Brouwerij Crombé, Brouwerij Strubbe

This is a story of two Belgian family-brewing traditions joined across provincial borders. Crombé belongs to Zottegem, where brewing at the Hospitaalstraat site reaches back to around 1800. Strubbe, in Ichtegem, has brewed since 1831 and now carries Crombé beers forward when the older Zottegem installation can no longer operate. The result is continuity without pretending that the two breweries are the same place. Crombé in Zottegem Brouwerij Crombé grew from a family brewing business in East Flanders. The Flemish heritage inventory identifies the brewery buildings on Hospitaalstraat and records that the site came into the hands of the Droesbeque-Crombé family in the early nineteenth century. Zottegem’s municipal history also places Crombé among the town’s many breweries represented in the 1905 historical procession, later describing it as the only one of those ten breweries still surviving. Strubbe carries the brewing forward Brouwerij Strubbe’s own history begins in Ichtegem in 1831, when Ludovicus Strubbe founded De Maecht van Ghent; the Strubbe name was recorded at the Markt site by 1854. Its modern role in the Crombé story is that of a partner brewery: when Crombé’s historic equipment became too costly to run, Strubbe began producing Crombé beers in Ichtegem while retaining the Crombé name, recipes and brewing tradition. Two family breweries remain distinct in place, yet connected by the practical Belgian tradition of preserving a regional beer through another brewer’s capable hands. Zottegem, East Flanders, for Brouwerij Crombé; Ichtegem, West Flanders, for Brouwerij Strubbe. Around 1800 for Brouwerij Crombé; 1831 for Brouwerij Strubbe. c. 1800: Brouwerij Crombé’s family brewing origins are placed in Zottegem. 1831: Ludovicus Strubbe establishes De Maecht van Ghent in Ichtegem. 1854: The name Brouwerij Strubbe is first recorded at the Markt in Ichtegem. 1905: Crombé appears among the Zottegem breweries represented in the town’s historical procession. Modern period: Brewing of Crombé beers moves to Brouwerij Strubbe after the historic Zottegem installation becomes too costly to operate.