Brouwerij Hoegaarden

In the 18th century, the municipality of Hoegaarden had many breweries and malt houses that brewed white beer and turned the village into a vibrant centre for white beer.

In 1957, the last brewery (Tomsin) in Hoegaarden closed.

In 1965, dairy farmer Pierre started brewing the never-forgotten white beer again in a copper boiler in his milk barn. Production quickly increased and he moved to a larger building, ‘De Kluis’.

In 1985, it was no longer a small business with a production of 75,000 hectolitres per year.

Just when Pierre wanted to export to the United States, a major fire shattered his dream (and beer). The brewery was destroyed. Since the reconstruction cost millions and Pierre could not afford it, Interbrew (AB-inbev) lent a helping hand and made probably the best purchase they had ever made. A characterful Belgian beer was saved from ruin.