Mannenliefde Saison Named Best Beer at 2025 Brussels Beer Challenge

Amsterdam-based Oedipus Brewing’s Mannenliefde saison was named Best of Show at the 2025 Brussels Beer Challenge, rising to the top of more than 1,700 beers submitted by breweries from 36 countries.

Founded in 2012, the Brussels Beer Challenge is an annual international competition held in Belgium, a country with a longstanding brewing tradition. Each year, dozens of judges—including brewers, beer sommeliers, journalists, and buyers—evaluate entries over several days through blind tastings. Beers are awarded medals within their categories, and a small number are selected for top distinctions such as Best Hoppy Beer and Best of Show, accolades that often bring increased international attention and market visibility.

Mannenliefde, brewed with Sorachi Ace hops, lemongrass, and Szechuan pepper, impressed judges with its balance and restraint. “When the beer is fresh, it’s simply fantastic, something that really comes through in a blind tasting,” said Luc De Raedemaeker, beer sommelier, editor-in-chief of Bière Grand Cru, and co-founder of the Brussels Beer Challenge. “The hops and pepper are fully integrated.”

Beyond its flavor profile, Mannenliefde has long stood out for its branding and cultural messaging. The beer’s pink packaging — featuring an illustration of a heart shaved into body hair — and its name, which translates from Dutch as “men’s love,” were conceived as a response to narrow and gendered norms in beer marketing. In 2017, Oedipus released a short parody video critiquing those conventions. The video’s visuals and Dutch text overlay highlight beer advertising tropes like “grilling hunks of meat” and verbalize subtext like “forced suppression of (men’s) feelings” for comedic effect and social critique. According to the Mannenliefde page on the Oedipus website, “Our saison wears its heart on its sleeve to encourage openness, vulnerability, and diversity,” and the beer’s target audience is “everyone.”

Mannenliefde also holds a particular place in the brewery’s history: It was the first beer commercially released by Oedipus Brewing in 2012, helping establish the Amsterdam brewery’s identity early on through both flavor and philosophy.

In 2023, Heineken, which had held a minority stake in Oedipus since 2019, acquired full ownership of the brewery. At the time, Oedipus business director Frederik van Droffelaar said the acquisition would provide financial stability amid rising raw material costs across the beer industry. While the deal offered operational support, it also prompted discussion about how Oedipus’ independent-minded branding and social commentary would evolve under global ownership.

Oedipus is celebrating its Brussels Beer Challenge win with a Mannenliefde Best of Show Pack, which includes a bottle of the awarded beer, branded glassware, and apparel. Availability and pricing vary by market.