I have an embarrassing admission to make. I never really ‘got’ Gent. While I appreciated the beauty and splendour of its magnificent architecture, on many occasions I failed to reach a destination flagged up in my guidebook. I always loved spending time in Gent, visiting friends, checking out breweries and bars and searching for the best Flemish Bolognese. The city’s rich history and canalside settings are certainly worthy of visiting but I really struggled to get around on my numerous visits. I kept getting lost.
Last year I made 4 visits to the city. Hosting collaborative beer and food events with colleagues, social visits with the family and five days spent in the centre while participating in Brussels Beer Challenge. Familiarity developed a fondness and Gent is challenging Brugge for my favourite city in Belgium. Years of indifference have faded and the city has started to embrace me like an old friend. Or a pub regular to be more precise.
Belgium’s third largest city and the capital of East Flanders, Gent grew from a settlement on the confluence of the Scheldt and Leie rivers to one of the largest and richest cities in Northern Europe by the 14th century. It rose to prominence mainly through trade in cloth and wool. Its textile industry flourished again in the 18th and 19th centuries and the city continued to prosper. Gent escaped destruction during the world wars and many of its medieval architecture remains intact. Highlights include St Bavo’s Cathedral, the belfry and the Gravensteen Castle. The old Graslei harbour retains the numerous merchants’ guild houses (including the Brouwershuis) and is a great spot for people watching. The city’s student population is vast and gives Gent its energy. It should be noted that two universities, Universiteit Gent and HOGENT offer courses in brewing technology and have opened a brewing science and technology research facility.
Of course the city’s beer and brewing culture is just as, if not more interesting for me. The city once boasted many brewers and its rich brewing history extends as far back as Roman times with evidence of breweries and malthouses from the 3rd and 4th centuries. During the early and middle ages brewing with gruit (a mixture of herbs and spices) was the norm with reference to gruit stretching back to 974. When Dutch and German beers reached the city in the 14th century things started to change. Recognising the preservative qualities of these beers brewers began to substitute gruit with hops which gradually saw the use of gruit fade away. The city would go onto to produce a wide range of styles including brown and pale ale, strong dark beers and local wheat beers. Consolidation, closures and increased building costs caused Gent’s brewers to close or seek more affordable sites outside of the city. Eventually no beer was being brewed within the municipal area at all….
The return of city brewing
The Gentse Stadsbrouwerij Gruut (Gent City Brewery) was established by Annick De Splenter in 2009. Annick grew up with hops in her blood, her family owning the former Riva brewery in Dentergem. She choose to take inspiration from the city’s brewing heritage and use Gruut (Flemish for gruit) instead of hops in the brewing process. All of the beers are flavoured in this way with the exception being Inferno, their tripel. They also produce Wit, Blond, Blond (AF), Bruin and Amber. All their beers can be enjoyed at the brewpub not far from Sint-Jakobskerk where they relocated to in 2016.
Nine years passed before Gent saw another brewery open within the city limits. Bierbrouwerij op Dok Noord (Dok Brewing Company) was launched in 2009 by Janos De Baets, Daniella Provost and Dimitri Messiaen. Janos is formerly of De Proefbrouwerij in nearby Lochristi and is where he started his brewing career. As a side project he also founded Hedonis Ambrachtsbier with his colleague Leopold De Ketelaere. Daniella had launched the L’Arogante beer brand and Dimitri founder of beer company The Ministry of Belgian Beer had launched his Czech-style Pils 13.
Dok is an impressive space with the brewhouse sitting directly behind the bar. Its located in the redeveloped and now trendy area of Dok Noord. The taplist extends to 30 beers mostly from the brewery itself. Guest beers also feature and tap takeovers are common. There is a barrel ageing project also underway beneath the site. To complement the bar three food outlets operate from within the space offering a range of barbecue, burgers and pizza under the ROK brand. Its a fantastic place to visit and spend time pouring over the various beers on tap. They also have their own cafe, Cafe De Welkom on Oudberg (curry street to Brits).
In 2018 Colorado native Farrell Styers and three pals founded Humboldt and Gauss started producing crafty beers in the Gent area. I used to love their beers when I could find them and was always seeking them out. In 2021 he and his Gentenaar mate Carl launched Stroom Brouwers, spreading their love for hoppy IPAs, sours, Kveik and lots more. Their brewery and taproom is located in the Heirnis neighbourhood of the city and here you can indulge your passion for US-inspired craft beer, classic styles and solid Belgians – with a twist. You may even see Farrell giving one of his tours, or just make friends with the brewery cat.
2022 brought another brewery into Gent and right in the heart of town, right opposite the Stadhuis. Named after Jacob van Artevelde, a revolutionary and statesman of the middle-late middle ages beers bearing his name were produced by Brouwerij Huyghe since 1985. Since the opening of the microbrewery all Artevelde beers are now produced in the city, covering a wide range. The site has become a destination venue with an extensive menu and various spaces to sit and hire should you be looking to host a celebratory event or business meeting.
Outside of the city
Brouwerij Van Steenberge is located in Evergem, just 8km from the city. Founded by Jean Baptiste de Bruin in 1784 the brewery was formerly known as De Peer. It was renamed Bios in 1919 by Paul Van Steenberge who modernised the brewkit and expanded the beer range. In 1962 his son Jozef took over and renamed it after the family. The brewery is best known for its brands Gulden Draak, Augustijn and Piraat although they also produce other brands including the famous house tripel from De Garre cafe in Brugge. Last year they opened Hopspot, a microbrewery, event space and restaurant just under 3km from the brewery.
Tracing its routes back to 1654, Brouwerij Huyghe was renamed by Leon Huyghe who had worked at the local brewery in the Appelhoek (apple corner) in Melle. He had started work there in 1902 but following the construction of a new brewery building it became Brouwery Leon Huyghe in 1938. A number of smaller breweries and their brands were acquired: Artevelde, Biertoren, Damy, Verlinden and Villers. Their flagship Delerium Tremens was launched in 1988. In 1992 fourth generation Alain De Laet joined the brewery and through careful investment eventually doubled production in 5 years. Construction on a new 7 million euro brewhouse began in 2011, with a focus on reducing energy costs and water consumption. As of 2022 the brewery reported a brewing volume of 270,000 hl with 83% of the beer exported overseas.
Contract brewery De Proefbrouwerij, north east of Gent in Lochristi began producing high quality beers for its clients in 1996. And those clients are not just confined to Belgium but have included Mikkeller and To Øl from Denmark. The brew kit is high tech and the facility also undertakes R&D projects including ‘single hop technology’ and a project researching the application of yeasts and bacteria in fermentation. They also produce a small range of their own beers under the Reinaert brand.
Other small breweries that have established themselves in and around the city include Brauerij Totem in Evergem who initially started in 2013 as homebrewers. Five years later Klaas Dellaert and Liesbeth Van Raemdonck established their own small facility. Another contract brewery is Beer Select who started in 2016. They now boast two sites north and south west of the city. Heilig Hart Brouwerij was also founded in 2016 and is based further south east in Wetteren. Based in a former church the brewery is stunning and lends itself perfectly to visits and events. Focussing on natural ingredients, interesting flavours and biodiversity they produce many mixed fermentation beers under their ‘Project Amphora’. South east of Gent in Merelbeke, De Wilde Brouwers started a year later in 2017. They focus on their Flora range made with organic materials and an average abv of 3.5%. The mixed fermentation beers aged in oak barrels are stronger. A year later microbrewery De Backer launched Pikaflor in Witteren. Owner Steffen focusses on local ingredients and also conducts tours and tastings. If you’re looking for something on the wild side, homeblender John has been blending lambics and other mixed and wild fermentation styles since 2012. His brand is ‘t Pomphuizeke and his beers are extremely hard to find. However, if you are lucky enough to pick up a Carnivale Brettanomyces 2024 you will see that he oversaw the blending of that beer. Finally, also in 2018 a former horticultural business and Gasthof was developed into Brouwerij Haeseveld east of the city. The project was financed by three entrepreneurs including Alain De Lait from Huyghe. The site includes the brewery, brewpub and event hall.
Its great news to see Gent once more establish itself as a brewing city. The bar and cafe scene is excellent with a diverse range of offerings available across the city. I have many favourites to recommend but that will have to wait for another time.
