Brouwerij Riva

Brouwerij Riva grew from a late-nineteenth-century family brewery in Dentergem into a notable West Flemish brewing business. Its story is tied to the Desplenter family, the rise of Dentergems Witbier and pils, and an ambitious period of expansion that connected the brewery with other Belgian beer houses. The Riva name ultimately belongs to a brewery whose buildings, recipes and brands passed into a wider Flemish brewing legacy. From Desplenter to Riva The brewery’s roots reach back to about 1896, when the Henri Desplenter family established a brewery in Dentergem. Early records describe a brewing complex, café, director’s residence and festival hall developing around the Wontergemstraat site. Four generations of the Desplenter family led the business, and in 1968 the brewery adopted the name Riva. A regional brewery with wider ambitions Riva became known for its pils and Dentergems Witbier, described in the historical record as the second witbier to reach the Belgian market after Hoegaarden. The company expanded through takeovers and cooperation, including links with Het Anker, Liefmans and Alken-Maes. This was not merely a local brewery serving Dentergem: Riva was building a broader place in Belgium’s beer trade. The end of independent Riva After financial and legal difficulties, Brouwerij Riva was declared bankrupt in December 2007. Duvel Moortgat acquired the management, buildings and recipes in a transaction reported at €4.5 million. The brewery’s later history therefore belongs both to the former independent Riva company and to the beers and brewing assets that continued under new ownership. A Dentergem family brewery that grew from Desplenter roots into a significant West Flemish producer of pils and witbier. Dentergem, West Flanders, Belgium 1896 1896: The Desplenter family establishes a brewery in Dentergem. 1898: The early brewery complex, corner café, steam brewery, residence and festival hall are recorded at the site. 1968: The brewery adopts the name Riva. 2007: Brouwerij Riva enters bankruptcy, and Duvel Moortgat acquires its buildings, management and recipes.