Brasserie de la Senne

Brasserie de la Senne helped give Brussels a modern brewing voice: beers built around bitterness, hop character and balance, made with a distinctly local sense of place. Its story begins before the brewery had a Brussels brewhouse, in the meeting of Bernard Leboucq and Yvan De Baets in 2002, and reaches a defining milestone with the first beer brewed entirely in Brussels on December 22, 2010. From Zinneke to Sint-Pieters-Leeuw The brewery’s roots lie in the 2002 Zinneke Parade, where Bernard Leboucq had created Zinnebir as an amateur brewer. Leboucq and De Baets began brewing professionally toward the end of 2003, establishing the Sint-Pieter Brouwerij in a former Moriau brewery warehouse in Sint-Pieters-Leeuw. After two years, growing success pushed them toward a larger ambition: bringing their brewery back to Brussels. A Brussels brewing identity The name Brasserie de la Senne refers to the river associated with Brussels. After several nomadic years of brewing in friends’ facilities, the brewery produced its first fully Brussels-made brew on December 22, 2010. That date became the annual brewing date for Brussels Calling. The brewery describes bitterness as the foundation of its beers, balanced by malt, hops and fermentation, with a particular interest in beers that remain light in alcohol without sacrificing flavour. A brewery and a place to meet Brasserie de la Senne’s current Tour & Taxis home combines production with a bar and shop, keeping the brewery’s public identity close to its brewing work. The Belgian Beer Glass Museum records both a Brasserie de la Senne house glass and a Zenne Pils glass in its collection, a small but tangible sign of how the brewery’s beers and visual identity have become part of contemporary Brussels beer culture. A Brussels brewery defined by assertive bitterness, measured balance and an unmistakably local sense of place. Brussels, Belgium 2003 2002: Bernard Leboucq created Zinnebir for the second Zinneke Parade and met Yvan De Baets. 2003: The brewers began their professional brewing career in Sint-Pieters-Leeuw as the Sint-Pieter Brouwerij. 2010: On December 22, Brasserie de la Senne brewed its first beer made entirely in Brussels. 2019: The brewery began brewing at its new Tour & Taxis site.