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.