Brouwerij De Kluis (InBev)

Brouwerij De Kluis helped bring Hoegaarden’s cloudy wheat beer back from the brink. Founded by Pierre Celis in Hoegaarden in 1966, it began as a small revival brewery and grew into the home of one of Belgium’s best-known witbier traditions. Its story is distinctive not because of legend, but because a local milkman turned a nearly vanished regional style into a modern Belgian classic. A local revival De Kluis was founded by Pierre Celis after Hoegaarden’s last traditional brewery, Tomsin, closed in 1957. Celis began brewing in a barn near his home, seeking to revive the town’s white-beer tradition. The first year’s production was modest, but the brewery’s Hoegaarden witbier quickly gave the old style a new commercial life. From barn to brewery The brewery was initially called Brewery Celis and took the name De Kluis—“The Cloister”—in 1978. As demand grew, Celis moved production into a former distillery and lemonade factory in 1979. By 1985, Hoegaarden production had reached roughly 300,000 hectolitres annually, a remarkable transformation from the original small brewhouse. Fire and a changing identity A major fire destroyed the brewery in 1985. Rebuilding required outside investment from Interbrew, which acquired partial ownership; Celis later divested his share in 1990. Museum evidence from a historic De Kluis Hoegaarden glass preserves the earlier brewery identity, showing how dedicated glassware helped distinguish the revived witbier before later Hoegaarden branding became more streamlined. A Hoegaarden revival brewery that transformed a nearly lost local witbier tradition into an international Belgian brewing landmark. Hoegaarden, Flanders, Belgium 1966 1957: Hoegaarden’s last traditional brewery, Tomsin, closed. 1966: Pierre Celis founded the brewery and began reviving Hoegaarden witbier. 1978: The brewery adopted the name De Kluis. 1979: Production moved into a former distillery and lemonade factory. 1985: A major fire destroyed the brewery and led to outside investment from Interbrew.