Zythos, the beer appreciation and promotion society which organizes Belgium’s premier beer festival, ZBF (Zythos Beer Fest) will soon have its first affiliated chapter in French-speaking Wallonia, “Slow Beer Club.” As of late September, all 40 of the Zythos-affiliated clubs were located in Dutch-speaking Flanders. “There are over 3,600 members of Zythos. All members belong to one of the affiliated clubs,” Luc Smekens, one of the ZBF organizers, told me recently.

“Slow Beer Club” was formed in 2013 by young, passionate beer lovers in Namur Province. One of them, Michael Hulet, tells me that his group will hold tastings, visit breweries, pair beer with food, and promote fine Belgian beers: “We have over 50 members now already,” Hulet commented. “Our membership in Zythos is likely to be made official sometime soon.”

They will also organize a beer festival on October 26-27, called Festibière Gembloux 2013. It will showcase 20+ small, mostly Wallonian breweries. The location is Gembloux’s town hall, in the heart of the city. The hours are 11 am to 8 pm Saturday 26th and 10 am to 7 pm Sunday 27th.

Hulet and a partner have also opened an on-line beer shop, Beergusto.com, that ships to the U.S. and Canada, as well as other countries. They currently stock over 400 beers, with more on the way. His partner also opened a retail shop, Beer, Wine and Coffee at Rue du Fond du Maréchal, 25, Namur. It’s just a short distance off the E42 motorway and N4 National Highway, so is convenient if you are driving in the area north of the city of Namur.