Brewery Verhaeghe Flanders Ales

Brouwerij Verhaeghe was established in 1885 in a castle-farm in Vichte, West Flanders by Paul Verhaeghe. Today it’s still a family owned & run company. While most Belgian breweries sold beer in their local areas only, Verhaeghe expanded its market presence through a railway line from Vichte to Brussels and were able to sell a significant amount of beer in the country’s largest city. When World War One broke out, the Belgian government requested that breweries stop production to push back against the German invasion. In response, the Germans dismantled the brewery and hauled off all the equipment for munitions manufacturing.

After the war ended, Verhaeghe had to completely re-build the brewery and its customer base. The big red and white sign on the tasting room wall reads: De Hope Van Vrede (The Hope of Peace). The brewery sold most of its beers regionally during the post-war years, focusing on innovation and quality. The market at that point was looking for higher-quality beers with a unique style and identity, and Verhaeghe delivered with both their ales and a new line of lagers.

The Famous Duchess

Today, beers like the very popular Duchesse de Bourgogne (Duchess of Burgundy), a Flanders Red-Brown ale, is brewed with an old process native to Verhaeghe’s part of West Flanders. It is a classic and unique brew, and is Verhaeghe’s flagship beer. It is brewed with roasted malt and aged hops, then, after primary fermentation and cold storage, it is aged in large wooden vats called foeders for about eight months. It is then blended with similar beer which has been aged for 18 months. Blending is the real art of Flanders Red-Brown ales – giving the final product a full, fresh and fruity aroma and taste, with a light sourness. In many ways it resembles a Burgundy wine.

Some of the Beers in Verhaeghe’s Extensive Product Line

A Broad Beer Lineup

Vichtenaar is another of Verhaeghe’s traditional red-brown ales. It is aged in oak barrels for at least eight months and is bottled unblended. Echt Kriekenbier is a cherry beer. During the summer, Noorderkrieken cherries are added to a base red-brown ale and allowed to macerate for several months. No other concentrates or flavor-enhancers are used. It is blended with one, two and three-year old beers before bottling. The result is an authentic Kriekenbier.

The Verhaeghe product line also includes three variations on the Duchess – Duchesse Cherry, Duchess Chocolate Cherry and Duchesse Petite. Also included are the five Barbe beers – Ruby, d’Or, Noire, X, and Noël. In addition, they produce a Belgian Blond Ale called Streuvels and Verhaeghe Export, a Pilsner. 80 percent of Verhaeghe’s beers are exported, with 20% going to the Belgian market.

For a personal tour of Brewery Verhaeghe, contact Katrien Martin at topictourskatrien@hotmail.com. 

A Fun Stop in Belgium

Verhaeghe is a fun brewery to visit, with a warm and inviting tasting room, great owners and staff, and a big selection of beers to choose from. It is a unique combination of old and new, where quality, innovation and attention to detail are paramount. Sante!

Ryan Pours the Duchesse in the the Fouder Room