In his early twenties, Frank Boon fell under the spell of a beer style known as Oude Geuze. It was his ambition to take over ‘geuzestekerij De Vits’ in Lembeek. The roots of this brewery date back to 1680, but René De Vits had no successors. In 1975 Frank started in a cellar in Halle with the production of Geuze.
In the heart of Western Flanders, not far away from the busy traffic route Roeselare-Oostende, you will find the peaceful town of Ichtegem. Historically three breweries were present on its territory, today only one brewery is still operational. Situated in the shadow of the 17th century St-Michel’s Church, the traditional Strubbe Brewery is as old as Belgium itself.
The history of the brewery dates back to 1885. Today it is the fourth generation of the family Verhaeghe who owns the brewery. Brewery Verhaeghe focuses on the identity of its quality beers and feels confirmed in its choice: not only in Belgium, but also far outside the Belgian borders, the consumer prefers more and more beers of high quality with a unique identity.
Brasserie de Silly, situated 30 miles south from Brussels, was founded in 1850 and is active without interruption since 6 generations of brewers in the village of Silly. Initially founded as a farm-brewery, beer was brewed for the seasonal workers doing the harvest during the summer. Today, Brasserie de Silly is specialized in a great variety of typical Belgian craft beers. Since more than 165 years, the “Silly” beers are brewed following the same brewing techniques paying a lot of attention to quality, control and innovation.
Brewery St.Bernardus was founded in 1946 with one purpose: to brew and commercialise the beers of the Trappist monks of Westvleteren. After the Second World War, the monks did not want to commercialise their beers anymore, and were looking for somebody who would do that for them. A deal was made with the owner of a cheese factory in Watou, some 7 kilometres from the abbey. To start up the new brewery, the brew master from the Trappist monks became a partner in the brewery, and he brought along the knowhow, the recipes and the St. Sixtus-yeast. For many years we brewed and commercialised these beers under the names Trappist Westvleteren or St. Sixtus.
The De Brabandere brewery can look back on a rich history, but looks to the future with equal confidence. The dream that the founder Adolphe De Brabandere cherished at the end of the nineteenth century when he laid the foundations of his brewery in Bavikhove has become a reality in the successful company of today. With a rich assortment of beers that are enjoyed by connoisseurs far beyond our borders. Brewing was, is, and will continue to be an art at De Brabandere. Consider our numerous characterful beers with confidence as a heritage: made with traditional craftsmanship, with authentic ingredients and … much love. The creation of a unique taste sensation to share with friends, this drives De Brabandere day in and day out, with no compromises.
At Itterbeek, just outside Brussels, Timmermans has been brewing lambic beers for over three hundred years, making it the oldest lambic brewery in the world. Today, Anthony Martin and his Master Brewer Willem van Herreweghen have combined the old brewing recipes and classic methods to restore authenticity while benefiting from the unique expertise provided by Martin’s “Finest Beer Selection”, a truly unique range of the finest beers.
This is the story of a family brewery located in the historical center of Bruges. Since 1856, six generations of the Maes’ family have been leading the brewery with one single goal: producing superior beer both in quality and in taste, while respecting the traditional art of brewing.
In 1624, the city of Watou near Poperinge was granted the privilege of becoming an earldom for the Earls van Yedegem. This family owned the castle of Watou, to which they constructed a brewery. During the French Revolution the brewery was rebuilt by a local farmer, under the typical Belgian slogan “Revolt all you want, but we still need beer here”. The business was led by the Van Eecke family for a hundred years, until the Leroy family inherited the brewery in 1962.
In recent months, the De Koninck brewery site on Mechelsesteenweg in Antwerp has been a hive of activity and construction work. While the brewers carry on brewing their celebrated Bollekes in the brewhouse, walls have been knocked out in the surrounding buildings to create new spaces. Starting from summer 2015, the renovated city brewery will be opened to the public so that everyone can come and discover what goes on inside.
Brewery De Ryck was founded in 1886 by Gustave De Ryck under the name Brewery ’De Gouden Arend’, as a tribute to his teacher of ‘Brauerei zum goldenen Adler’ in Bremen, where he did his traineeship. At that time the brewery produced a blond and dark beer, ‘Uitzet’. Gustave was succeeded by his son Clément and his two daughters Valerie and Julia. Considering the brewery survived two world wars, we can conclude they were very dedicated to their tasks.
Founded in 1769, the brewery Dubuisson is the oldest and most traditional brewery in the Walloon region. From the very outset and up to the present, the brewery Dubuisson has remained a 100% independent brewery, making entirely natural beers with no chemical additives.
The brewery Dupont, family owned since 1920, is co-writer of a real part of the Belgian beer history. Situated in Tourpes (West Hainaut) and incorporated in an old farm dating from 1759, the brewing activity has been going on since 1844.
Duvel Moortgat is one of the largest independent brewing groups in Belgium and differentiates itself from its competitors by its focus on specialty beers. Its current success is based on following factors: High-quality products, strong brands, a variety of national and international distribution channels and modern production facilities.
Brewery Het Anker is one of the oldest breweries of Belgium. Located in the former hospital of Mechelen where the nuns brewed beer since 1471, Het Anker is now owned by the fifth generation of the family who bought it in 1872.
Brewery Huyghe is a brewery with a century old history, as the first brewing activities in Melle date back to 1654. In 1906 Léon Huyghe started the brewery. Since then the brewery carries the name Huyghe and the current CEO – Alain De Laet – is the fourth generation in the family brewery.
The origin of the Lefebvre brewery goes back to 1876 with Jules Lefebvre. He supplied beverages to the pubs around the big stone extraction of Quenast. In 1921, Auguste Lefebvre, Jules‘ son, moves the brewery to a neighboring hill in order to avoid the annual floods of the Senne. In the following years, Gaston Lefebvre, the third generation, modernized the brewery by starting the bottling of beer.
Since 1822, six generations of the Lindemans family have crafted authentic lambics of exquisite taste and complexity in the Pajottenland region, southwest of Brussels. Lambics are among the world’s rarest and most mysterious beers: they are the only beers fermented via wild, airborne yeast. The unusual and unique flavors that come from spontaneous fermentation are unmatched in the world of beer.
It all started in 1892, when Remi Vander Ghinste bought a house with accompanying buildings from a brewer for his 23-year-old son, Omer. That same year, the first barrels of Ouden Tripel (now VanderGhinste Oud Bruin) rolled out across the cobblestones of Bellegem. Omer delivered his beers by horse and cart in the region of Kortrijk. As brands didn’t exist at that time, he gave the beers his own name: the “bieren Omer Vander Ghinste”.
For more than 460 years now, Oudenaarde has hosted the brewing family Roman, which has perpetuated the brewing tradition from father to son. Officially, the story of the brewery began back in 1545, which makes Roman the oldest family brewery of Belgium.
St-Feuillien Brewery, located in Le Roeulx (southern part of Belgium), was founded in 1873 by a women, Stephanie Friart. In 1910, her nephew took it over and his son, Benoît Friart, succeeded him in 1950. Today, Benoît Jr and Dominique, brother and sister, have been running the brewery for almost 30 years.
