Visitors to Belgian capital Brussels will now be able to get an overview of the famed Belgian beermaking industry at a new museum-cum-visitor centre that opens today.

For a country that is one of the smallest in the European Union and counts just over 5 million people, less than half of Mumbai, Belgium has a very large and diverse beer industry, with over 430 breweries, many of which have been producing beers for centuries, often at a very small scale.

With over 20 million hectolitres or 2 billion litres beer produced every year, Belgium is one of the largest beer producers and second largest exporter in the European Union. It is famed for its beer-making skills, with over 1500 types of beers produced using different fermentation methods. So well-recognised is Belgium’s beer making skill that it has been inscribed as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).

Now, starting September 9, visitors to Brussels can delve into the history and diversity of the Belgian beermaking craft by hopping into the Belgian Beer World that has opened today in the neoclassical former Brussels Stock Exchange, that has been renovated at a cost of EUR 90 million.

According to a press release, visitors will learn about ‘Belgitude’ or Belgian identity and what distinguishes Belgian beer from others, such as the four different fermentation methods and the culture of each beer having its own branded glass.

‘‘In Belgium there is more to it than the liquid in the glass,’’ says Krishan Maudgal, director of the Belgian Brewers Association.

The new centre shows production in the Middle Ages, when beer was a safe alternative to contaminated water and hops were introduced as a preservative, and up to the modern day. The tour ends with a beer, suggested by a virtual barman, in the building’s rooftop terrace bar.

The centre expects to receive 300,000 visitors in its first year, with adult tickets costing EUR 17.