Brouwerij en stokerij Wilderen

At Wilderen, Belgian brewing heritage is built into a restored farm complex near Sint-Truiden. The estate reaches back to 1642, its surviving brewery buildings to 1743, and its industrial distillery to 1890. After decades of neglect, the site returned to brewing in 2011, pairing preserved farm architecture and an old distillery with a modern brewhouse and a contemporary range of Belgian beers. A farm that brewed for its own community Wilderen began as an economically self-sufficient estate, where large farms maintained their own brewing kettles. The brewery’s official history describes spent grain going to the oxen stable, while the Museum records the broader period practice of brewing beer for farm workers and reusing the grain as livestock feed. This places Wilderen’s brewing story in the practical agricultural tradition of historic Flemish estates. From historic distillery to working brewery The surviving brewery buildings date from 1743, and an industrial distillery was added in 1890. Mike Janssen and Roniek Van Bree acquired the neglected site in 2007 and restored it. In 2011, a modern brewery opened inside the former ox stables, creating a deliberate meeting of contemporary brewing equipment, preserved farm buildings and the nineteenth-century distillery. Heritage with a modern brewing identity Wilderen presents itself as traditionally brewed but creatively styled. Its current beers include Wilderen Goud, Tripel Kanunnik, Cuvée Clarisse, Clarisse Rouge, Wilderen Kriek and Betty Ford. The Tripel Kanunnik glass connects the modern beer to Sint-Truiden’s historic abbey-town setting, while the recurring “Anno 1743” mark points back to the brewery buildings rather than claiming that every present-day beer dates from that era. Wilderen’s distinctive character lies in making a restored agricultural and distilling heritage site function as a lively modern brewery. Wilderen, near Sint-Truiden, Flanders, Belgium 1642: The estate’s documented history reaches back to 1642. 1743: The surviving historic brewery buildings date from 1743. 1890: An industrial distillery was added to the site. 2007: Mike Janssen and Roniek Van Bree acquired the neglected complex and began its restoration. 2011: A modern brewery opened in the former ox stables.