Brouwerij Haacht
On June 14, 1898, Eugène De Ro, engineer, brewed in the fermentation companies, his first beer in the 'dairy of Haecht' . This was immediately renamed 'Haecht brewery and dairy'.
In 1902, Eugène De Ro adapted the installations to also brew low-fermentation beer.
The beers were quickly appreciated in Brussels. Thanks to the 'beer tram' - the steam tram between Brussels and Haacht, which had been electric since 1924, the beer could easily be transported there in wooden barrels.
In 1929, the dairy activities were definitively stopped and they focused solely on brewing beer.
From 1950, the first bottling plant was put into use, so that they could also put bottled beer on the market.
In 1951, Alfred van der Kelen, son-in-law of Eugène De Ro, in charge of the brewery and later his son
Frederic van der Kelen. Frederic was the driving force behind the expansion of the real estate portfolio.
The last decades have seen major investments such as the complete renovation of the fermentation, lagering and filtration in 1990, the renewal of the brewhouse in 1994, a new bottling plant in 2002 and in 2006 the 'warm rooms' where the Tongerlo abbey beers refermented in the bottle.
Products from Brouwerij Haacht
A brief history of Haacht Brewery
On 14 June 1898, engineer Eugène De Ro brewed his first beer in the former “Melkerij van Haecht”, which was soon renamed “Brouwerij en Melkerij van Haecht”. Fun fact: Haacht Brewery is not located in Haacht itself, but in the neighbouring municipality of Boortmeerbeek, on the Provinciesteenweg towards Brussels, which forms the border between the two towns.
By embracing the new pilsner, Haacht quickly grew into one of Belgium’s largest breweries. The “beer tram”, a steam tram that was electrified in 1924, transported wooden barrels to thirsty customers in Brussels. In 1929, the dairy activities stopped and the brewery focused fully on producing beers such as Bock, Export, Pils and Stout-Ale.
During and after the Second World War, Haacht took over dozens of breweries in Flanders, Brussels and France. A new bottling line made the switch from barrels to bottles possible. Under the name VAL, the company also launched lemonade and mineral water. Leadership passed successively to Alfred van der Kelen (Eugène De Ro’s son-in-law), then to his son Frédéric, and later to Boudewijn, Frédéric’s son.
A wide range of beers from Haacht Brewery
Today, Haacht is the largest Belgian brewery still in Belgian hands and the third-largest brewery in Belgium by market share. This position is largely built on its broad range of Belgian beers, which you can also find at Belgian Beer Heaven.
- Primus: originally called Super 8 and renamed in 1975 after Duke John I of Brabant, a well-known beer lover. A blonde pilsner at 0.4%, 2.6% or 5.2% ABV.
- Super 8: a brand name for several specialty beers, including the Flandrien spéciale belge (also available as a low-alcohol or alcohol-free beer), plus an IPA and Blanche, a wheat beer.
- Mystic Kriek: a red fruit beer based on wheat beer, launched in 2006, with a relatively low alcohol content of 3.5% ABV.
- Charles Quint: launched as Keizer Karel and marketed internationally as Charles Quint, including a blond beer and a red beer.
- Ommegang: a blonde tripel, named after the festive procession that commemorates Charles V’s Joyous Entry into Brussels.
- Tongerlo: recognised Belgian abbey beers, brewed by Haacht since 1990, including Tongerlo Christmas (a Christmas or winter beer) and the Prior Tripel.
Discover Haacht’s beers above, add your favourites to your cart, and enjoy easy ordering and fast shipping, including insurance against glass breakage.
