Brouwerij Pirlot

Brouwerij Pirlot grew from Guy Pirlot’s small-scale home brewing in the Antwerp Kempen into a named brewery whose identity is closely tied to Kempisch Vuur. Its story is distinctive for the way a 10-litre kitchen experiment became a commercial brewery in 1998, then developed into a Zandhoven brewing house and, since 2023, part of Brouwerij Het Nest. From kitchen kettle to commercial brewery Guy Pirlot began brewing in the mid-1980s, first with a 10-litre pot and later with a self-converted 50-litre copper boiler. A blonde beer and repeatedly refined tripel became the focus of his early experiments. After friends encouraged him to share the beer more widely, the required paperwork was completed in 1998 and Brouwerij Pirlot became a commercial hobby brewery. Finding a home in Zandhoven As demand outgrew the homemade installation, production moved through Microbrewery Paeleman in Wetteren and later De Proefbrouwerij in Lochristi. Pirlot eventually established its own brewing site in Zandhoven. A regional tourism publication records that Guy Pirlot moved there in 2007 and that Kempisch Vuur was flowing from the brewery’s kettles in 2011. A brewery carried forward The brewery’s present official site identifies Kempisch Vuur Tripel as an iconic 7.5% beer, described with malt, hop and fruit notes and a four-grain character. The same site records that Brouwerij Pirlot became part of Brouwerij Het Nest in 2023, placing the Pirlot name within a larger Turnhout brewing group while preserving its established beer identity. A Kempen brewery whose character was forged by patient home-brewing experimentation before taking root in Zandhoven. Zandhoven, Antwerp Province, Belgium 1998 1980s: Guy Pirlot begins brewing at home, first with a 10-litre pot and later a 50-litre converted copper boiler. 1998: The paperwork is completed and Brouwerij Pirlot begins as a commercial hobby brewery. 2001: Production moves to De Proefbrouwerij in Lochristi after the earlier installation proves too small. 2007: Guy Pirlot moves to Zandhoven to establish his own brewery site. 2011: Kempisch Vuur is reported flowing from the Zandhoven brewing kettles.