyday industrial life here. As those breweries closed one by one over the twentieth century, a handful of local volunteers decided to preserve that heritage rather than let it disappear, and the museum was born out of that effort.

What's inside

The core of the collection is more than 2,500 bottles of Belgian beer, many displayed together with their matching branded glass — a detail that shows just how tied Belgian beer culture is to presentation and ritual. Alongside the bottles sits a collection of around 5,000 beer glasses, spanning an enormous range of shapes, sizes and breweries.

Beyond glassware, the museum also displays brewing equipment and tools once used in beer production, plus archives from both defunct and still-active breweries: documents, signage, advertisements, coasters and labels. Together these pieces trace how beer marketing and brewing technique evolved across the decades in this one corner of Brussels.

A reconstructed early-1900s tavern

One of the museum's highlights is a reconstructed tavern from the early 1900s, set up in the former school workshops that now house the collection. Here visitors can try the Schaerbeekoise, a beer brewed exclusively for the museum by the Brasserie des Rocs, turning a visit into something closer to a tasting session than a standard walk-through exhibition.

Practical information

The museum sits in Schaerbeek (Schaarbeek), near coordinates 50.8633°N, 4.37504°E, within the Brussels-Capital Region. Opening hours are limited but regular: Wednesday to Friday 12:00–14:30 and 18:30–21:30, Saturday 12:00–14:30 and 18:30–22:00, and Sunday 12:00–16:00. Since the museum is largely volunteer-run, it's worth calling ahead on +32 2 762 46 98 to confirm opening times before visiting.

Frequently asked questions

Is this a large museum? No — it's a small, community-run institution rather than a major city-centre attraction, and its charm lies precisely in that intimate, hands-on character.

Can you eat or drink there? Yes, the reconstructed tavern serves the museum's own Schaerbeekoise beer, brewed specifically for the collection.

Is it easy to reach? It's located in Schaerbeek, one of the municipalities that make up the Brussels-Capital Region, making it easy to combine with a wider visit to the city.

Who is it for? Mainly beer enthusiasts and anyone interested in local industrial history, looking for something more authentic than the commercial beer attractions found in central Brussels.