Belgo Sapiens

Belgo Sapiens is a quiet ground breaker among Belgium’s new generation of brewers. Leading the way on canning (still a rarity in the country) and contract brewing, Damien Demunter and Mathieu Lane spend most of their time in the brewery, on an industrial estate just outside Brussels.

Their combined industry experience and connections would make them ones to watch, even if it weren’t for the consistently high-quality, innovative beers they produce.

Their name, a play on words that translates into something close to ‘wise Belgians’, is both an allusion to the long track record of Belgian brewing and a clue that evolution is at work here. Having brewed its first beer in summer 2015, Belgo Sapiens now has four styles: A lager, a porter, an American amber and a Belgian white beer.

Damien is proud of the fact that, while he is experienced in and has great respect for the Belgian style, his travels and experiences in other beer-producing countries have given him a certain indifference to the idea of strict styles.

“Neither Mathieu nor I are particularly attached to ‘style’. Our Belgian white is not really a Belgian white, the lager is a mix of a Belgian and German lager. We take what we think works from all these traditions, add something of our own and hopefully move people’s thinking a little.

“So far, we’ve had good success, even if in small volumes. The lager people enjoy. There’s still some reluctance around higher bitterness, so the American amber ale hasn’t done quite as well. But then it’s just a question of getting people to try it – they’re put off by the 50 IBU, but it’s got the complexity of malt, hops and flavour to balance it out.”

As well as these four beers though, Belgo Sapiens has made a name for itself as a contract brewer – partly because of the technical expertise of the team, and partly because of the high-spec canning and bottling lines that are so unusual for a smaller brewer. Indeed, the contract side of the business has done so well that in 2016 it accounted for almost 80% of Belgosapiens’ output.

“We are the only one in Belgium to can small volumes,” says Damien. “You don’t find that in France. It’s been very difficult to convert people to cans, but they are coming around. I firmly believe we’re leading that trend. Once you explain to people the benefits of cans over bottles, they slowly begin to understand.”

Damien says the success of the contract brewing business has drawn attention away from putting in the leg work required to grow Belgo Sapiens’ own beers, but this is something they intend to address.

“We’ve grown very quickly and have really been trapped out here,” he laughs. “People know us and know what we’re doing, and we have good relationships with the other small breweries out there. It’s just that when we meet, they have to come to us!”