Sainte-Catherine church to launch its own beer

Brussels' Sainte-Catherine Church will launch its own beer next week, with some of the profits going towards maintenance work on the 150-year-old building.

Father Jérémie and three other priests have worked with local brewer the Brussels Beer Project to develop Ste Kat - a "church beer" that follows in the steps of Belgium's famous abbey brewing tradition.

According to the brewers, the beer has "a certain bitterness, floral and papaya notes". A first batch of 50,000 bottles has come off the production line a few hundred metres from the church at BBP's headquarters on Rue Dansaert.

The priests and brewers will present the beer to the public next Wednesday (4 October) at a party on Place Sainte-Catherine from 18.00.

Then, from Thursday, the beer will be on sale in the church, at the brewery and at various pubs and cafes around the city, including several on Sainte-Catherine square itself.

Beers sold directly by the church, through its not-for-profit association, will raise funds for improvement works on the church and for an upcoming pilgrimage.

Brussels Beer Project said the initiative aimed to "recentre the church in the heart of its neighbourhood and contribute to local life".