Affligem Brouwerij

Affligem’s identity begins not with a modern brand launch, but with a Benedictine abbey in Flemish Brabant. Six former knights founded the abbey in 1074, where brewing became part of welcoming guests. That long abbey connection still shapes the beer’s presentation today: Affligem is associated with a broad-stemmed goblet, a fitting vessel for a Belgian abbey ale with nearly a millennium of brewing tradition behind its name. An abbey beginning Affligem traces its brewing heritage to the abbey founded in the village of Affligem in 1074 by six knights who became monks. The monks followed the Rule of Saint Benedict, whose emphasis on community and hospitality formed part of the abbey’s culture. The brewery’s own history describes beer being brewed for guests, linking the drink directly to the abbey’s tradition of welcome. Tradition carried through change The brewery was destroyed during the Second World War. In 1956, production continued through cooperation with the nearby brewery at Opwijk, where the historic recipe was adapted to modern brewing methods while the characteristic Affligem profile was retained. The beer’s story is therefore one of continuity through changing brewing premises, rather than an uninterrupted claim about one physical brewhouse. A glass made for abbey beer The Belgian Beer Glass Museum records an Affligem goblet in its collection, a 33-centilitre branded glass associated with the beer. More broadly, the Museum identifies the goblet as a stemmed form traditionally linked with stronger Belgian beers, especially Trappist and abbey ales. In Affligem’s case, the glass reinforces the brand’s visual connection to its monastic heritage. Affligem is an abbey beer whose defining character is the survival of a hospitality-centered brewing tradition through modern production. Affligem, Flemish Brabant, Belgium 1074 1074: Six former knights founded Affligem Abbey and began its monastic brewing tradition. 1956: After the brewery’s wartime destruction, brewing continued in cooperation with the nearby Opwijk brewery.