Beer in Luxembourg: the old breweries and the new ones

Luxembourg has a brewing tradition that predates most of the country's other industries, a handful of long-established national brands that dominate every bar tap, and a craft scene that has developed steadily over the last decade without displacing them. It also sits between Belgium and Germany, which means the two great brewing cultures of Europe are both within an easy drive and both are well represented in the shops here. For a beer drinker this is a good place to live.

The national brewers

• Bofferding, from Bascharage, is the most widely poured and the default lager in a large share of the country's bars.
• Diekirch, from the town of the same name in the north, is the other national name and has a long history.
• Simon, from Wiltz, is smaller, independent and produces a broader range including seasonal and speciality beers.
• Battin, from Esch, is another long-established name.

These are pilsners in the northern European style: clean, cold and unremarkable in the way that a well-made everyday lager is meant to be. Ordering "eng Béier" in a Luxembourg bar gets you a small glass of one of them, and that is entirely normal.

How beer is ordered here

• The standard measure is small, and a large one has to be asked for. This surprises visitors from the United Kingdom and Germany.
• Draught is the default and bottles are for the speciality range.
• Prices are high relative to Belgium and Germany, in line with everything else here.
• Terrace service in summer is the point of the exercise, and the terraces on the Place d'Armes, in the Grund and at Clausen are where the city drinks.
• Bars close earlier than in southern Europe on weeknights, and later than you expect at weekends.

The craft scene

Luxembourg's craft brewing has grown from almost nothing to a real presence, with a number of small breweries operating across the country and taprooms and specialist bars in the capital and the south.

• The range is what you would expect: IPAs, pale ales, stouts, sours and seasonal beers, brewed in small volumes.
• Distribution is limited, so the way to drink it is at the brewery, at a specialist bar, or from a bottle shop.
• Specialist bars in the Ville-Haute, the Gare district and Esch carry both domestic craft and imported ranges.
• Beer festivals and taproom events run through the year and are the best way to taste across producers in one afternoon.

Check what is currently operating before making a trip. Small breweries open and close, and taproom hours are frequently limited to weekends.

Where to drink in the capital

• Rives de Clausen, the former Mousel brewery site, is the largest concentration of bars in the country and the centre of the city's late nightlife. It is loud, it is busy at weekends, and it is the answer for a group.
• The Grund, along the Rue Saint-Ulric and the Bisserwé, has bars by the water under the cliffs, and it is the best setting in the city.
• The Ville-Haute, around the Place d'Armes and the side streets, covers everything from terraces to speciality bars.
• The Gare district has the widest range and the lowest prices.
• Esch-sur-Alzette, twenty-five minutes by train, has more bars, cheaper, and a younger crowd driven by the university.

If you live above one of these, you know about it at two in the morning on a Saturday. It is an address-level question worth asking before signing a lease in the lower town.

Belgium and Germany, fifteen minutes away

The genuine advantage of drinking beer in Luxembourg is what surrounds it.

• Belgian abbey and Trappist beers are widely available in shops here and are the strongest argument for the country's beer retail.
• German pilsner, weissbier and altbier are equally accessible, and Trier is fifty minutes by train.
• Supermarkets carry a range of both that would be considered specialist in most countries.
• Cross-border shopping for beer is common and is cheaper in Germany and Belgium than in Luxembourg.

Practical points

• Drink-driving limits are strict and enforced, and the penalties are serious. Public transport is free, which removes the excuse entirely.
• Bottle deposits apply to some formats.
• Terraces are the summer institution, and the first warm evening of the year fills every one in the city.
• The Schueberfouer in late summer is where a large part of the country drinks beer for three weeks.
• Sunday is quieter, with bars open and a good deal of the city at lunch instead.

Terraces, and the summer calendar

Beer in Luxembourg is a seasonal activity, and the calendar is worth knowing because it is when the country is at its most sociable.

• The first warm weekend in spring fills every terrace in the capital, and it functions as an unofficial start to the year.
• The Place d'Armes, the Grund and Clausen hold the best terraces, and the Grund by the water in June is as good as anywhere in Europe.
• Village festivals run through the summer across the communes, with beer tents and food, and they are the easiest way into local social life.
• The Schueberfouer, from late August for around three weeks on the Glacis, is the largest event of the year and a substantial part of it is drinking beer with people you know.
• The National Day celebrations on the evening of 22 June fill the capital.
• Terraces close early in the autumn, and the indoor season is considerably quieter.

Households who join in with the village festivals integrate faster than those who do not, and this is the least demanding version of it: turn up, buy a beer, talk to a neighbour.

Three questions we are asked

Is Luxembourg beer any good?

The national lagers are competent everyday beers rather than remarkable ones, which is what they are meant to be. The craft scene has some genuinely good producers, and the real advantage is the access to Belgian and German brewing on the doorstep.

Where is the nightlife?

Rives de Clausen for volume, the Grund for setting, the Gare district for range and price, and Esch for a younger and cheaper night out. The capital is not a late city by southern European standards and it closes earlier than visitors expect.

Should I avoid living near the bars?

If you value sleep at the weekend, yes, and the effect is highly localised. A flat above the Rives de Clausen and one three hundred metres away are entirely different products. Visit at eleven on a Saturday night before signing anything in the lower town.

Why this matters when you are choosing where to live

Nightlife noise in the Grund and Clausen is one of the clearest examples of a property question that cannot be answered at district level. We check it street by street, and we tell people when an address is going to be loud.

A feature connected to why this matters when you are choosing where to live should also survive a budget check.

For how beer is ordered here, note what you can see, what you can measure, what you need to ask and what would be expensive to change.

The final decision around the national brewers should be explainable in a few sentences. For the question raised by “The national brewers”, the useful detail is not a generic list of advantages.

For the craft scene, note what you can see, what you can measure, what you need to ask and what would be expensive to change. For the question raised by “The national brewers”, the useful detail is not a generic list of advantages.