Flourishing Belgian microbreweries steal market share from the likes of AB InBev, by upholding a centuries-old tradition that quenches a modern thirst for all things local BRUSSELS — To understand why the world’s biggest brewer, Belgian giant AB InBev, is tying up with rival SABMiller, look no further than a modest craft brewery tucked away in a working-class Brussels district.Brasserie de la Senne was founded in 2003 and churns out only a fraction of the hundreds of beer brands owned by AB InBev, which is headquartered in the Flanders town of Louvain, 20km away.People "eat, drink, consume local more and more. It’s a major trend in Europe as well as in the US," says Brasserie de la Senne master brewer Bernard Leboucq as beer bottles clink by on a conveyor belt.Leboucq and partner Yvan de Baets are holding up a Belgian tradition that dates from the time of the Crusades. Fortunately for them, urban customers in the world’s richest markets are seeking the quirkier, more homegrown libat...
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