B. bruxellensis plays a key role in the production of the typical Belgian beer styles such as lambic, Flanders red ales, gueuze and kriek, and is part of spontaneous fermentation biota.

It is naturally found in the brewery environment living within oak barrels that are used for the storage of beer during the secondary conditioning stage.

[2] In the wine industry, B. bruxellensis is generally considered a spoilage yeast and it and other members of the genus are often referred to as Brettanomyces ("brett").

Its metabolic products can impart "sweaty saddle leather", "barnyard", "burnt plastic" or "band-aid" aromas to wine.

[citation needed] If wine becomes contaminated by brett, some vintners sterile filter it, add SO2, or treat it with dimethyl dicarbonate.