The Belgian beer Heverlee is launching a micro-festival in Edinburgh’s New Waverley arches later this month.

The 5pm Dining blog has had a soft spot for Heverlee ever since its brewer, Joris Brams, introduced us to the delights of Belgian beer and Heverlee way back in 2014.

That soft spot only became softer/deeper (?) in 2015 when the beer brand did a pop-up in Tontine Lane during the Merchant city Festival.

They are building on that legacy with a three day event taking place in the disused arches at New Waverly. The event begins on Thursday 21st July, the National Day of Belgium.

Pop-up Heverlee beer garden

Food, music, art and, of course, Heverlee beer will all go into the mix in this pop-up Belgian beer garden.

Street food market, The Pitt, will venture out of Leith for a rare appearance in the city centre. They will be dishing up Belgian dishes such as moules-frites, steak-frites and carbonade flamande, a traditional Belgian beef stew, made with… well, you can probably guess the beer.

For those looking for something sweet, mouth-watering traditional Belgian waffles will also be served.

Electronic DJs

Over the course of the micro-festival, Firecracker Recordings will programme a hand-picked line-up of eclectic electronic DJs to soundtrack the party atmosphere.

Those playing include the likes of Charlie Bones of London’s underground radio station NTS and Edinburgh’s own Linkwood. Another big name on the bill will be LuckyMe Record’s Éclair Fifi.

Artist Fraser Gray, who runs LeithLate’s highly successful Shutter Project and Mural Projects, will also be inviting a range of street artists to create one-off murals.

Apparently, Belgium is one of the most prolific countries in the world for contemporary street art. The festival’s street artists will be taking their cue from Belgian life.

Edinburgh’s projection specialists KinoKlub will be installing an immersive art installation in one of the arches. On the Sunday, Picture House Pop Up will take over the arch for an exclusive screening of two feature length films, soon to be announced.

Limited edition brews

At the bar, guests will have the chance to enjoy cold pints of Heverlee pilsner style lager. The recipe for for the beer was inspired by master brewer, Joris Brams, after he found descriptions of a historical beer brewed by monks at the Abbey of the Order of Premontre, Leuven in 1129.

Guests will also get to try two limited Heverlee brews, created in Belgium especially for the event and revealed on the opening night.

Heverlee at New Waverley, East Market Street, Edinburgh. No entry fees apply.

Opening Times:

Fri 21st: 4pm-11pm

Sat 22nd: noon-11pm

Sun 23rd: noon-11pm (Includes special cinema screenings)