Brasserie la Botteresse de Sur-les-bois

In Sur-les-Bois, a small village in Liège province, La Botteresse built its identity around a local Walloon word and a family of strong, characterful beers. The brewery began in 1996, later moved from Jupille to Sur-les-Bois, and became known for the La Botteresse and Sur-les-Bois ranges. Its labels carried a distinctive illustration by Belgian comic artist François Walthéry. From Jupille to Sur-les-Bois The brewing story began in 1996 under the name Brasserie des Bruyères, when the first Botteresse Ambrée was brewed. Around ten years later, the operation moved to the village of Sur-les-Bois, near the church, and adopted the name La Botteresse. The brewery’s documented home was Rue Fond Méan in Saint-Georges-sur-Meuse, in Liège province. A name rooted in Liège Botteresse is identified as a Liège Walloon term for a woman carrying a basket or hod. That figure became part of the brewery’s visual identity through label artwork by François Walthéry. The brewery’s range included La Botteresse beers alongside the Sur-les-Bois series, with blonde, amber and brown expressions among its best-known offerings. A completed brewing chapter La Botteresse was recorded as an operating craft brewery from 1996 until 2022. Its activity ended after the business was declared bankrupt in September 2022, closing a distinctly local chapter in the modern brewing history of the Liège area. A Liège-born brewery whose name, village setting and illustrated labels gave its strong ales an unmistakably local identity. Sur-les-Bois, Saint-Georges-sur-Meuse, Province of Liège, Belgium 1996 1996: The brewing venture begins as Brasserie des Bruyères, with the first Botteresse Ambrée brewed. 2005: The brewery moves to Sur-les-Bois and becomes known as Brasserie La Botteresse de Sur-les-Bois. 2022: The brewery stops operating after being declared bankrupt.