Feature Friday- De Halve Mann Brewery

Brewery tour De Halve Mann 

One of the best activities we took part in on our trip to Brugge as a tour of the brewery.  It was €7.50 each, but includes a beer at the end (normally at least €4.00 for a small house beer) so the tour actually is only €3.50!!

Tours are given in three languages- Dutch, French & English.  We tagged along to a private tour given in only English by a lady named Inge, she was fantastic!! The brewery has been brewing since 1856 and been run by the same family for six generations and has won several awards. 

This statue is St Arnold, who protects the drinkers & brewers, it's made of pure silver. 

In 2014, they built a new brewery which meant the brewery had to close for 9-10 weeks.  In preparation they brewed 6 days a week 3 batches a day to keep ticking over whilst they had to close. The workers were exhausted, so they had a fresh graduate to help out who did the night shift. Just one room cost €3 million. 

In 1920 there were 28 breweries in Brugge & this is the only one left! In 2010, they created an 11% quadruple distilled beer which is a perfect food match for over 400 ingredients; ginger, black chocolate, boar, etc. 

The picture on the right is of a model of a special bottle created to celebrate the brewery's 100 year anniversary.  It was delivered from the  first lorry the brewery bought from Canadian army & given out for free across the city to celebrate. 

The building is 25 metres high, and there are strict rules in Brugge to protect the city landscape and environment.  Satellites are not allowed, there are noise regulations, so the brewery can only brew during certain hours and has had to have triple glazing put in all of the windows.  The buildings can only be four floors high, so if companies need to expand they can only go horizontally, so the brewery is made up of three buildings.   

This is a view from the top of the brewery and for a buzzing city it is very peaceful up there! 

In 1910 there were 3,000 brewers in Belgium and now there are only 120, but they still produce  over 800 beers to try.  42,000 litres a day brewed. Ten years ago allergies weren't as rife and only 

1/2000 gluten free. Now the statistics have risen and 1/300 people follow a gluten free diet, so they can't drink the beer.

All of the bars, cafes, and restaurants that support the local brewery have this 'Bruges Zot' logo on their establishments. It is easily and inexpensively available in all of the grocery stores.  One bottle of this blonde beer costs about €1.20! If you have time and are visiting the city when the brewery is open, I would highly recommend a visit! Cheers from Brugge!