Beer
Ypres and the Westhoek are known for their pleasant enjoyment.
The regional beers of the Westhoek are ideal for this. Ypres has a rich beer history that can still be found in the city today.
You can now find four breweries:
- Brouwerij Adriaensen
- Brouwerij De Kazematten
- Leroy Breweries
- Brouwerij Vermeulen
The Merghelynck fund of 1649 mentions 29 breweries and distilleries, and about 50 inns.
In the Rijselstraat, the Froidure brewery was already in business in the 14th century in the Templar Stone. In the following centuries, the number of inns rose to 112 while the number of breweries fell to 16. Of the 14 breweries in 1914, only 5 breweries restarted after the war. The Brasserie Centrale Yproise was founded in 1922 with the war compensation from various breweries. It became the Ypersche Centrale brewery in 1941 and Roberg Brewery in 1960. Brasserie La Cour de Bruxelles in the Diksmuidestraat became the Vermeulen brewery in 1836. The last Ypres brewery closed its doors in November 1976.
Brouwerij Adriaensen
Brouwerij De Kazematten
Bieren: Wipers Times blond, Wipers Times dubbel, Wipers Times Tripel, Saison Tremist, Grotten Santé en Epica
Brouwerij Kazematten
Houten Paard 1
8900 Ieper
In 2013, Brouwerij Kazematten was founded in the casemates of the Houten Paard.
After 37 years, Ypres now has a city brewery again. In 2021, a new path was taken with an improved range and new beers.
Several beers from De Kazematten have already won prizes at international competitions.
It is possible to visit the brewery .
Leroy Breweries
Bieren: Bock Leroy, Boezings Blondje, Bruin Leroy, Kerelsbier, Paulus Oud Bruin, Prima Leroy, Ridder, Sas Brune, Sas Export, Sas Premium Pils, Stout Leroy, West Pils, Yperman
Leroy Breweries - site Boezinge
Diksmuidseweg 404
8904 Boezinge
The history of this brewery is closely linked to the lock complex, the lock of Boezinge where the brewery was founded in 1572. In 1839 the brewery came into the possession of the Leroy family, but in 1915 the lock complex and the brewery were destroyed.
After the war, a new lock and, in the village center, a new brewery were built in Boezinge, which was operational from 1924. Karel Leroy succeeded his father Silvère in 1961 and when he suddenly dies in 1988, his wife Alice Desplenter and sons Hendrik and Philip Leroy continued his work.
Meanwhile, with Karel Leroy, the 11th generation of brewers has started and Brouwerij Het Sas has been renamed Leroy Breweries together with Brouwerij Van Eecke van Watou.
You can visit the brewery with a group. Please contact the brewery for this .
Brouwerij Vermeulen
The brewery was founded in 1836 by Polydore Vermeulen. Ypra beer was brewed as the main beer in the brewery. The last brewer was Charles Vermeulen, who still brewed in the city center until 1976.
After that, production moved to the Vander Ghinste brewery.
In 2023, the Ypra beer was relaunched by Omer Jean Vander Ghinste and Edouard Vermeulen. Two cousins who are also connected in their brewing family.
Ypra bears the predicate 'intransigently tasty', as a nod to the many challenges that have crossed the path of Brouwerij Vermeulen over the years. The intransigence of the Vermeulen family is apparent from the story of the mill next to the castle of Elverdinge. The mill was owned by the Vermeulen brewery and supplied the ground grain that was necessary for the production of the beer. The adjacent castle park belonged to Count d'Ennetières. In 1850 he wanted to buy the land on which the mill stood. However, the Vermeulen family declined his offer, after which the count planted dozens of poplars on his land to take the wind off the windmill blades. However, the brewer-miller responded quickly by making the mill higher. When the poplars kept growing,
Ypra was for many years the showpiece of the Vermeulen Brewery from Ypres, founded in 1836. Due to the takeover by Brouwerij Omer Vander Ghinste, it is now given a second life. Omer Jean Vander Ghinste: “The beer we are now launching is a soft and fresh top-fermented blond beer, with a light bitterness and fruity hop notes of orange and grapefruit. Ypra owes its unique aroma and taste to the refermentation in the bottle. It is the result of the search for a balanced and strongly hopped blond beer in which the best properties of five different hop varieties emerge.”
“For two years, our brewers experimented, tasted and adjusted the taste to a new blonde and hoppy beer with a perfect taste balance. They were inspired by the original Ypra: a top-fermented beer based on the English ale tradition.”
Features of Ypra:
- Type: hoppy, top-fermented blond beer with refermentation in the bottle
- Taste: soft, fresh, fruity and slightly bitter
- Fragrance: berries, citrus, orange and grapefruit
- View: golden yellow, thin white foam head
- Alcohol volume: 6.0%
- Serving temperature: 4°C
- In barrel (20 litres) or in bottle (33 cl)
Breweries in the Westhoek
There are many more breweries to discover in the Westhoek.
You can find the overview on the website of Tourism Westhoek .
In 2022, Westtoer also released an interesting beer guide.
The ambassador of the beer experience was chocolatier Dominique Persoone.
Download brochure 2024
