Brouwerij De Smedt in opdracht van bierfirma Fisser

In Opwijk, Flemish Brabant, Brouwerij De Smedt grew from a long-established local brewery into the house behind two very different chapters of Belgian beer: the distinctly regional Op-Ale and the internationally recognised Affligem abbey beers. Its heritage is not a medieval guild legend, but a documented story of family ownership, changing Belgian tastes, and a practical partnership with Affligem Abbey. An Opwijk brewery with deep roots Commercial brewing on the site is documented from around 1790, while the De Smedt family held sole ownership from 1832. The brewery was located in Opwijk, northwest of Brussels, and remained a family-centred business through two world wars. Its first major brand was Op-Ale, introduced in 1935 as a hoppier Belgian pale ale. From Op-Ale to Affligem The brewery’s defining transformation came after the Second World War. In 1956, brewing for Affligem Abbey was established at the Opwijk brewery after the abbey’s own brewery had been destroyed. The collaboration developed into a formal brewing relationship in 1970, when De Smedt took over production of Affligem beers while the monks remained connected to the beer’s identity and quality. A local brewery enters a larger world De Smedt’s Affligem business expanded during the late twentieth century, but the brewery eventually moved beyond family control. Heineken acquired the business progressively around the turn of the millennium, after which Brouwerij De Smedt became associated with the Affligem brewery name. The former Opwijk brewery later closed, with Affligem production continuing elsewhere. A resilient Opwijk brewery whose local pale ale and abbey partnership carried De Smedt from regional prominence into international Belgian beer history. Opwijk, Flemish Brabant, Belgium 1790 1790: Commercial brewing is documented at or near the future De Smedt site in Opwijk. 1832: The De Smedt family begins a period of sole ownership. 1935: Op-Ale becomes the brewery’s first major brand. 1956: De Smedt begins brewing for Affligem Abbey after the abbey brewery’s wartime destruction. 1970: The Affligem brewing relationship with De Smedt becomes formalised.